Importance of protecting personal information online

A big part of our day is spent online. The internet gives us many benefits, such as the convenience of online shopping or connecting with our social circle instantly. However, the convenience it brings comes with considerable online privacy concerns. And that’s because the majority of the websites we visit online collect personal data, making our private information attractive to cybercriminals.

Among many lurking dangers online, the most common ones that can affect you personally are spam, phishing, ransomware, and malware. All of these cyberthreats have one thing in common – they try to steal your personal information.

With so much of our data being used for various online activities, personal data protection is becoming increasingly important. So, to better safeguard personal information, let’s explore ways to increase personal data safety.

Understanding personal information

Personal information refers to any information that can be traced back to a specific person. A few examples of such information are someone’s name, email address, phone number, and mailing address.

Personal data about us in digital form is stored by all sorts of institutions, for example, healthcare providers and employers. Therefore, in less common instances, even such sensitive information as your medical records can be exposed during a cyberattack.

How to protect your personal information online

At this point, there should be no doubts about how important our data protection is. Luckily, there are several ways you can protect your personal data. Here are some proven strategies that I myself use to safeguard my personal information.

Utilize strong passwords

Unfortunately, a lot of people continue using weak passwords that make their online accounts vulnerable. And the reason behind this often is the fear that good and secure passwords are too difficult to remember. No wonder why, as the rules for creating a strong password require it to be at least 12 characters long, have a combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols and then – you guessed it – no personal information is allowed.

That can seem like a lot. So, if you are afraid that secure passwords are hard to memorize – don’t worry, because I have a couple of great recommendations to make your password unbeatable and unforgettable.

First things first, some useful free ways to create a strong password are creating a strong passphrase or playing around with phrases and quotes. Using passphrases as passwords is more secure than regular passwords, because usually they’re longer, therefore, more difficult to guess. Phrases and quotes employ the same logic and they are easier to remember. For added security, I recommend swapping some letters for symbols or numbers.

If you’re willing to invest in the protection of your personal data, I highly recommend using password managers such as 1Password. A password manager is a tool that will save you time as it will provide you with a strong password instantaneously and the autofill function will let you forget about having to memorize complicated passwords.

Enable two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a method that uses a combination of 2 different forms of identification. Simply put, the first identification factor is a password, while the second could be a security token, a code sent to a trusted device, or biometrics.

The biggest advantage of using 2FA is that even if your password was breached, cybercriminals won’t be able to access your accounts without passing the second step of identity verification. 2FA is a great added security measure to the regular login credentials.

Be cautious with public Wi-Fi

The convenience of public Wi-Fi is undeniable. Also, it’s free. But is anything in life completely free? I think we all know the answer. The same rule applies to using public Wi-Fi networks as they are susceptible to security risks that can make the user experience quite costly.

The main risk of connecting to public networks is that it makes your data an easy target for cyberattacks. Such networks rarely use encryption and lack robust security measures. As a result of these shortcomings, you’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position for data interception, obtaining malware, or even falling victim to identity theft.

A study carried out by Forbes has revealed that 43% of people who used a public Wi-Fi network had their personal data compromised. Though, if you really need to use a public Wi-Fi, you can take some precautions and use a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your personal data more secure. A VPN will encrypt your data, hide your IP address, and equip your device with antimalware features.

Regularly update software and devices

Another important step, that can increase your personal information protection, is regular software and device updates. A software update is also known as a patch because it helps to patch up any shortcomings that are related to the security of your device. This keeps cybercriminals from taking advantage of your devices’ system vulnerabilities and exploiting your data. So, next time an update notification pops up, don’t click on “remind me later” button and make sure to update your device's software as soon as you can.

Monitor your online presence

Social media is not synonymous with privacy. We tend to share a lot of private information about us online through social media, sometimes without even knowing it. An ordinary picture might reveal more information about us than we think. Also, sharing seemingly harmless information, such as location, current workplace, or political affiliation can turn out to be not so harmless. This information can be used against you by scammers and ad companies.

The first thing you can do to protect personal information is reviewing your social media accounts’ privacy settings. Before signing up for any social media platform, read through the terms and conditions. It’s crucial to understand how your personal information will be used and what you’re agreeing to. For example, what kind of information about you will be shared with the social media platform, what content might be shared with third-party platforms, and whether you can delete your account permanently. Also, avoid sharing any biographical information, including your full name, age, and address.

There’s an easy way to check what kind of information about you is available for the public eye. You simply need to google search yourself. In case any unwanted information is displayed about you, Google allows you to remove it.

Safeguarding personal data

If you worry about your private information security, there are several key factors you can focus on and employ to protect your personal information.

Importance of data encryption. Data encryption protects sensitive data from being stolen or compromised and other cybersecurity threats. For data encryption you can use a reliable VPN service, such as NordVPN.

Recognizing phishing scams. Phishing is a common scam in the form of emails or messages, trying to steal your information that would grant scammers access to your bank or other accounts. Phishing can be recognized from its generic greeting, emotional and urgent language, convincing to click on a link, incorrect email addresses or links (i.e., gogle.com).

Understanding data privacy policies. Privacy policy is aimed at protecting user’s information from predatory data collection. It explains how the data will be used exactly, informs users of their rights and responsibilities regarding their personal data, and ensures compliance with privacy regulations.

Using secure websites. The security of your personal information also depends on how secure the websites you tend to visit are. To determine the safety of a website pay attention to URLs. Secure website’s URL starts with “https”. Also, secure sites usually have a lock icon that is positioned in the window of your browser.

Conclusion

Keeping your personal data safe online doesn’t have to be difficult – it just needs a little bit of effort. Simple methods, like using strong passwords for your accounts, adding 2FA, and exercising caution when using public Wi-Fi networks can help significantly increase the safety of your personal information.

I take the security of my personal data seriously, so I encourage you to join me and be proactive in taking security matters into your own hands. Applying extra security measures takes minimal effort and it will be worth it in the long run.