It is not my intent to scare you, only to give insight as to what is happening the moment you turn on your electronic device and use it. I want to help you understand your privacy online and reduce the possibility of your potential exposure.
The simple truth is, if what you say isn't face to face, then it isn't private. That is the reality of the world today. People fool themselves and live in denial. If you're on the Internet, your interactions are no longer private. If you write it online, expect it to be there forever. Very little gets deleted, and once you post it, it's out there being replicated, cached by search engines, stored in databases and so forth.
What is Internet privacy?
By definition, Internet Privacy is: the privacy and security level of personal data published via the Internet. It is a broad term that refers to a variety of factors, techniques and technologies used to protect sensitive and private data, communications, and preferences. Internet privacy and anonymity are paramount to users, especially as e-commerce continues to gain traction. Privacy violations and threat risks are standard considerations for any website under development. Internet privacy is also known as online privacy.
Who is at risk of invasions of privacy?
If you use a phone, computer, fax or any electronic device, then your information and usage is being recorded somewhere, by someone, whether you like it or not. This is the digital age.
In 2013, 552 million identities were exposed to possible exploit, ranging from electronic hacking to individual laziness and error. Link Removed of those identities provided enough information to succeed in identity theft. Contrary to popular belief, human laziness and error are the majority cause of identity theft, ranging from insecure home networks, phones, computer use and being scammed, to losing devices, personal documents and failing to adequately secure personal information.
The level of exposure using the Internet is so profound it could not possibly be discussed in this article. To give a basic outline of what's being tracked in your online usage, it all starts with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once connected to the World Wide Web (www) you have various types of cookies, meta data, search engines, social networks, HTML5, malware, spyware, digital fingerprinting, weak passwords, repetitive username usage, Google street view and the list goes on. All of these factors are invading your privacy to some degree, knowingly or otherwise.
People go one of three ways when they learn the real issues that occur behind the scenes in the digital world. You're either going to become paranoid and adopt over-the-top solutions, you will take calculated measures to reduce your privacy footprint and lessen your overall risk (86% take steps to reduce their footprint) or you will choose to ignore it all and put your head in the sand.
How do you decrease your risk of exposure?
What can you do to lessen your exposure to an invasion of your privacy and its subsequent consequences? The answer begins offline.
Did you know that the majority of people do not lock their mailbox? It's easier for a criminal to steal your identity from collecting your mail than from electronic means alone. Armed with your mail, a call or email can often solicit missing information. Worse yet, people fall for this time and again, believing only their provider could have such knowledge.
Have you ever given full personal or financial details over the phone when called? Think about the implications of who's on the other end of that phone. Why not lookup their listed phone number and call them back? Much more secure with minimal effort on your part for greater security and assurance, knowing you're talking with the company you already do business with.
If you're connected to the Internet via a router (home networks), your router is being hit by bots looking for known exploits, vulnerabilities and manufacturer default logins. Your router is your hard firewall to your network. Lose that and your privacy is vulnerable.
If you open spam email you're at high risk of online privacy and fraudulent activity against you. Spam is typically aimed to drive you towards a website to steal your personal information.
If you think you're immune because you're connected via mobile device, wrong again. If you have a phone with GPS capability, your every position is known to any hacker who gains access to your device, whether hacked directly or via an infected app you downloaded. Have you taken a picture lately and posted it online? Most cameras and smartphones, especially GPS enabled, embed meta data into pictures, thus allowing someone to get your latitude and longitude from your image. If you posted a picture of your pet at home, then people now know where you live. Are you thinking about all the pictures you've taken on your phone from home and posted online?
Your mobile phone is the largest exploit in your life towards your privacy, especially with anything claiming to be "free." You download an app and suddenly it can access everything else upon your phone, or track some aspect of your life.
Do you have a Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus account? If your browser is logged into your social account--regardless whether the page is open or not in the browser--everywhere you go that has a like, tweet or share button upon the page is being shared back to those organizations, associating it with your real name. Think you're clever using a fake name? If you've entered your real name somewhere as a result of payment information that contains these buttons on the page, then these companies actually have your real name and have built their profile with it, including now your aliases.
Some Link Removed to reduce your privacy footprint
The less you know about privacy and how to limit your footprint, the more exposed you are. While many believe that those aged 18 - 29 are flippant about their privacy, that exact age group statistically as a majority are deleting cookies ending their sessions, clearing caches frequently and other such basic aspects that dramatically reduce their privacy exposure. The facts are that the older you are, the more susceptible to Internet privacy you are, as many older users aren't as web savvy as their younger counterparts.
Understand Your Footprint
The Internet Society has an excellent set of tutorials about your online identity, what it is, what is happening behind the scenes and how you can best limit your exposure to privacy breaches.
Link Removed
The simple truth is, if what you say isn't face to face, then it isn't private. That is the reality of the world today. People fool themselves and live in denial. If you're on the Internet, your interactions are no longer private. If you write it online, expect it to be there forever. Very little gets deleted, and once you post it, it's out there being replicated, cached by search engines, stored in databases and so forth.
