In this era of the internet, it is almost impossible to live without an online presence. Employers who want to hire you and people who want to do business with you first turn to the internet to check out the kind of person you are. The internet has also made it easier to do transactions such as purchasing and banking, demanding that you give out some sensitive data about yourself.
Unfortunately, as the number of internet users increases, cybercriminals are upping their game to steal peoples’ identities for malicious gains. If they happen to get your private information, they can use that to conduct crimes in your name or steal your money, among other hurtful things. Fortunately, there are tools that you can use to protect your online presence and sensitive information.
4 MUST-HAVE TOOLS FOR PROTECTING YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
1. VPNs
The good thing about the internet is that there is no limitation on where you can access it. You can choose to work from public places away from the security of your home or office internet connection. However, using public Wi-Fi exposes you to hackers and identity thieves who can eavesdrop on what you are doing on the internet.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure private channel for your internet activity to pass through. It also encrypts the data traveling through this channel. This means that any prying eye can’t see what you are sending or receiving. A good choice of a VPN is NordVPN. This is a reliable VPN that gives you protection across six devices at an affordable rate without affecting the speed and the stability of your connection. Lastly, there are ways you can build a VPN yourself by making use tools like Raspberry Pi 4.
2. Email encryption tools
Email is the most common avenue for sharing information by individuals and businesses alike. However, owing to the volume and sensitivity of the information emails carry, you can’t ignore the magnitude of the damage that can occur in case of a malicious attack. Thankfully, you can use email encryption to make the data complex and unreadable to unwanted parties.
Email encryption tools provide email protection even when the recipient doesn’t use an encryption tool. This tool allows you to send an email with a web portal link. The link opens up to a secure environment where the receiver is prompted to log into the portal to read and reply to the email. If the email doesn’t require a reply, the tool allows you to send an encrypted PDF email with a user-defined password for the receiver to decrypt the email. It is always crucial to converting to PDF, so the files don’t change the format.
3. Password manager
Passwords provide a good way to prevent unwanted parties from getting access to online profiles and gadgets. However, it would be best to have a strong and unique password for each site and each gadget. It would help if you made them hard to guess for other people. Otherwise, a correct guess to one of your passwords comprises the security of the rest.
Of course, it can be hard to keep track of or remember all the passwords you have. You need a password manager to help you do that. A good password manager such as Abine Blur rates your passwords to see how strong they are. Others such as IDX Privacy have a Password Detective feature that checks if your passwords are compromised.
4. Anti-phishing tools
Phishing emails are the most common scams that hackers use to get information from their victims. They come as attachments or links that appear genuine, only to rein havoc once you click on them. Educating yourself on recognizing them is a good way to avoid clicking on such unsecured links or attachments. However, you can agree that it can be tricky sometimes. You are better off using a tool that warns you when you are about to click a malicious link or attachment.
Anti-phishing tools such as Netcraft anti-phishing toolbar gives you trust levels in a website and highlights those that have been compromised. It also blocks URLs that have been reported as malicious by other people.
Conclusion
While the internet has been useful in modern society, it also comes with some threats to your data and identity. Ensure that you use online protection tools such as the one mentioned above to ensure that you are safe using the internet. In addition, keep yourself updated on cybersecurity trends to stay aware of new tricks that hackers are using. This way, you can identify tools that you can use to keep your steps ahead of these malicious people.
About the Author: Allen is an SEO analytics manager with 6 years of experience. Allen has proven her expertise with unique and professional designs of SEO strategies that have successfully garnered her employees exceptional online visibility and conversion rates.
