Protecting Your Privacy

By Corinne Feight

According to a journalist at Forbes magazine, Kashmir Hill, we are forgetting to do even the simplest things to protect our privacy. Yet what may seem like ease of convenience to us actually allows others to access our personal information by just the click of a button. We need to be more cautious, especially in this extremely technological world. Hill provides ten easy steps to help us maintain our privacy and stop the casual intruder.

1.     Password protect your devices: Smartphone, iPad, computer, tablet, etc.

So what if it’s a little inconvenient? Hill states that this is the digital equivalent to leaving your home or car unlocked. Maybe no one will notice, but what if someone does? They have access to all of your e-mails, your call history, your pictures, and your text messages. This is not even to mention that many times people leave their social media sites logged in on their Smartphones and computers. That’s a lot of access for someone, even if they only get five minutes.

2.     Put a Google Alert on your name.

This takes seconds to accomplish. If you visit this site, you can have any mention of your name sent to you by e-mail. Hill recommends entering your name, and variations of your name, with quotation marks around it. This will help you monitor what is being said about you online.

3.     Sign out of Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc. when you’re done.

This will help prevent someone from later sitting down and logging into your accounts. People forget to do this daily—many with less extreme consequences like status changes; however, most people do more than just post a status while they’re logged in. Take this off of your list of things to worry about.

4.     Don’t give out your e-mail address, phone number, or zip code when asked.

Stores will often ask you for this information when you are making a purchase. You can say no. Don’t feel bad. If you do, just say that your number is unlisted.

5.     Encrypt your computer.

According to Hill, encrypting your computer means that someone has to have your password (or encryption key) in order to peek at its contents should they get access to your hard drive. On a Mac, you just need to go to ‘Setting Preferences,’ ‘Security,’ ‘Privacy,’ and go to the ‘FileVault’ tab. Choose ‘Turn on FileVault’ and you’re done. PC users can use Bitlocker.

6.     Gmailers, turn on the 2-step authentication in Gmail.

This simple little step turns your phone into a security fob—in order for you Gmail account to be accessed from a new device, a person needs a code that’s sent to your phone. This means that even if someone gets your password somehow, they won’t be able to us it to sign into your account from a strange computer. Just make sure your phone battery is charged and be wary when travelling abroad. Hill says that as an alternative you can just turn off this setting when you are abroad or phone-less.

7.     Pay in cash for embarrassing items.

This guarantees that a purchase will not be tracked back to you.

8.     Change your Facebook Settings to ‘Friends Only.’

While many people have already done this, plenty of Facebookers still have not. Especially as students, we need to be extra careful of what we are putting online. It is a tough enough job market as it is. Don’t make yourself more vulnerable. Also, if your settings are ‘Custom,’ watch the ‘Networks’ you may be sharing with.

9.     Clear your browser history and cookies on a regular basis.

Consider changing your settings so that it is automatically cleared every session. On a Mac, clicking on ‘Private Browsing’ in your Internet toolbar easily does this. Hill states that this will reduce the amount you’re tracked online.

10.  Use an IP masker.

Every time you visit a website, you leave information behind in the form of IP information. You can mask your computer’s footprint, which at the very least gives away your approximate location and service provider. You can download software to do this or use a browser-based option.

Don’t let yourself fall into these easy traps. Start protecting your online presence now!

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/08/23/10-incredibly-simple-things-you-should-be-doing-to-protect-your-privacy/2/