Prior to this weeks module, I had been considering my own personal browsing habits and digital security. It’s not a secret to anyone that your browsing history is being monitored and tracked, then fed back to you via ads on social media, whether it be Facebook or Instagram. I see this time and time again on my personal feeds. It seems like you can say the name of a company, I’ll use Hello Fresh as an example, and then see Hello Fresh or other meal delivery services pop up into your feeds. It doesn’t matter if you’ve previously clicked on the ad or not.
I, through my job, have recently discovered that they will provide me with a VPN at little to no cost to me. I wasn’t quite sure what that entailed or why I should use one, so I started doing a little research on the matter. I, like TJ McCue in this article from Forbes, thought that my internet searches in private mode were safe from prying eyes. How foolish I’ve been. If you use your mobile device to do any online banking off of your own private wifi network, then you need a VPN. It’s too easy for our personal information to get into the wrong hands nowadays with out us just handing it out unknowingly.
With the exception of the VPN, I do not plan on doing anything differently. I’m sure my passwords could be more elaborate, but I still have to remember them. I do not keep them saved in my browser, I use a password keeper to assist in remembering them all. I do not use any plugins or weird apps on my phone, although I probably use more apps than I should. It seems like there is an app for everything!
When doing reading on what you can do to protect yourself digitally, most articles end up with most of the same items. This article from Forbes seems to be a generality of most of them. When I looked at it, I noticed that I do most of the things anyway. I keep my software updated on my laptops and mobile devices and I have two factor authentication set up as well. I think most of us are aware of scams, or at least that they happen daily. I don’t over share on social media either. Something else that is suggested is to have more than one email address, one for sensitive information and one for everything else.
Now that we’ve gotten the easiest items out of the way, onto the harder ones. It’s also recommended to take inventory of your accounts. That’s easier said than done often times. Another one is to read all fine print. Now, I don’t know about you, but I am horrible at reading the fine print on terms and conditions at times. I should be better, but face it, who wants to sit and read through all the legalese of iTunes terms and conditions just to do a simple update.
One of the major things that was mentioned, perhaps the most major, is don’t share your social security number. Everyone needs it nowadays. Granted, it’s not on our driver’s licenses anymore thank goodness, but when was the last time that you went to a new doctor and filled out paperwork and you weren’t asked. Anytime a new account of any sort is opened in our names, that is the first number that the company wants. And that is the primary number that we need to keep safe above all else.
It’s not easy out there and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. You have to be able to protect yourself. You have to equip yourself with the tools and the knowledge to protect yourself because no one else is going to.
