In the technological era we are living in, we are entangled with smart gadgets in every aspects of our lives. Even for our basic needs, services like utilities, banking, tax filing, interacting with our governments we are encouraged to use online services. It’s almost impossible to perform our basic functions without interacting with internet.

In a recent Lifewire article 10 Simple Ways to Protect Your Web Privacy, Tim Fisher recommends following 10 steps to protect ourselves from the web privacy.

• Don’t give too much information in forms: Avoid as much as possible to input identifiable information unless it is REQUIRED.
• Clean up your search history: Web browsers track & store every website a user interacts with. Make a habit to clean up clear history after a session ends.
• Log out of search engine account. Most search engine encourage users to login to offer best search results. However, to protect user privacy it is better to logout before search which avoids search results tying back to user.
• Watch what you are downloading: Take extreme caution while downloading anything (software, music, attachments, images etc) from the internet to avoid associated remote tracking spyware or adware.
• Don’t share private information: Be extra cautious while share anything (eg., personal identification details) and that you don’t mind sharing in real life.
• Use caution on social media site: Be extra cautious sharing anything personal or financial in nature. It’s important to set privacy settings appropriately.
• Watch out online scams: Apply extreme caution following links, opening files or videos send to e-mail from unknown sources which may lead to viruses or provide access to hackers.
• Protect your computer and mobile devices: Protect your devises with security firewalls, regular software updates and anti-virus software. Take extra precaution while using third-party apps.
• Keep close eye on your online reputation: Our interaction with the web provide access to our personal information to maker of browsers or apps (eg. search yourself in google). User personal information can be removed from data brokers sites.
• Use common sense when online: A simple common sense rule is “just think twice before you do anything on the web”. Follow commonsense – avoid visiting shady websites; quit revealing too much personal information.

For addition information & links to resources, please visit the original article – 10 Simple Ways to Protect Your Web Privacy | Lifewire

Clean up your tracks if you leave information behind that you don’t want other people to know. You have to practice being private in order to maintain privacy on the web.

Tim Fisher on Lifewire

Contents of this Notes is sourced from 10 Simple Ways to Protect Your Web Privacy by Tim Fisher | LifeWire. Cover photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay