The Internet is a public space. Anyone with a computer and internet access can see what you share or even what you do online. And cybercriminals, government snoopers, identity thieves, and advertisers want to see what you see. When we go online, we share more about ourselves than we might think possible—everything from our credit card and medical information to our favorite websites and daily lunch orders.
With the right software, they can even access the information you don’t share in public. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect your privacy.
What is Privacy and Its importance?
In the age of technology, many of our everyday activities are recorded or observed by various entities. Data, like location history and search terms, are collected by social media, search engines, and online advertisers. Through the use of surveillance software and agencies, the government gathers information about our daily lives, communications, and activities. Companies keep records of our purchases and reading and entertainment habits.
Where has all of this data going?
The importance of privacy is most relevant in a democracy. When a democratic society is in place, such as the United States, individuals have certain rights that the government protects. Those in power have a duty to ensure that the citizens of the nation, who they are elected to represent, are protected from intrusions into their private lives.
How can you enhance your Online Privacy?
VPN surfer for Windows offers one of the most comprehensive solutions to maintain your online privacy and restrict what others can track of you. There are many reasons for using a VPN surfer. A VPN allows you to bypass geo-restrictions and access websites that are blocked in your country. For example, if you are traveling to China you want to use a VPN to access Facebook and Twitter but still don’t want to be tracked, then this can help. Let’s take a look at various features.
Profile lock features in social media platforms.
Social media is all about connecting with friends, family, and even random strangers. It has helped us stay up to date with each other’s news and has allowed us to communicate in a way that has never been possible before. However, some people have turned to social media for other reasons. There are those who post pictures of themselves in compromising positions or those who post about their private lives in a way that is likely to upset their friends and family.
That is why it is important that you can protect and secure your online presence. Profile lock features are a great way to secure your social media accounts, like Facebook, to ensure your privacy and confidentiality. It makes sure no one is able to view it completely or even download it to misuse.
Turning off Activity Tracking
After the fiasco of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, many people realized that even though they elected not to participate in the social network’s “opt-in” data-gathering program, their accounts’ activities were being tracked nonetheless. So, if you’re the type of person who prefers to browse in “incognito mode” or has blocked other websites’ cookies from tracking your browsing habits, you should probably check if your social media accounts can also track your behavior.
Most of them can, and there are a few ways to prevent this, such as using Privacy features in the browser, making sure to stop such tracker from downloading, hence turning off the activity tracking. You can visit anywhere, watch almost anything, but nothing related to it will be served.
Using VPN for browsing anonymously
A VPN, or virtual private network, is a service that will provide you with an anonymous IP address and secure your internet connection so that people cannot track what you do online. A VPN can be used to access websites that are blocked in your area (like Facebook at school). For this reason, a VPN is often used to protect your privacy and keep your browsing habits and personal information private from your ISP or government.
VPN creates a private network across the internet to send and receive data as if you were directly connected to the private network. This allows you to bypass the internet, blocks, and filters to anonymously access websites and other information. You can use a VPN for Windows to get all these features.
Use of Incognito mode
An incognito mode is a privacy tool that is used to browse the web without leaving any traces. The use of incognito mode has become indispensable for many people. They use this mode to remain anonymous on the web and keep their private information from being stored and collected by companies.
The use of the incognito mode is relatively simple. All you have to do is open up your web browser and click on the new Incognito icon that looks like a pair of glasses. This icon is usually located in the top right corner of your browser.
Once in this mode, most of the settings make sure the browsing is anonymous. However, make sure to go through the setting and check what is accessible.
Validating Apps access permissions
While there’s no such thing as a completely secure app, it is your job as the user to use common sense and be aware of the potential risks. One of the biggest mistakes people often make is to give an app more access than it actually requires to perform its function. It is always a good idea to check the app permissions an app needs before allowing them to be used.
Both Android and Windows offer privacy settings to check which app has access to things like Contact, SMS, Microphone, Location, etc.
Conclusion
When we use the Internet, we are often sharing more information with websites than we may realize. From IP addresses to browsing activities, websites collect data to fine-tune their website and boost sales. If you are concerned about your online presence being tracked, there are a few simple ways you can take to protect yourself. You can use a virtual private network (VPN) such as VPNSurfer, to change your IP address to a new one which is one way to hide your IP address and your identity from websites you visit.
