2. Search Engines, particularly Google, are constantly
pulling data about where you search, where you are from, what you buy and
almost anything you carry out through their services. This has only gotten
worse with Google accounts, Android phones and Chrome, as all these services
make it easier for them to grab your data whenever you are using them. Have you
ever wondered why the adverts that pop up when you are browsing sometimes seem oddly
tailored to sites you visit regularly, or have visited recently? It’s because Google
uses your browsing data to target the adverts you are shown. While it often is comparatively
innocent use, it can still be nerve-racking giving that much of your personal
data away, and being sold to unsolicited. Thankfully, using secured browsers
and search engines can help reduce the chances of your data being pulled, https://duckduckgo.com/ is a great secure search
engine.
3. If you have a lot of private digital documents we would
highly recommend not storing them on your computer or a standard USB flash
drive – if you misplace these, or they get stolen, you will lose all of your
private data, which could then be picked up by people happy to exploit it. We
would recommend an encrypted USB flash drive, which can be protected by
password and data encrypted, menaning that your data will have thorough
protection no matter what you do with your flash drive!
4. Though these days most people use password-protected
router at home or work, many still don’t, and this is one of the easiest ways
for opportunist criminals to access your private data and install spyware and
viruses to your network. Even aside from the privacy risks, if people ‘piggyback’
on to your WiFi they may access illegal material (such as pirated media), which
can come back on you as it is difficult to prove who has been using the
network, or they could download excessive amounts of data, taking your over
your monthly download limit and incurring charges. Password protected WiFi just
makes sense all around.
