The Best Ways To Secure Your Online Identity

As the world has become more digital and online, the rise in cybercrime and data breaches has followed. The ways cybercriminals have opted to target their victims are becoming more nuanced and creative – it has never been more dangerous to be online than today. Cybersecurity is still something that has yet to become a mainstream practice, as we’ve seen with huge corporations like Yahoo – they had a data breach that leaked millions of individuals’ data and information out to the public. 

It makes sense – we have seen recent reports that have said data is becoming more valuable than oil, and cybercriminals are not the only ones chasing after this new-found digital gold. Nefarious third parties find new ways to track and spy on you while you browse online. It has never been harder to remain safe and anonymous.

Whether it is your ISP (Internet Service Provider),  a business wanting your data for advertising reasons, or a cybercriminal looking to hack into your accounts, there is always a threat online. Even with online tools like a VPN or a residential proxy free trial, you need to take on actions that keep you secure and sealed online.

You can thankfully find different ways online to secure your online identity and protect yourself today:

Use Privacy & Security Tools

While there are many threats in cybercriminals, hackers, or third parties that are trying to steal your data, there are free tools online you can use too. These tools are antiviruses, firewalls, VPNs, and proxies that can help you shore up your security and become more private online. An antivirus will work to keep your PC healthy – it will monitor the things on it and flag anything that could be malicious or harmful to your computer system and fix any leaks or faults from within.

A firewall can work to be a filter between your home network and the world of the internet. It will monitor the incoming and outgoing internet traffic and make the necessary moves to protect you from any dangerous files that are within your internet traffic. A VPN and proxy can work in tandem to get you privacy on the internet, which comes with more protection as it makes you less visible when it comes to hackers. 

Secure Your Passwords

There might be nothing more annoying than forgetting your password for an important account, then getting locked out. Another thing that can be equally as bad is seeing your passwords leaked in a data breach. Unfortunately, it is becoming commonplace where a big corporations like Yahoo are suffering data breaches. This means that millions are losing their passwords, login details, and personal information to hackers and cybercriminals, both of whom can cause serious damage with these things.

Thankfully, there are password manager tools that are free and can revitalize and fix your password management strategy in minutes. Firstly, they can scan for data breaches where your password or login details for your accounts may be online. They will then recommend you to change them, and can generate unique passwords for every account you have. This will usually be a 14 length password with randomly generated letters, numbers and symbols with mixed capitalization. This password can be safely saved and remembered by the password manager, giving you a solid password protection in minutes. A good tip is to add a comma in your passwords, as this can ruin the CSV files for when hackers export data breaches and try to use them.

Employ Two-Factor Authentication

A very underutilized tool for being secure and safe online is two-factor authentication. There is a ery clear reason why the biggest and best tech companies around the world have it mandatory that their employees use two-factor authentication for work computers – it renders passwords and logins almost useless, creating the need to verify the person using the computer. It is a fantastic method of online security that can be done easily and safely all the time. You can get an RSA token or even activate the 2FA from your phone or a tablet. A simple piece of software or app is all you need to be able to login safely and not worry about what happens to your passwords or logins.

Be Smart On Social Media

Finally, one of the more obvious yet lesser followed ways to be more secure online is to be savvy on social media. People who use social media like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter everyday unknowingly post their key personal information which can be invaluable for a cybercriminal. They can use this information to look at ways they can answer your personal security questions through you putting pictures of your first pet online, or detailing your childhood home on an Instagram post. It is better to be smart and secure than overly sharing online.