Most people these days operate some kind of online space, whether it be a website, blog, or social media profile. For instance, your website might be hosted with a secure web host; but if it’s not, It becomes important to be cognizant of the privacy concerns that come with this type of activity and take steps to protect your information. In this article, we will discuss some of the measures you can take to keep your data safe and secure.
1. Cloud Hosting Services
Many people are now using hosting services like Dropbox or Google Drive to store important information online. While these types of services can save you lots of time, they introduce new privacy concerns that must be considered before you sign up. With cloud hosting services, all data that falls into the public domain is susceptible to becoming indexed by search engines (ex: Google, Bing). If you don’t want your data to be easily accessible, consider using cloud storage services like iDrive or Boxcryptor. These special programs store files in an encrypted format that only the user has access to. However, keep in mind that if you are not careful, you will run out of storage space and need to upgrade the account or seek another solution.
2. Social Media Profiles
Social media profiles can expose a lot of personal information about you. If you are not careful, websites like Facebook can track your web browsing history and collect information on your location. To keep these kinds of activities from occurring, make sure to read the third-party privacy policies associated with all social media accounts. You should also always check for updates to their terms of service policies that could impact the extent to which they are allowed to sell or share your information with advertisers. If you are concerned, keep in mind that social media profiles are still not nearly as important to the average person’s online presence as a blog or website might be.
3. Websites
You need to be very aware of your website’s security if you expect any kind of traffic to it. You need to be sure that the web address (ex: www.websiteyourname.com) is secure, which means that it starts with an “https://” rather than just “http://”. This extra “s” stands for secure and tells the user that all data transmitted to and from your website is encrypted. Another important measure you can take is to set up a “Sitemap” page on your website where users can find all of the different pages associated with it. You can create a free account with Google Webmaster Tools and they can inform you of any mistakes or problems with your website that could be compromising its security.
4. Blogs
In a similar way to social media profiles, blogs can become compromised if you fail to address privacy concerns. To protect your sensitive information, it is always a good idea to use affiliate links whenever possible so that the party selling the product is the one that gets credit for your endorsement. This way, you can avoid having to provide your home address or any other personal information. You should also make sure not only to check the privacy policy on each blog you read but to use tools like Google’s Blog Search (http://blogsearch.google.com/) to find out what information other people are able to gather from your blog.
5. Other Online Data Sources
The web is full of all kinds of information about you, which means that it’s important to remember the security concerns associated with other online data sources as well. Some websites might require you to create an account just so you can use them, but don’t ever do this without first reading their privacy policy. If you aren’t sure whether or not to share your data with a particular website, it is always better to err on the side of caution. When considering your online data security, using a trusted QuickBooks solution can help safeguard your financial information.
6. Email
Never give out your personal email address online. This is the easiest way for hackers to find you and it’s very important to keep this information safe. You should also never use an unsecured account to sign up for other websites, as this could compromise your entire email address book if the website ever gets hacked. Even though Gmail is free, it is always a good idea to use this service since they are pretty skilled at protecting your information.
We hope that this article has helped you become more aware of the many ways in which your privacy can be compromised online. By taking a few simple steps, you can protect yourself from would-be identity thieves and hackers. Remember to always use secure web addresses, set up site maps, and encrypt all data transmitted between your website and your visitors. And most importantly, be sure to read the privacy policies of any websites or social media accounts before signing up for them.
