4 Suggestions On How To Protect Your Digital Identity
Our online identities are obviously not our true identities in the real world, but online hackers can glean a lot of information from our online presence.
Because of this, it is important to be extra cautious in this modern world where everyone shares everything online.
If you are worried about your information being shared online, take a look at the four suggestions below for how to better protect your digital identity.
Don’t Share Your Whole Life Online
We have all been guilty of sharing big life events online and maybe other more insignificant information with our friends and followers. Sharing online is a popular way to stay connected with friends and loved ones, especially if you do not see them very often, but oversharing could be your downfall if you are not careful.
Under no circumstances should you ever post your full home address or any other important personal details on social media because you never know who could be perusing your profile for information. This not only applies to addresses and phone numbers, but you should also never post online when you are about to go on a vacation. If you post that you are about to leave your home for ten days to go to the beach, online lurkers might see that and try to pull a Home Alone scheme on you.
Social media posts should stay in the range of fun pictures, life updates like weddings, graduations, and birthdays
Create Secure Passwords
It is so tempting to use variations of the same password for everything, and we have all been guilty of doing it, but the more you use basically the same password, the more likely it will be hacked. If a hacker can get into one of your accounts with a certain password, then they can most likely figure out the passwords to all of your accounts. If this happens, all of your information could be in jeopardy.
Creating a secure and unique password for every single one of your accounts will prevent a total takeover of your online identity. If you dont have any inspiration for a new password, you can generate secure passwords online with a random password generator. Once you have all of your new passwords safely created, you can keep them in a handwritten notebook to be extra safe or you can synch them with your confidential iCloud account that can only be accessed by you.
Be Aware of the Photos You Post
This is an important thing to consider when trying to have better online safety. Many people post selfies, photos of their pets, or general pictures in their homes on social media without a second thought. These seem harmless, but before pressing “post”, make sure to check that there is not anything confidential in the background.
Photos of your house could accidentally reveal your address and photos inside of your house could have confidential information like mail, bills, and IDs laying around on tables in the background. It is good to double-check right before you upload any photos to the internet that there isn’t any information that you wouldn’t want the world to see.
Keeping our digital identities safe is a daunting task, but there are so many different forms of technology today to keep you and your private information secure. Make sure to keep these suggestions handy if you feel like your digital identity is being threatened.
