Protect Your Privacy on the Internet

 We spend more and more time online and need to be careful about the personal data that we submit. But how can that be done? Here are some things to watch out for when you surf the internet.

• Create a second email account for your private life. If you only use your company’s email address your employer may obtain personal data from you.
• Clear your Internet cache and your browsing history regularly. The information that is stored in there can easily be attained by certain programs.
• Be careful when you visit a website and give information about yourself.
• Be especially careful with online banking or money transfer systems.
• Cookies are small bits of information stored on your computer. Sometimes they are useful to store passwords or account names. But cookies can be used to collect a lot of information about your browsing habits. Every browser has options for cookie management. So you might want to activate them.
• Keep important data and sensitive files on your private computer and by no means on computers you share with others.
• Sometimes websites offer prizes or gifts in exchange for your email address and other information.
• Be aware of spyware and adware – software that is often installed without the knowledge of a user. It collects pieces of information from your computer. Use an antispyware or antimalware tool. Many of them are free.
• Make sure that your online forms are secure. They should be encrypted so that they can only be read by those who the information is really for.
• Anonymizers are servers that hide your real internet address, so that nobody knows who you are.
• Be careful about what kind of information you disclose on Facebook and other social networks.
• Never reply to spammers