What is Internet privacy?
By definition, Internet Privacy is: the privacy and security level of personal data published via the Internet. It is a broad term that refers to a variety of factors, techniques and technologies used to protect sensitive and private data, communications, and preferences. Internet privacy and anonymity are paramount to users, especially as e-commerce continues to gain traction. Privacy violations and threat risks are standard considerations for any website under development. Internet privacy is also known as online privacy.
Who is at risk of invasions of privacy?
If you use a phone, computer, fax or any electronic device, then your information and usage is being recorded somewhere, by someone, whether you like it or not. This is the digital age.
In 2013, 552 million identities were exposed to possible exploit, ranging from electronic hacking to individual laziness and error. Link Removed of those identities provided enough information to succeed in identity theft. Contrary to popular belief, human laziness and error are the majority cause of identity theft, ranging from insecure home networks, phones, computer use and being scammed, to losing devices, personal documents and failing to adequately secure personal information.
The level of exposure using the Internet is so profound it could not possibly be discussed in this article. To give a basic outline of what's being tracked in your online usage, it all starts with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once connected to the World Wide Web (www) you have various types of cookies, meta data, search engines, social networks, HTML5, malware, spyware, digital fingerprinting, weak passwords, repetitive username usage, Google street view and the list goes on. All of these factors are invading your privacy to some degree, knowingly or otherwise.
People go one of three ways when they learn the real issues that occur behind the scenes in the digital world. You're either going to become paranoid and adopt over-the-top solutions, you will take calculated measures to reduce your privacy footprint and lessen your overall risk (86% take steps to reduce their footprint) or you will choose to ignore it all and put your head in the sand.
How do you decrease your risk of exposure?
What can you do to lessen your exposure to an invasion of your privacy and its subsequent consequences? The answer begins offline.
Did you know that the majority of people do not lock their mailbox? It's easier for a criminal to steal your identity from collecting your mail than from electronic means alone. Armed with your mail, a call or email can often solicit missing information. Worse yet, people fall for this time and again, believing only their provider could have such knowledge.
Have you ever given full personal or financial details over the phone when called? Think about the implications of who's on the other end of that phone. Why not lookup their listed phone number and call them back? Much more secure with minimal effort on your part for greater security and assurance, knowing you're talking with the company you already do business with.
If you're connected to the Internet via a router (home networks), your router is being hit by bots looking for known exploits, vulnerabilities and manufacturer default logins. Your router is your hard firewall to your network. Lose that and your privacy is vulnerable.
If you open spam email you're at high risk of online privacy and fraudulent activity against you. Spam is typically aimed to drive you towards a website to steal your personal information.
If you think you're immune because you're connected via mobile device, wrong again. If you have a phone with GPS capability, your every position is known to any hacker who gains access to your device, whether hacked directly or via an infected app you downloaded. Have you taken a picture lately and posted it online? Most cameras and smartphones, especially GPS enabled, embed meta data into pictures, thus allowing someone to get your latitude and longitude from your image. If you posted a picture of your pet at home, then people now know where you live. Are you thinking about all the pictures you've taken on your phone from home and posted online?
Your mobile phone is the largest exploit in your life towards your privacy, especially with anything claiming to be "free." You download an app and suddenly it can access everything else upon your phone, or track some aspect of your life.
Do you have a Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus account? If your browser is logged into your social account--regardless whether the page is open or not in the browser--everywhere you go that has a like, tweet or share button upon the page is being shared back to those organizations, associating it with your real name. Think you're clever using a fake name? If you've entered your real name somewhere as a result of payment information that contains these buttons on the page, then these companies actually have your real name and have built their profile with it, including now your aliases.
Some Link Removed to reduce your privacy footprint
- Have a software firewall installed on your device
- Have excellent quality anti-virus / malware protection
- Never open anything on your computer that was sent to you unknowingly or you did not purchase / download from a reputable company and source
- Use different variations of your username across the web
- Use different variations of your password on important websites
- Use a password that contains two characters, numbers and capitals
- Change your password regularly
- Try to use websites that utilise two-factor authentication
- Logout of accounts when you're finished using them
- Try to avoid websites requiring usernames, passwords or private information not using SSL
- Never publish your full name, address and phone number
- Use a pre-paid visa for online purchases, or have a second account and card you have established separate to your offline usage
- Make use of private browsing capabilities offered by major browsers
The less you know about privacy and how to limit your footprint, the more exposed you are. While many believe that those aged 18 - 29 are flippant about their privacy, that exact age group statistically as a majority are deleting cookies ending their sessions, clearing caches frequently and other such basic aspects that dramatically reduce their privacy exposure. The facts are that the older you are, the more susceptible to Internet privacy you are, as many older users aren't as web savvy as their younger counterparts.
Understand Your Footprint
The Internet Society has an excellent set of tutorials about your online identity, what it is, what is happening behind the scenes and how you can best limit your exposure to privacy breaches.
Link Removed
