How to protect your privacy online

The digital age means that private data is also used and traded. A growing number of Internet users are already concerned about data misuse. The University of Hohenheim recently confirmed this in a study. According to this, over 60 percent of German Internet users fear that their data could fall into unauthorized hands. This concern is not entirely unjustified. You must do something to protect your privacy if you want to protect your personal information from unauthorized access.

This is where the data octopus lurks

You can only protect your personal data on the Internet if you are always on your guard. Because fraudsters use every loophole that you leave open to them.

• Social networks

Check the security settings of your account regularly. Take advantage of the opportunities to protect your privacy.

• e-mail

Protect your primary email address, which is linked to security-related services such as online banking. Never use this address for less protected areas such as dating sites or similar portals. Set up alternative email addresses for such offers.

• WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS

Never use open networks. This would make it easier for fraudsters to access your data. Open WLAN networks are almost an invitation to collect data.

• passwords

Choose your passwords wisely. Combinations of letters are only supposed protection. Find out about the composition of secure passwords and how to remember them well. Or use a password manager.

• advertising

Advertisements on the Internet are not only annoying, they sometimes also hide tracking tools that you want to spy on. If you use a good adblocker, you not only avoid annoying ads, you also protect your privacy at the same time.

• tracking

Tracking is lurking everywhere on the internet. Shops, social networks or web analysis services want to know what users are doing. Good Internet security packages themselves contain functions that can prevent such tracking.

How to protect your privacy

Nowadays, almost complete monitoring of your surfing behavior is no longer a problem for cybercriminals. Accessing personal data is child's play for the experienced collector. Unless you use the appropriate tools on your part to prevent him from doing so.

• Always keep a close eye on the security of your privacy online. For example, you can use the Google tool 'About Me' to check what information you share with Google services. Find out what Google knows about you.
• You can also optimize the protection of your privacy under Windows. Look at your data protection settings and deactivate everything there that is not absolutely necessary. There is also special software that facilitates data-safe use of Windows 10 .
• There is freeware that automatically erases the traces you leave behind while surfing. Information such as tracking cookies or internet history is regularly removed. Surf even more anonymously with VPNs. If you don't want to pay extra for this service, you can use freeware for that as well. There are solutions that open a private mode in their own tab for websites that require special protection.
• Tools like Ghostery constantly protect you from being tracked. In addition to classic block lists, AI is also used. To protect your privacy, you should not rely on the usual on-board tools, but retrofit additional security tools.