How to Protect Personal Data on the Internet | Complete Security Software
We give the order not to talk to strangers on the street and in transport to children long before we begin to let them go. But for some reason, we are in no hurry to enlighten them about Internet dangers. But chatting on instant messengers and social networks, e-mail correspondence and paying for purchases online today start early, in elementary and high school. Therefore, parents have to explain to the child what information about themselves cannot be posted on the network and transmitted to unknown people. However, for adults, these rules are also relevant.
Why is Personal Data Important
We live in a mixed world where reality is largely complemented by a virtual environment. And the younger the person, the more natural this mixed environment is for him. On the Internet, children and adolescents meet, communicate and play; they have friends with whom they have never met in real life - and they do not need it. Often such people are trusted even more than loved ones.
On their pages in social networks, many children report more about themselves than they should be: home address, phone number, school and class number, date of birth and other personal data.
Personal data or personal information - passport number, phone number (of a child or relatives), TIN, SNILS, home address, date of birth, passwords, PIN and CVV codes from bank cards are a welcome prey for Internet scammers. It is this information that most often becomes the target of their attacks, technological and psychological.
Sensitive personal information can also include photographs of expensive things, documents (diplomas, visas, passports), even statuses in social networks - for example, that you are going on a trip with your whole family. For dishonest people, geotags on Instagram, selfies in front of the house, school or work are direct tips on where to find family members, what valuable things are in the house and when there is probably no one there.
Identity Theft Schemes
The inventiveness of the scammers is growing, the methods of work are constantly improving, but in general, the same principles are used. Let's list the main (but not all) ways to intercept personal data.
Phishing Messages
These are letters from scammers posing as banks and other official organizations. The purpose of these emails is to trick you into entering your internet banking password or card details into a fake form. Attackers request confidential data to verify an account or activate a mailbox. As a result, they get your personal information. To avoid becoming a victim of such scams, try not to send sensitive information by email, especially to strangers.
Fake Sites
By spoofing the site address, scammers quietly redirect users to fake pages.
Phishing pages can have a very similar URL. To recognize a fake site, pay attention to the address in the search bar - it will be at least slightly different from the official one. In the address bar to the left of the address, you will not find a secure connection icon (in most browsers, this is a shield or a locked padlock), and links placed on a fake page are likely to be inoperative - except for the one designed to extract your data.
Before entering your username and password on the site, make sure that the correct address is indicated in the browser address bar. Close the page if the browser displays a message about the transition to a suspicious site. Most browsers have built-in registries to track down fraudulent sites.
Phone Fraud
Phone scammers call or send SMS on behalf of a bank or payment system with a request to provide a card number or transfer money to a specified number. The reasons can be different: an expired password, card blocking, a big win, or even an accident involving a loved one.
They may ask to follow the link to restore access to the account, send an SMS or call a specific number. The purpose of such messages is to write off money for sending a response SMS, subscribe to paid services or transfer to a phishing site, and then force you to enter your password and card details.
If you receive a suspicious message, call or letter related to financial transactions, call the official bank number and check the information.
How to Protect Your Data
To protect the personal data of your family, first, talk about what information about yourself cannot be posted on the Internet, and what information you can, but only on sites that you have reason to trust.
Agree on what events in your personal and family life are not worth writing on the Internet, and explain to the children why.
For example, tell your child that even if he posts sensitive information about himself in a closed post “only for friends”, it can be used against him by Internet trolls - after a fight with a friend or if a friend's account is hacked.
One of the most popular networks among children and teenagers is YouTube. Learn how to set Safe Mode on all devices (it needs to be installed in each browser separately) and don't forget about privacy Settings.
Understanding how cookies work can help protect your privacy on the web. These are temporary files that are stored in the browser and help the site remember information about you: login and password, in what language you view information, your interests and preferences. At first glance, they are not dangerous, but in Some cases, they can harm users.
Here are a few more guidelines that apply to both adults and teens.
- Do not leave unlocked phones and computers, do not throw away papers and data carriers (hard drives, flashcards, SIM cards) that store passwords.
- If multiple people use the computer, use different operating system profiles for different users.
- Do not store copies of your passport and other documents in your e-mail or make publicly available copies of your passport and other documents: if fraudsters break into your mail, they can use your personal data.
Before working on someone else's computer, enter the private mode. If this is not possible, clear the cache and cookies after completion.
- Regularly check removable drives, flashcards and other storage media that you connect to other people's computers with antivirus.
- Don't enter personal information on suspicious forms, especially in emails.
- Do not open attachments or follow links from mail or messengers from dubious recipients. If the addressee seems suspicious to you, add him to the blacklist.
- Before shopping online, check store reviews and ratings, seller accounts and payment terms; pay for purchases only through well-known payment services and systems - such payments are reliably protected.
- Whenever possible, choose sites with the https protocol over HTTP: the latter is much more likely to be hacked than https sites.
- Connect two-factor authentication for all your accounts. This will help you protect your data as securely as possible.

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