Digital privacy means selectively giving out personal information. Many of us give away or allow others to easily take too much of our personal information. Whether it’s usernames, emails, addresses, birthdays, or favorite colors, this information can all be used against us in the form of unwanted marketing, online account takeovers, or financial theft. Fortunately, there are a few easy steps we can all use to increase our digital privacy.
00: Private browser
Brave is going to provide the best out-of-the-box privacy. Brave is based on Google Chrome, so if you already use the most popular browser, you won’t notice much of a difference in user experience. Brave can be installed on your computer as well as your phone.
01: Ad-blocker
Only 37% of internet users use ad blockers, yet it is one of the easiest ways to increase your privacy and security online. If you switch to Brave, ad-blocking is automatically turned on. You should also add two extensions to your browser: uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger. These extensions go above and beyond simple ad-blocking by reducing hidden trackers and malicious URLs.
02: Search Engine
Maybe Google doesn’t have to know that I have toenail fungus. If you use Brave as your browser, congratulations! You don’t have to lift a finger because Brave uses its own privacy-focused search engine by default. DuckDuckGo and StartPage are two other good privacy-focused search engine options.
03: Password Manager
Many of us are making it easy on criminals by using poor password practices. Some of the most common mistakes we make are:
- using a password that is too short or simple like ‘1234’ or ‘password’ or ‘brian’.
- using the same password for all our accounts. Guessing the password gives a thief access to all your accounts.
- using a password composed of personal information like a pet’s name, relative’s name, or place of birth. This information can easily be discovered by a thief.
- Writing passwords on post-its stuck to our computers or desk.
Password managers are apps that make it easy to follow best practices when it comes to password creation. You just have to remember one password to open the manager. For each site, the manager will generate a unique password that is long and complex (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols).
The password manager will also auto-fill your credentials so you don’t have to manually type out your password every time you log in. Often that will tell you if a password or email address has been compromised.
Bitwarden strikes the best balance of security and ease of use. LastPass is another option. Both will sync with your computer and phone, plus include a feature that will tell you if a password has been compromised. If possible, avoid using the built-in password saving feature in your browser.
04: Lie about yourself
Many sites and apps ask for personal information when you create an account. Google, for example, wants to know your full name, birth date, and gender. Facebook wants to know where you live and what school you went to. So what’s the big deal if these companies know more about me? Companies can use the information to show you unwanted ads, they can sell the information to other companies, and thieves can acquire the information in order to break into your accounts.
You don’t have to tell the truth. These aren’t government, medical, or financial sites that need your exact legal identity so feel free to omit any information that’s not required or lie about what you can’t omit. Have some fun with it. Invent a made-up persona. If you’ve already created an account, take a moment to visit your profile and remove or change your personal information.
Security questions are another area where you can lie about yourself. These are those questions you answer if you forgot your password. Thieves will often use answers to security questions to gain access to an account. All it takes is a little research and someone can figure out your high school mascot, your mother’s maiden name, and the street where you grew up. Be sure to remember your fake answers or record them somewhere safe.
Tags: digital privacy privacy security