In today’s digital era, new and emerging technologies have transformed the ways in which we interact with media. While serving as a powerful tool for information and connectivity, the internet concurrently presents various threats that necessitate proactive awareness and precautions. This consolidated guide goes beyond the surface, distilling essential insights to provide a comprehensive overview of internet literacy, safety protocols, potential dangers, effective preventative measures, and key tips to navigate the digital landscape securely.
Digital Media Literacy
In our information-driven world, the reliability of our knowledge is paramount for making informed decisions across various aspects of life. With a seemingly infinite amount of content available at our fingertips, it can be difficult to tell which stories are true and which are not. Checking the credibility of sources is crucial for navigating this information landscape, as the reliability of information largely depends on the credibility of its origin. Trusted institutions, well-established news agencies, and well-known experts typically adhere to standards, reputation, and accountability tools, providing assurance of reliable information. By verifying the source, you’re ensuring you’re not being misled and making sure that what you’re learning, believing, or sharing with others is as close to the truth as possible.
However, even if you have chosen a trustworthy source, you still have to apply a healthy amount of skepticism when dealing with digital media content. Critical thinking emerges as a key skill as it allows you to sift through the dearth of information, enabling you to discern relevant facts from misleading content, identify biases, and make informed decisions.
The privacy paradox
Don’t give away more information than necessary
As you make your way through the myriad of sources that are available on the internet, you have most likely visited websites that have asked you to accept cookies used for tracking and analytics. Your first instinct is to decline the request, so you look for the easiest way to opt out of everything, only to find that you cannot access their content. So, reluctantly, you go back, accept everything, and after a few seconds, the matter fades from your thoughts. This is a common example of the privacy paradox: the discrepancy between people’s intentions to protect their online privacy and their actual behavior online. In other words, it shows how people claim to be very concerned about their privacy, but actually do very little to protect their personal data.
The fatigue of navigating through seemingly constant consent banners to reject various cookie types eventually leads people to give up and accept everything they initially opposed, simply relieved to finally access the content they have been looking for. Why does the privacy paradox happen? Users often choose immediate gratification over protecting their privacy. You might find yourself succumbing to the privacy paradox every day.
Companies know that users are likely to compromise on their online security ideals and they use that information to their advantage by assuming that people will likely disclose more personal information than they need to. Companies want more customer data, customers say they won’t give them any more data than they have to, yet they freely provide their personal data. Companies are aware of the dilemma the privacy paradox poses to users, and the associated affordances for companies’ bottom lines.
While it is tempting to view cookies as irritating little things that are inextricably linked to your shopping cart, it is important to remember that not all cookies are created equal. Cookies can be malicious, as cybercriminals can use them to detract personal information or infect your device with malware.
Which leads us to the question, to what extent do we surrender our privacy when surfing the web? The responsibility lies with each individual to assess this, as making sense of the privacy paradox starts with an understanding of these compromising behaviors and deciding on breaking free from habits that can compromise online privacy.
Digital Hygiene
Digital hygiene is the practice of maintaining a healthy and secure online presence. In our interconnected world, it involves safeguarding personal information and adopting responsible online behavior. By embracing digital hygiene, individuals can protect their privacy, enhance cybersecurity, and navigate the digital landscape with confidence and resilience.
Passwords and Updates
To bolster your online security, start by regularly updating your operating system and antivirus software to stay ahead of potential threats. Software updates often include patches that fix vulnerabilities or bugs that hackers can exploit to access your system or data. By installing the latest updates, you can reduce the risk of cyberattacks and protect your personal and business information. Setting robust passwords with a mix of characters, changing them regularly, and steering clear of common choices, is a surefire way to keep opportunistic cyberthieves away from your personal information.
VPN
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can help in ensuring internet safety. By encrypting your internet traffic and concealing your location, a VPN prevents hackers from intercepting your data and safeguards your online activity from your ISP. However, not all VPNs are created equal. Using a free VPN may negatively impact your safety on the Internet. Some free VPNs are known to spy on users or sell their browsing activity to third parties like marketers. Users of free VPNs with poor security protocols may also be vulnerable to malware attacks.
Close Unused Accounts
While the idea of finding, recovering, and deleting old, unused accounts can be a pain, these accounts still pose a security threat. Having a plethora of unused accounts on the internet leaves more targets for opportunistic cybercriminals. You can Identify and recover your unused accounts by checking your web browser’s saved logins, password managers, and third-party services linked to large platforms such as Facebook and Google. Utilize websites like Haveibeenpwned.com, checkusernames.com, knowem.com, namecheck.com, and usersearch.org to search for old usernames. Recover passwords by using the recovery options on login pages or contacting companies directly. Locate account deletion options in settings menus or consult official support pages, forums, FAQs, or privacy policies to delete old accounts.
Consider encrypted services
Encrypted tools make it almost impossible for unauthorized people to read your communications. A secure messenger service with end to end encryption, such as Signal, WhatsApp, and Telegram, can keep your online conversations free from prying eyes.
Backup Data
Sometimes organizations may experience unforeseen events like human error, system failure, or natural disasters. In order to protect your workflow, it is advisable to regularly create backups on external drives, or a cloud based solution. Many organizations follow the 3–2–1 backup strategy. This involves having 3 Copies of Data, on two different storage types, with one copy being off-site.
And the last, but not the least
Staying safe online involves adopting smart cybersecurity practices, staying alert to potential threats, and taking proactive steps to safeguard your personal data. Equipped with this information, you can be confident in navigating the digital world, not only protecting your personal data, but also applying these insights at work.
Acknowledging employees as potential access points for cyberattacks (we covered some of that information in Cybersecurity and Cybercrime), companies invest heavily in training to consolidate their defenses. However, proactive employee training is just one aspect of data breach prevention; businesses must also implement robust cybersecurity solutions. In light of the increasing amount data breaches, the idea of running an on-premise secure file server gains significance. This approach eliminates the need to trust third-party cloud services with potentially intrusive trackers and cookies. When you host your SFTP server on-premise, as Syncplify Server! allows you to retain complete control over your data’s physical location and security measures. This eliminates the reliance on a third-party cloud provider, which, despite their robust security infrastructure, introduces an additional layer of risk. Here’s a breakdown of the advantages:
Reduced Trust Dependence:
· No reliance on vendor security: By keeping your server on-premise, you don’t have to trust a cloud provider’s security practices, potential vulnerabilities, or even government mandates that could expose your data.
· Internal security control: You have full authority over access controls, encryption methods, and other security measures, allowing you to tailor them to your specific needs and compliance requirements.
· Reduced attack surface: With your server within your own network, it’s less exposed to external threats and attack vectors common in public cloud environments.
Enhanced Data Privacy:
· Minimal data transit: Data stays primarily within your own infrastructure, minimizing external transmission and its inherent risks of interception or leakage.
· Data sovereignty compliance: Certain regulations might dictate where sensitive data must reside, and an on-premise server ensures compliance with these geographical restrictions.
· Reduced risk of vendor data breaches: While cloud providers invest heavily in security, data breaches still occur. Keeping your data on-premise minimizes the potential impact of such breaches on your sensitive information.
