Maintaining privacy when browsing the Internet is very important for users. Our data can be stolen in many different ways through different methods used by hackers. Luckily we also have many techniques and tools at our disposal that keep us safe. However, common sense ends up being the most important thing. In this article we are going to explain why we should maintain anonymity online . We will also give some tips for this.
The importance of maintaining anonymity online
Why is it interesting to remain anonymous when browsing the Internet? We must bear in mind that our data on the network has a great value. There can be many types of attacks that we can suffer in order to steal our data and in this way include us in spam campaigns, send us targeted advertising or even sell them to third parties.
Avoid targeted attacks
One of the most important issues that we must take into account when exposing our data on the network is that we can be victims of targeted attacks . This basically consists in that when obtaining our data they can create more personalized attacks that are directed at a specific user.
For example we are talking about Phishing attacks. Attackers can collect information from the victim and create a custom attack. In this way they can have a greater probability of success.
Protect ourselves from spam
Of course, improving privacy and anonymity online will also protect us from spam . If we leave exposed data on the network, we may be victims of targeted advertising and being part of spam campaigns.
It is important, for example, never to write in open forums and make our data, such as e-mail, public.
Data sale
Our data can also be used to sell them online. Many marketing companies basically do this and look for ways to steal data and then sell it to third parties.
Avoid phishing
Anonymity is also important to avoid identity theft . The more data they have about us, the more likely they are to impersonate our identity. This is a problem, since they could create profiles on social networks with our name, for example.
How to improve privacy and anonymity online
Luckily we have at our disposal a series of tools that we can use to improve our privacy on the web, as well as advice on good practices. In this way we will be more anonymous and our data will be less exposed.
VPN
One of the tools that we can use to surf the web anonymously and thus improve privacy are VPN services . As we know what this type of tool does is encrypt our connections. It is very useful if we are going to connect from a public network, for example.
We have at our disposal a wide range of possibilities. There are free and paid services. They are available for both desktop and mobile devices. We leave you a list with the best free VPNs .
Use more private browsers
The possibility of using browsers based on privacy and security must also be taken into account. There are some such as the Tor browser that protects our data much better and prevents us from having privacy problems.
Caring for information on social networks
Of course social media is very important. We constantly expose a lot of information there. Now, is it really necessary to give so much information about ourselves? Maybe it’s better to avoid that and be a little more anonymous. In this way we can improve privacy and avoid problems like the ones we have mentioned.
Browse encrypted pages
Finally, when browsing the Internet we must take into account certain common sense guidelines. One of them is to navigate through reliable and encrypted pages. We already know that entering personal data on unencrypted HTTP sites can be a problem for privacy.
