“I have nothing to hide,” was previously the natural reaction to legal enforcement monitoring operations that included cameras, border inspections, or casual questioning.
Privacy was originally seen to be a notion that was widely maintained in many nations, with minor tweaks to laws & regulations implemented here & there in the service of the greater good.
As monitoring grows more widespread in our everyday lives, privacy may no longer be seen as an inherent right – so it appears that we, too, were embracing our own particular kinds of online digital spying & stalking.
From online surfing to portable gadgets to Internet of Things (IoT) equipment put in our houses, every device has the possibility of jeopardizing our privacy & personal security, computer and network security, cyber security attacks & you can’t rely on suppliers or ever-changing monitoring policies to keep these alive.
Possessing “nothing to conceal” is no longer enough. We should all do everything possible to protect our privacy rights not just from government agencies and corporations, but also against one another. Taking the procedures listed below will not only provide you with some relief from the proliferation of surveillance methods, but will also help maintain you secure from cyber threats, scam artists, & a new, rising issue: electronic stalking.
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Is there a security concern with public Wi-Fi?
There’s no doubting that open Wi-Fi hotspots are useful, especially in this day and age where so many of us work from home. Nevertheless, when you employ one when you’re on the go without taking the necessary safeguards, you may jeopardise your privacy & security.
The issue regarding them is easy: you have accessibility to them, so does cyberattackers, which allows them to undertake (MiTM) Man-in-the-Middle attacks in order to spy on your operations and possibly steal your data, as well as modify traffic in so that they can you to hostile websites.
Hackers may get access to the data you provide over the Wi-Fi hotspot, ranging from but not restricted to emails, banking details, and login details. Hackers may even create their own malicious honeypot Wi-Fi stations that seem legal while taking the information of the people who link to them.
It is essential to avoid using public, unprotected Wi-Fi connections at all costs. When feasible, use a smartphone 4G/5G connectivity using your own smart phone as an alternate and significantly more secure manner.
If you require an internet service for a gadget other than the smartphone, one simple solution is to configure your smart phone as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot.
Other safeguards may be taken to ensure that a public Wi-Fi hotspot secure, but it’s never risk-free.
When connecting to a public Wi-Fi hotspot on Laptop, ensure that you choose “Public” whenever the choice appears, since this will allow the OS to turn off networking; switch off from the Wi-Fi link when it’s not being used. activate firewalls, and attempt to only access the site which use HTTPS.
Furthermore, avoid using the Wi-Fi hotspot to reach anything significant, such as a bank’s online banking service; instead, utilize a cellular internet and specific mobile apps.
Why, Where & When should you use a VPN?
(VPN) virtual private network is a method of establishing a secure connection among browsers & web servers. Packets of data are encoded before being transferred to a target server, which conceals IP addresses & your whereabouts. Many VPNs are also equipped with a ‘kill switch,’ which momentarily disables the internet access whenever your connection stops in order to maintain your online behavior secure.
VPNs are now commonplace. Many users solely use these programs to access geolocation-blocked information, including such websites & applications that are restricted in certain countries. For instance, a person in the US may pretend to be in the Great Britain, & vice versa.
However, in reaction to heightened monitoring, VPNs have grown in popularity, making them a popular alternative for researchers or people living in censorship-ruled nations. Furthermore, some firms will now need their workers to utilize a VPN while viewing corporate resources online, a requirement that may become more widespread as a result of employees being obliged to work at home owing to COVID-19 situation.
VPNs aren’t a panacea for privacy; far from it; however, they can assist in masking your presence online. It should be noted, nevertheless, that VPN use is prohibited in several countries.
VPNs: free vs. paid
Paid, premium services were frequently more reliable. Free solutions are frequently sluggish and have restricted broadband capacity. VPNs are expensive to operate, therefore providers would also need users of extra services to consent to alternate revenue streams, which may entail tracking & selling personal data.
Remember that when you use a free service, such as a VPN or Instagram, you are the commodity, not the client.
Passwords
This suggestion has been given several times, but it bears repeating: choosing difficult passwords is the initial line of protection you have had to safeguard your account information.
When you use many online services, you may find it tough to remember sophisticated login credentials; that’s where password vaults come in.
Password managers are specialist programmers that securely store the credentials needed to access the internet services. Instead of having to recall each group of credentials, such systems maintain everything in single place, accessible by a single master password, & will employ security methods like AES-256 encryption to avoid disclosure.
Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication (2FA), often referred to as two-step verification, is indeed a commonly used method for providing an additional layer of protection to your accounts & services once you have entered your password.
Its most frequent ways include an SMS, a biometric marker like a iris scan, fingerprint, pattern, a PIN number etc. Using 2FA adds an extra step to accessing your accounts & data, and although it is not failsafe, it may help safeguard your accounts – & password vaults.
Conclusion:
Risks to our security and privacy are always developing, and things may shift for the better – or vice versa – in a matter of years. Whenever it comes to encryption, then it’s a continual tug of war between governments & technology behemoths; cyber attackers are constantly evolving as well as inventing new methods for capturing us, some nations would rather restrict the concept of individual confidentiality than safeguard it, but now malicious actors are reaping the benefits of the damage wrought by COVID-19 to release salvos against businesses and individuals alike.
There for using VPN lowers the risk and setting up a good password gives extra layer of protection.
Also read: Cybersecurity Tips – How to Protect Against Cyber Attacks
