Privacy Protection Tips
Privacy is such a huge concern now. With all of the news surrounding the NSA, leaks from high-up sources, and skepticism offered up by websites and news channels, it's tough to know when your privacy is at stake and when it's not.
Here's one word of advice: don't become overly paranoid. Really. The world is stressful enough. You don't have to worry about your privacy at every turn – and you can worry even less with these great privacy tips.
8 Privacy Protection Tips You Haven't Heard Of:
1. Log Out : every day, I see countless people log in to sites…and never log out. Instead of clicking that ‘log out' button, most people just close the page they were viewing. That's not good enough. Make sure that you always log out.
2. Decline Details : I know that this is really hard to do when the excitement of a new purchase is hanging in the air, but don't give the person behind the register your email, phone number, or other details. Most of the time, you'll be met with a vacant stare and (sometimes) the person might get a bit angry with you – but just don't. You don't need to worry about your details getting into the wrong hands.
3. Pay In Cash : As a personal finance writer (most of the time), I could lecture you about paying cash instead of relying on credit – but, I won't. I will say, however, that you should really pay for items in cash when you can. This way, there's no tracking what you did and didn't purchase.
4. Do the Two-Step : So, Google has a thing called two-step authentication. Enable it. This security feature exists, so that it's downright impossible for people to hack into your Google accounts (this doesn't include Google, but I digress).
5. Encrypt Everything : this includes your laptop or desktop. Lock that sucker down every single day, and make sure to require a password in order to get into it. When you're down with work, shut down your system completely and go offline.
6. Alerts About You : you might have set up Google Alerts for a particular topic or keyword, but what about for your own name? If you post something online (or someone posts it for you), you will want to know, right? Google can tell you when your name pops up.
7. Go For Tor : hiding your IP address is the best way to make sure that you are really safe while browsing. One of the best tools available is TOR. We don't need to cover this here, since Tor has already been written about extensively on this site.
8. Use Secure Connections : we've all been tempted to check a bank account when using a public WiFi connect, but I will warn you not to do this. As dire as it might seem, just don't. You can always call your bank, or find a secure connect (or ATM machine). It's just not worth it!
Do you have some privacy tips to share? Let us know!
