How to Protect Your Personal Data on the Internet? Some Helpful Tips | Antivirus

 

The Internet is definitely a wonderful invention that makes our life much easier.

In our time, it is almost impossible to imagine life without the Internet.

Besides the many advantages of the Internet, there are also disadvantages. You may have never thought about it, but the biggest problem on the Internet is security. Since cyberspace is open and accessible to a huge number of people from all over the world, there is a possibility that our personal data will be stolen and misused. In this article, we will talk about some of the ways to protect our personal data.

See also: Security measures when using payment cards and online services

Some people, without thinking about Internet security, leave their personal information everywhere. They usually assume that it is perfectly safe and that all internet risk stories are just conspiracy theories. And even if things like identity theft do happen, many people think it only happens to rich people. On the other hand, some people believe that you will never be safe when using online services.

The truth is somewhere in between. When you send money over the Internet, you can leave your information, but you need to know how to protect yourself from intruders.

Personal data

Many people, and perhaps you too, are a little confused about what personal data means. In accordance with the legislation of the European Union (EU), the concept of personal data is all information about a person that can identify him.

Before we continue, we would like to introduce you to another definition - this is an objective definition of personal data. All this information can be divided into subjective and objective data. The first is information that comes directly from a person, and the other is collected through observation or examination. A good example is a piece of information gathered during a patient's medical examination.

 

Now that we have clarified the terminology, let's see what we can do to protect our sensitive personal information and how to keep us safe when using the Internet.

Encrypt your data

To many of you, this may sound like rocket science, and you think it requires specialized technical knowledge. However, you can rest assured that even if encryption was once used exclusively by IT people, it is no longer the case today. Whether you're using a Mac or PC, it's pretty straightforward. Operating systems use programs like Full Disk Encryption for Windows 10 and File Vault for Mac, which encrypt the data on your computer.

Protect your social media accounts

If you have accounts on several social networks, you must use different passwords for each of them. It can be difficult to remember all of these passwords, but if you want to be sure of the confidentiality of personal information, this is necessary. 

Also, try changing your passwords every few months. 

Protect yourself on dating sites

It is an essential tool to ensure the safety of all users and to prevent fraudulent users from being faked.

Install antivirus software on your devices

A malware or virus program is a program designed to gain access to your computer and cause harm. We know these programs under various names, such as a virus, worm, Trojan, etc., and of course, each of us has encountered this problem before. antivirus In addition, you should avoid downloading files that you are not sure about and visiting suspicious websites.

Protect your Wi-Fi

This way, you can be sure that people who don't have a password won't be able to access your Wi-Fi connection. Someone might just want to use your network without causing any real harm, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Turn off your computer

Perhaps you should consider changing this habit, because when you leave your computer turned on and connected to the Internet at night, it becomes an easy target for various scammers.

Set a lock on your smartphone

You never know who might have your smartphone. It can fall out of your pocket or bag and end up in the hands of a person who can use all the personal data found there for other purposes or for illegal purposes.

Disable Bluetooth

Bluetooth is very handy as you can share videos, photos, etc. with your friends within minutes. However, regardless of your security settings, the only way to prevent fraudsters from using your personal data is to turn off Bluetooth.

Protection against identity theft

One way to prevent identity theft is to always remain attentive and discreet when you share personal information with anyone. Before giving any information, you need to carefully find out who is asking and for what purpose.

Also, avoid using any personal information such as an individual identification number (IIN), telephone number or anything like a password or part of it.

General data protection provisions

International protection of personal data

At the international level, this issue is regulated by a number of Conventions and international agreements. One of the main documents regulating this area of ​​international relations is the 108th   Council of Europe Convention - "On the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data" adopted in Strasbourg, January 28, 1981, to which amendments were adopted on June 15, 1999. The Convention has been signed by 63 and ratified by 47 countries.

In addition, within the framework of the CIS, a Model Law "On Personal Data" was developed (adopted at the fourteenth plenary session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States, by Resolution No. 14-19 of October 16, 1999), which is based on the European experience in the field of personal data protection. data.

Data protection 

In the law that regulates public relations in the field of personal data, as well as defining the purpose, principles and legal framework of activities related to the collection, processing and protection of personal data, is the Law of the Republic of dated May 21, 2013 No. 94-V "On personal data and their protection ”.

According to article 20, personal data are subject to protection, which is guaranteed by the state, and their collection and processing are carried out only in cases of ensuring their protection.

 

We hope you enjoyed the article and that these tips were helpful. Our goal in writing this article was not to scare you, but to warn you about possible problems that you may encounter, how to prevent them and protect your personal data. It is worth noting that we have considered only some of the ways to protect personal data, but there are many others that you can read about in our next articles. Enjoy using the Internet and remember that prevention is always better than cure.