“A global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities”.
Can you guess what does the above statement mean? If you say it means the Internet then congrats your instinct is correct. This is the simple definition of the INTERNET. Nowadays we share more information over the internet than what we share in the real world. From the time we wake up to the time we go to our bed we come across the internet many times. Nowadays the internet has become a part of our life.
But, As the number of internet users increased the people who use the internet for not-so-good things also increased.
BILLIONS of people are using the internet but the question is
“Is our personal information on the internet safe or compromised?”
To browse the INTERNET safely let’s follow these 5 simple techniques
1.Hide your IP with a VPN:
IP Address is like a digital address for your computer on the Internet. IP address is like your identity proof which is given to the other server whenever you connect to a website. IP address will also provide your location data. So, How can we stay private.?To Hide your IP you need a VPN.
So, Let me tell you how the VPN works in an easy way. Suppose if we want to connect to a website, your PC will request the server to open the website using your original IP address. When you use a VPN, your PC doesn’t request the server directly but the VPN server requests the website server for you and provide you with data. So, here your IP is masked and so is your Privacy.
VPN service protects your connection through the Internet by encrypting the data in the connection and hide your data traffic path. To ensure security, the private network connection is established using an encrypted layered tunneling protocol and VPN users use authentication methods, including passwords or certificates, to gain access to the VPN. I would prefer using a paid VPN services. I would suggest using a Nord VPN if you can afford it.
If you want to know more about the available VPN services and its working methods or anything related to security, please write to us.
2. Use Password Manager:
A good password manager is also an essential one. Remember passwords and auto-fill passwords options you have in your browser are quite handy but they are not as same as a good Password Manager. Features of these Managers can vary from one other but they all do the same thing --“Remember your credentials for a website and fill them when you visit the Log-On page of the respective website”.
Password managers also allows you to create unique and secure credentials for every website you log into, the best part being the passwords (can be any number in total) can be accessed only by a master password because of which our passwords are not stored in memory and this makes Data mining ineffective to some extent. Also, your master password is encrypted and saved locally or on a server. But, if you lose your master password then you can’t recover your account back. You can also add two-factor authentication for added security. We will discuss more about this two-factor authentication in later parts of this course.
When going for a Password Manager always go with a paid one.
3.Using HTTPS over HTTP :
The major difference between HTTP and HTTPS is that in HTTP the requests and responses are not encrypted. So, your data or info which is being transferred can be read which is really a problem to our privacy.
HTTPS uses TLS(SSL) to encrypt normal HTTP requests and responses. HTTPS also authenticates web servers. Authentication means verifying the person or machine who they claim to be. In HTTP there is no verification of identity - it’s based on the principle of trust. But, HTTPS authenticates the websites.
You can determine if a site is trusty worthy or not just by looking at the left-most corner of the address bar. If it has a green color padlock then it is secured as the data being sent and received is encrypted using a standard protocol(SSL). This padlock also means that the domain ownership has also been validated.
You can also use browser extensions like “HTTPS Everywhere” which opens HTTPS sites for you always.
4.Download software from Trusted Sources:
When you search for software on the Internet you can see that the same product and the same version is available from different sources. So, now where should we download from? We can get our software either from Known Publisher or from unknown Publisher.downloading from a known publisher is always the best thing to be safe. Always download the apps from secure sites and apps with a good reputation. If you are not sure about the origin or if you're not sure about it, then just don’t go for it, try for an alternative from a trusted source.
5. Turn on Two-Factor authentication wherever possible:
Two-factor Authentication (2FA) is a security process in which users have to go through two different authentication steps to gain access to their accounts. So, this adds an extra protection layer to your accounts and also makes it factor biometric hard for hackers to gain access to your account.Two-factor authentication requires the user to enter his account password, and there will be a second authentication where you need to provide a security token or two-factorbiometric to gain access to your account.
Google knows this, Facebook knows this, Banking companies know this. They know the real importance of this extra layer of security. Let’s assume that a Hacker got into your Computer somehow and now he has your Banking username and password but, you luckily have two factor authentication assigned to your account, in this situation you are on the safe side just because of your extra layer of security.
Some people find it tiresome to use this as it takes some extra time and some extra effort compared to the traditional ones but please remember that time and effort are not important when your privacy, money and ultimately,your data are compromised.
Conclusion:
so, on a ending note all I wanna say is that by following the above five methods we can't guarantee your complete security but you will have a better chance of survival in this cyber world.
please write to us if you have any doubts and also mention what topics you want us to write.
peace.
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