5 Simple Online Safety Tips to Protect You and Your Data

The internet can come back to bite you. What you post to your public profile after a night out in college could seem harmless, but it might be the reason you're not hired for your dream job ten years later. Or you might be dealing with hackers, who mine your unprotected information and use it to steal your credit card or identity.

Therefore, it's important to stay safe online; you want to make sure your data and information is kept out of the wrong hands. To understand internet safety, it's important to understand what is ssl, and how that has evolved into tls—or the current way internet connections are kept secure. It's also important to follow these tips.

1. Be Careful of What You Choose to Post and Make it Private

There are some things that are just unnecessary in a Facebook or Instagram profile; you wouldn't include the hospital you were born in or how many times a day you eat rice in an "About Me" section. Similarly, it's unnecessary to include your home address or social security number; those are private, and if in the wrong hands, could be damaging. Make sure you're only including necessary information on an online profile, and saving personal details for only when they are needed.

On top of that, it's important to keep your privacy settings on. Hackers can learn a lot about you from your social media usage and internet browsing, even if what you're posting or surfing through seems innocuous. Don't forget to take advantage of privacy settings on web browsers and major websites, so that what you put out online stays between you and people you know.

2. Choose Strong Passwords

It's easy to choose a password you know you'll remember, like YourName123 or Password00. However, a hacker will easily guess something that is penetrable; it's worth it to memorize a more complicated password to keep your data safe. A strong password is about 15 characters long, with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. If you're worried about remembering it, write it down and store it in a safe place or use a secure app that keeps a record of all your passwords.

3. Only Online Shop From Reputable Websites

Unfortunately, there are countless fake websites on the internet that will try to sell you cute shirts and shoes only to steal your payment information and give you nothing in return. Before you buy anything, make sure the website you're using is both secure and reputable. A secure website starts with "https," with the s standing for secure; websites will try to trick you with just a "http," but don't fall for it. Additionally, read some reviews from past buyers to make sure the products they ordered were delivered on time and in good shape—if delivered at all. If the website checks all the boxes, then proceed with your shopping spree.

4. Be Careful Talking With Online Strangers

You've definitely heard the horror stories about people being cat-fished; a woman thinks she's met the love of their life online only to meet up and find that the person was not who they said they were. It is way too easy to create a fake online profile and claim to be someone else, so it's important to be wary of who people say they are online to avoid being disappointed or in danger.

5. Don't Download Just Anything

A big way for cybercriminals to get access to your data is by tricking you into downloading malware, or programs that try to steal your information. Therefore, it's important to make sure what you are downloading is from a secure website, so that you're not downloading anything that can hurt you in the long run.

As the internet plays an increasingly large role in everyday life, it's important to know how to be safe and protect your data. Think about future employers or romantic partners—you don't want that embarrassing photo to end up in the wrong hands, do you?