Tips To Protecting Your Online Privacy

By Author: Jack Luna
Total Articles: 4762
Comment this article

Chances are that you may not realize how popular you are. If you spend time online, people are learning about you. They learn your interests, your purchasing habits, your research tendencies, your recreational endeavors, your e-mail addresses and even information about your household and family.

Serious hackers, scammers and identity thieves are a determined group. They are determined to make your business, their business. And, they are good at it. If you are like most internet users, you may be unaware how far these pervaders of your privacy will go.

In the hands of an identity thief, your personal information can open access to your financial records, personal information, your credit record and more. According to a 2008 report from the Federal Trade Commission, millions of persons are victims of identity theft each year. Many of those incidents have online connections.

The most common online scam is known as phishing. Phishing usually involves an official looking but disguised request for personal information. The e-mail approach may appear to come from a bank or even a government agency. ...
... This official looking request may include a link or a phone number where the consumer will be asked for information. Sometimes prizes or false promises accompany the request. These contacts are dangerous vultures and their objective is not to award a prize or benefit but to build your profile.

While it is virtually impossible to enjoy the benefits of the internet without divulging some personal information, each user must exercise caution. Please follow the ten steps below to protect your online privacy.

1. Protect your personal information - sound businesses do not use pop-ups, e-mail queries or text messages to ask for personal information. Set a policy that you and your family will reveal no information over the internet unless the request comes for a known source that you are willing to have know your personal information.

2. Secure Yourself - Make sure that your security software is active. Keep anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software active. Only purchase this software from known providers.

3. Activate Cookies on Browser - Cookies are bits of information that web suites store on your computer. Cookies can consist of password and user id information, the user's motions through a web site, and other details the site may want to use for marketing information. By activating cookies, this information can be protected.

4. Stay Clean - Some activity requires the user to list an e-mail address. A good policy is to use a specific, alternate e-mail address for this type response. Keep your main e-mail address clean of unwanted responses and associations.

5. Stay away from spammers - Refrain from opening or responding to unsolicited bulk mailings. Also, avoid contact with sites or solicitations offering free gifts, guaranteed credit cards and things that are too good to be true. If they are that good, they are most likely a hoax.

6. Watch out at Work - When you are at work, your internet activity is most likely monitored. Refrain form personal contact through a work computer. In most states, this is legal oversight. If you are working, you are being watched.

7. Only if encrypted - If you are inclined to use a credit card or bank check online, make sure the receiving site is encrypted. As a policy, if the site is not encrypted for security, do not reveal credit card or banking information.

8. Understand the site's policy - Once you have considered an online offering, take on extra moment to thoroughly read the site's privacy and protection policy. Verify contact information and be wary of sites that do not list a physical address.

Last but certainly not least is to make sure that all users of the computer follow these same policies. If children are online, they should be taught to act responsibly. A few minutes of serious explanation can save a lot of heartache down the road.
About Author:
Who needs a personal privacy consultant? Anyone wanting to protecting your personal privacy, your assets and your life. Protecting your privacy involves many fields including, fictitious names, ghost addresses, medical records and bank accounts to name a few. Visit online at Invisible-Privacy.com/ for more information.