Protect Your Internet Privacy

Protecting Your Internet Privacy is Very Important, but Often Hard, When You Want to Keep Your Information Safe!

If you are like me you love spending time surfing the internet for information. Not only can it be fun it can also be educational at the same time.

However, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the various risks that are awaiting you on the internet.

The Threats

Internet privacy seems to be more of a privilege these days than it is a right. The only people who seem to have that right are the ones who know how to take the steps to secure their computer with the right software.

Malware

It stands for malicious software, and is a term that is used to explain software that ends up on your computer with malicious intent, to both spy on you and invade your privacy.

There are a number of ways that malware can end up on your system and put your internet privacy at risk. Spyware and adware are just two of the most common ways, not to mention keyloggers, worms, viruses and trojans; among others. If you want to learn more about these threats, visit my malware page.

Email

Email is one of the main ways that people receive malware. No matter how much experience a person has on a computer almost everyone knows how to send and receive email messages. Email is a great way to keep in touch with people all over the world and it has become extremely popular.

Because of email's simplicity and wide spread use, it has become one of the easiest and fastest ways to spread malware; not to mention viruses.

Message Boards

Message board are known for users openly speak about various topics and can leave their name, information, or anything they want for other people to see. On some message boards you have the ability to leave URLs for downloads. This is were you can run into trouble.

I highly recommend that you do not download anything from a message board much less from someone you do not know. This is just asking for trouble. It is like handing the hackers and internet criminals a key to invade your internet privacy!

Online Forms and Logins

Many web sites like to collect personal information about their users in order to understand their visitors' needs. In most cases this is like a user registration. The website asks you for a certain amount of personal information, some of it required, as well as some questions about personal preferences and backgrounds. This, if used incorrectly, can become a major threat to your privacy.

This information can then be sold to other companies for a hefty profit, making your information publicly known. I suggest you never give out any information you don't want others to know about. I also suggest you read the websites' privacy policy. Read mine to see what I do with your information.

Cookies

Cookies are text files that collect and store data on your computer. These cookies are not always considered to be an internet privacy issue but they can be a problem if used in the wrong way.

Cookies can offer details on the IP address of your computer. Cookies can also tell a website owner how many times you have visited their site or your personal preferences, such as a preferred language. As I mentioned, cookies aren't necessarily an internet security problem though they have the capability of being considered malware and a privacy problem if they are being used for the wrong reasons.

Sometimes malware can be disguise as cookies and invade your computer once downloaded, this is why I see cookies as a threat. I should also mention that cookies install themselves without your knowledge or permission. This is another reason I see them as a threat.

My Recommendation

There are a number of ways that you can protect yourself.

• Be careful about what you say and do while you are on the internet
• Do not offer information over the internet you don't want publicly known
• Read the privacy policies of every website you are giving information to
• Do not download or open files from people you do not know
• Shop at sites that you trust and have a privacy policy you understand
• Purchase spyware removal programs that can help keep you protected

Remember: It only takes a few seconds to download spyware or malware onto your computer but it can take hours, days or even weeks to remove it once it's installed!

My Final Thoughts

If you are really serious about protecting your personal information on the internet I highly recommend you read my other articles on the subject.

Most importantly, remember you need to become proactive and start protecting yourself now, before you become infected! See my other page to learn how to protect yourself.