5 Simple Steps to Improve Your Digital Security

Everything you do online is recorded. Social media sites are collecting and selling your personal data, and even your ISP (internet service provider) can log, store, and even profit off your browsing habits.

With so many companies vying for your personal information, it’s never been more important to improve your digital privacy and security.

If you’re ready to take your personal information back into your own hands, here are five simple steps to follow.

1. Reign in those social media profiles

While Facebook and other social media sites may make it easier for you to stay in touch with your old high school friends, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that your data isn’t private. Your full name, relationship status, job title, family members, and area of residence are all readily available, and that’s just scratching the surface: highly personal details about your day-to-day life (including every post you’ve liked and every page you’ve ever clicked on) are not only stored online, they’re also collected and sold to random third-party companies.

In order to keep a low social media profile, your first step should be managing which types of data these apps are able to access. Take a few minutes to review your app’s permissions—especially your mobile ones. Depending on the particular app, you can manually change what types of personal data these apps are able to access fairly easily. Android users can follow this guide to review their app permissions, while iOS users should follow these steps.

2. Increase your privacy settings

One of the easiest ways hackers are able to access a person’s network is through exploiting a flaw in their outdated software. It might feel like a chore, but updating your devices is quite possibly the easiest and most effective way to help keep your data safe. Because developers are constantly rolling out new updates to patch known security flaws, these updates not only help your software run faster, they help safeguard it.

In addition to updating your devices, you should also make an effort to change your passwords at least once every fix or six months. Try to avoid using real names as passwords, as studies show that using your spouse, child, or pet as a password makes your accounts inexplicably more vulnerable. If you need help keeping track of all your robust passwords, consider arming yourself with a password manager. Most services offer a watered-down free version, which in most cases is usually more than enough.

3. Download an ad-blocker

While most sites depend on ads for revenue, the hard truth is that many of these so-called ads come with a multitude of privacy risks. Pop-up ads, in particular, are often filled with various trackers and malware, resulting in slower load times and an abundance of unwanted cookies that actively track your browsing habits.

In order to help streamline your browser settings and boost your online security, consider adding a free ad-blocker in the form of a browser extension. Readily available on most web browsers these days, these browser extensions automatically block any and all website ads, resulting in a smoother, safer, and faster web experience. And if you’re visiting a site you know and trust, you can actively disable your ad-blocking settings to allow the said site to run ads.

4. Invest in a trusted VPN

 If you really want to keep your data private, the single best option is to use a VPN (virtual private network). Once seen as a commodity, VPNs have become increasingly commonplace over the last few years for a variety of reasons. First of all, they’re able to anonymize any public network, meaning you’re able to browse on any public WiFi network without having to worry about your data being exposed.

Second, they able to mask your current location while you assume another. That means users in heavy internet-censorship countries like China can use a VPN to both encrypt their network and browse the web from the location of their choice.

VPNs are incredibly easy to use and generally cost between $5 and $10 a month. While free options do exist, they’re usually much slower and tend to be less secure.

5.  Use a private browser

Google may be the world’s most popular search engine, but it’s far from private. Every search query you make is logged and stored, meaning both your ISP and Google itself has a comprehensive record of everything you’ve ever searched for.

Sure, surfing on an incognito browser may hide your web activity from your cookies, but it doesn’t mean that you’re browsing anonymously. As said on BestPCtips.com: In addition to using a VPN, consider removing Google from the question altogether and turn to a more anonymous search engine like DuckDuckGo. It works the exact same, offers roughly the same search results, and is 100% anonymous.

While these tips are sure to give you an instant security boost, it’s important to make an effort to surf safely every day. This means keeping on top of your various social accounts, limiting which types of data your apps are able to access, and limiting your digital footprint.