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With digital technologies taking center stage in our daily lives, the amount of data exchanged online continues to grow.
It is therefore not surprising that the interest in the best VPN services is high among consumers everywhere. Governments around the world are also setting new rules on how such sensitive information should be stored, used and shared.
New data laws such as the EU GDPR are an important step, but they are not enough. That’s partly because cyberattacks are also on the rise. Even worse, there is evidence that home devices are now the number one target.
Next, on the occasion of the annual Data Privacy Day, we share nine tips on how to stay safe online and maintain your anonymity when your data is compromised.
As the CEO of Vaibhav Antil of Privado, one of the best free VPN providers out there, said, “Data Privacy Day gives us all a chance to take a moment to reflect on what we share about ourselves, when and where we share it and who we do it with. share it with.”
1. Take the time to read the privacy policy
Despite the many examples of how companies have mishandled users’ data, the majority of people still don’t take the time to carefully review privacy policies before agreeing to the terms.
According to a 2019 Pew Research study (opens in new tab), only 9% of Americans actually do. A similar scenario came from a survey (opens in new tab) also performed by cybersecurity audit firm Deloitte. Here, more than 90% of respondents admitted to consenting to legal terms without reading them.
That’s right, these policies are often very long and difficult to understand. This makes it a daunting task to read the terms and conditions for every service and apps we use online.
However, understanding how organizations use your information is the first step to a more private online life.
Being aware of how your data is treated is vital to taking full control of your digital life. It also allows you to better select the services you want to subscribe to.
The growing need of users to understand privacy terms is even forcing some major tech companies to simplify their rules for greater transparency.
For example, Apple added privacy labels to the App Store to help users make informed decisions in 2020. Google Play followed a year later.
2. Protect your browsing activities with a VPN
Short for Virtual Private Network, a VPN is software that spoofs the location of your IP address. At the same time, it encrypts all data that your devices leave behind in the VPN tunnel.
For how it works, a VPN is the tool you want to secure your anonymity online from both cybercriminals and government prying eyes. Using such a tool is especially important when you are connected to an insecure public Wi-Fi network, as it is more vulnerable to attack. A torrent VPN is also essential for securely downloading files from the internet.
In addition to privacy, these security services can also improve overall online performance in many ways. Check out our explanation of all the main VPN benefits for more information. Our favorite provider on the market right now is ExpressVPN.
3. Consider other cybersecurity software
As online risks become more multifaceted, so should your response to data protection software.
We recommend integrating the use of a VPN with other security software, such as the best antivirus solutions and password management tools. Ad blockers are also essential if you want to stay private online.
The good news is that you don’t even need a lot of different subscriptions these days. That’s because more and more providers are now offering full security suites.
For example, both NordVPN and ExpressVPN have their own password managers and ad blocker features integrated into their VPN software. While Surfshark One is an all-round security suite that includes four cybersecurity tools with just one subscription. You can also check out our guide to the best VPN with antivirus right now for more recommendations.
4. Watch out for free apps
Whether it’s a VPN, antivirus, online game, or other apps, free services all have one common trait: being hungry for your data.
That’s simply because since they don’t charge you money for their services, selling your information to third parties constitutes their revenue.
On this point, Andrew Newman, founder of cybersecurity company Reason Labs (opens in new tab)said, “When people choose not to share their information privacy, you see companies like Facebook and Google losing billions of dollars as a result. This shows how valuable collecting such information is for these ad companies.”
In the worst case, they can even infect your devices with malware. According to Newman, downloading free software is one of the main reasons why home users infect their systems with viruses and other dangers in the first place.
5. Secure your online accounts
Online accounts are probably the gateway to users’ most sensitive information. Therefore, it is crucial to make these logins as difficult as possible to be compromised.
Securing your online accounts comes down to a series of steps. First, you must use strong passwords with a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. It is also essential to never use the same password for different accounts. Again, using a password manager can help you with this.
You should also make the login process more securely switch multifactor authentication (MFA). Since it requires you to prove your identity twice or more, this can discourage bad actors from accessing your profile. Already a common practice for securing your e-mail account, for example, most social media platforms now offer this extra layer of security as well.
You should also consider setting up login alerts to receive a notification every time your account is accessed. This makes it easier to respond quickly in the event of a breach.
6. Always keep all your devices up to date
Update after update, providers can fix bugs and vulnerabilities on their operating systems.
For this, you should always ensure that you are always running the latest version of your operating system to minimize the entry points for an attack and protect your data from cybercriminals.
7. Check the privacy settings on social and other apps
Likewise, privacy policy, it is good practice to carefully review the settings and permissions for all apps running on your devices. You will be amazed at how much information they can see about you by default.
Likewise, we recommend doing the same with all of your online profiles.
As a rule of thumb, you should limit it to what is strictly necessary for the service to work properly, especially on social media apps.
8. Be careful what you click
Phishing links, a tactic of spreading malware through malicious links and/or dangerous attachments, is one of the most common and successful ways to steal sensitive information from users. Cybercriminals can try to get your login details and then approach your contacts to launch scams.
These malicious links are often shared via DMs and emails, but they’re also increasingly popping up in social media posts and comments. Once the victim clicks on it, their account and/or device gets infected. Their data has been compromised.
Beware of those links or attachments that seem too good to be true and encourage you to click or share personal information. You should always be wary of catchy and abbreviated links, especially if they come from suspicious accounts. Review the source before clicking it and consider reporting any post that looks suspicious.
9. Back up your data regularly
Finally, backing up your data regularly is the best bet to get your data back in case it gets lost if your device crashes, or even worse, after a cyber-attack.
Tactics like ransomware or wiper malware put your files at great risk. Initially, you often cannot take back control of your data, even after agreeing to pay. While the latter is a type of malware that erases all the material on your device with one click.
So a regular backup to an external hard drive or encrypted cloud storage is the best defense against such malware.