There is a popular saying in the industry, and it goes “privacy is a myth”, which is more or less true. Nobody wants to share personal details, documents, files, and access to the account in public, which requires strong protection. You cannot secure anything if you firmly believe in “privacy is a myth”. Every individual with a smartphone, PC, laptop, and connected to the internet should take proper measures to prevent breaches. Allow us to introduce you to online privacy breaches and how you can protect yourself from them.
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What is a privacy breach?
Millions are online and have accounts with Google, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and its relative products.
What if a random user logs into your account?
What if the random user accesses your account and posts lewd content on your behalf?
What if a random user sends direct messages to friends, clients, and customers inappropriate texts?
What if someone copies your private photos, videos, documents?
Post all copied content online on the dark web?
We all have secrets that should remain within ourselves, and no matter what, we cannot allow them to be made public without our consent.
The word ”WHAT IF” describes a privacy breach and now you know why you cannot allow it.
Identity Theft
Cybercrimes have increased in a short period and the global pandemic has encouraged privacy invaders to find new ways to exploit you. A hacker will collect your personal details and create a profile online that resembles you. The invaders will pose as you and demand whatever they can from the clients, customers, and audience. You have to take measures beforehand and subscribe to cybersecurity leader services.
Data Breaches
A survey has revealed that 65% of the hacked accounts credentials came from data breaches. Hackers try to break popular websites and services websites, and they copy the user database details. They share the stolen database files on the dark web, so other like-minded organizations can exploit the users.
Unfortunately, my primary email address connected to banking services and Social Security ID is compromised in seven data breaches. Professionals should subscribe to online privacy service to prevent account security.
Online Ad Frauds
I have witnessed hundreds of websites set up by scammers to loot money from you. I would like to give you an example, so you can comprehend the situation and focus on preventing it in the future.
YouTube channels are getting hacked by the invaders, and they are streaming on the platform with fake advertisements. The invaders were Live Streaming on the channel illegally and promising to double the Bitcoins.
Now, I’ll give you another example, where reputed YouTube creators are fooling people into selling cryptocurrency to the audience.
Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency scheme was a pump and dump deal, which led to several FaZe members getting suspended from the org. They can set up a “buy now” page that can copy credit card details and that can lead to carding.
The Information Hub
Social media is a go-to platform to find out the personal information of random people. I know several acquaintances, who don’t care about privacy, and they end up uploading photos, videos, date of birth, and other personal information online.
Limit what you share online including family photos, and what you own because that’s how someone can find out how much wealth you have built so far. Do not let invaders exploit the weakness, so limit the amount of personal information you share online.
Browse in incognito or private mode
Browsers are designed to save a lot of information, so they can load the pages faster next time you open them. However, it stores a lot of cookies, cache, saved form data, and more. Let me tell you that websites such as social media, search engines, and other sites can take a look into it.
Firefox: New Private Window – Ctrl + Shift + P
Chrome: Incognito Mode – Ctrl + Shift + N
Private Mode won’t store Cache, Cookies, History, and other browsing data after you close the browser.
Virtual Private Network
The ultimate protection is Virtual Private Network (VPN), and it is the primary solution journalist, army personal, secret agents, politicians, and other individuals use to go anonymous online. Mark five points before choosing a VPN provider because security is mandatory here.
A. Country of origin and its data laws. European countries have the best data law protection, and that’s what you want to prevent governments and authorities’ intervention.
B. VPN service provider history.
C. Number of locations and cross-platform support.
D. Download and upload speeds.
The service provider should have a registered business in a country, where Data Protection Laws are strong.
Bottom Line
We cannot ignore internet services, and it benefits anymore because it is part of our lives officially. Pay attention to the minor details and protect yourself from security breaches that lead to multiple problems. Get a strong antivirus solution, anti-theft solution and follow simple methods to protect your privacy.
