By Recently, there have been hacks and data leaks all over the internet. This is because hackers were able to access the personal information of many internet users. Your personal information is supposed to be kept confidential by you alone.
Today, some websites claim to provide information about almost anyone on the internet, and this is because they have your details. They may not have hacked into your details directly, but you might have given them willingly. When it comes to stealing personal information, there are many ways to get it. Be sure to find secure sites when filling out an application for instant personal loans.
Some websites may ask you to drop your email and details for special offers on a product, or they may purchase your details from websites you have an account. While this may sound weird to most people out there, it’s the ugly truth. Some organizations market your personal information to people because they do not care about your privacy. Information security is important if you don’t want your details leaked or hacked.
Nine Ways to Safeguard Your Personal Information:
- Don’t Fill All the Details in Your Social Media Accounts
Social media is one of the primary sources that contribute to personal information leaks. Most social media today requires you to fill your full name, password, mobile number, landline, email address and much more. Your details can, however, be leaked out instantly. When other users view your profile, they may see all your details and get your information from there. To minimize this risk, you must ensure you don’t fill all your details on social media, or you set your profile to private.
And only accept friend requests from people you know on social media because it helps reduce the risk of your personal data being stolen.
- Be Quick to Notice Phishing Links
Today, more and more hackers are trying harder to hack people with different methods online. Phishing is one of the most popular methods these hackers use to get personal information from people. A phishing page is a fake page that is designed like a particular page. It’s only made to collect your personal details. In order words, phishing pages serve as impostors.
To avoid being a victim of a phishing link, be smart enough to confirm links before clicking them. You have to protect your privacy by all means.
- Keep Your Physical Files Confidential
Your best friend could be a hacker, and you may not know. Don’t expose your physical documents to anyone, be it a credit report, birth certificate, etc. If you no longer use the material, you can get rid of it rather than making it public to everyone who visits you.
- Don’t Download Free Applications on Your Computer
On the internet, we can download many apps for free. While this is true, most of these free applications you find online contain malware that steals your personal data. When apps with malware are installed on your computer, it scrapes all you’re the personal data on your computer and sends it to the programmer of the software. To avoid such software with malware, it’s important you have an active antivirus program on your computer and browse the internet behind a firewall.
- Don’t Fill out Any Online Form You Don’t Trust
Some time ago while I was browsing a website and some random page just popped out asking me to fill my information, but I ignored it. You should do the same. Don’t fill forms on websites you don’t know with your details. These types are mostly used by survey sites where your information is stolen, and you’re not paid.
- Don’t Browse with Public Wireless Network
When you’re at a café or restaurant, and you connect to a public Wi-Fi, it’s important not to send your personal information when applying for online loans with instant approval over the network as it can easily be stolen.
- Check the Privacy Policy of Any Website You’re Visiting
Today, many websites have their privacy policy page, and this is perfect but sadly, most surfers today don’t read the privacy policy of websites they visit. A privacy policy describes how a website collects information from their clients or prospective customers and how this information is used. Some plans allow your privacy to be sold.
So it’s advisable you check on the privacy policy page of any website you’re visiting before submitting or filling your details.
- Avoid Unofficial Discounts on Products
Professional hackers know a discount is the best way to get your attention, so they have set up many websites that offer discounts on a product much larger than your favorite shopping store. When you click on these products, you’ll be asked for your credit card details as well as other personal information.
Discounts are another clever way to steal your personal information and to avoid this, and you must make sure to confirm from your favorite shopping stores if they offer discounts on an individual product as seen on other web pages.
- Check Your Old Items for Any Details before Selling Them Off
If you have old items such as phones and computers that you need to sell, be sure to check them if any of your personal information is still there. You can also perform a factory reset on those items to erase any hidden information.
These are the best ways to safeguard your personal information from hackers, and you should consider them if you don’t want your personal information to be all over the internet.
