It's always amazing that everything is in our finger tips due to internet. We use internet for many things - like check reviews online before watching a movie, order food, quickly check the status of our loved ones , search for an old friend, read blogs and watch videos before traveling blah.. blah.. 

Internet has become an important part of our lives. Sharing our wifi password to the guests at home is like an age old tradition of offering water to guests .. lol.

But, only one question remains in our heads. How Safe is internet? How to prevent malicious security attacks, hacking and many other problems that we face being online. 

How to protect our data and how to ensure privacy? This is a large topic but here are some practices I follow to be safe on this world wide web.

6 Safe Internet Practices that I follow :

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Ad blocker and popup blockers:

I always use popup blockers on my browser. Whenever some new website shows a popup to allow Notifications, I always click Deny. We have many ad blocker softwares available which are powerful and I feel, they are very helpful.

Photo sharing securely on social media:

I hope, you all are utilizing the feature of sharing personal photos on social media to specific people and not to public. This feature is available in all social media sites including the popular facebook and instagram. 

Please don't share children's photos publicly. To share photos to a group of people or family, Google drive and One Drive is better. It is very easy to upload photos to social media and share in a click, but we don't want anyone to misuse our photos or our children's photos, right?

Location Settings OFF:

I always set my location settings off while browsing. Google tracks our travel history when we search with google maps and drive to specific location. You can specifically turn location settings off on google and Facebook. 

Anti virus software:

A good anti virus software and regular scans for vulnerabilities are a must for safe browsing. This investment is never a waste for a personal laptop. 

VPN (Virtual Private Network):

I use VPN only for work, but this is good option if you want to keep your data safe. Don't trust public wifi for important work dealing with sensitive data. 

Restrict downloading of apps:

I would never download an app if I don't think it's useful. Even If I have to download, I use it for sometime and uninstall it when I don't use. 

Many apps collect personal information and are not secure. I heard, TEMU is such an app which isn't secure but provides cheap items. 

Bonus tips:

• Always check that website url has https: to differentiate between secured websites over not safe ones.

• Try not to signup on websites if you don't trust them. The problem is not only about revealing your name and email id, but also because your inbox will be spammed with multiple emails.

• Don't signup to websites with facebook or with google. It's better to create an account, and delete that account when you don't use those websites. I don't like when I have to give permission for that website to post or view my information on facebook / instagram when I signup.

• Try not to share personal information online. 

What other practices you use to be safe during browsing? Please do let me know in comments.

Until next time,