There is a story of a 19-year-old who was working in a public office in New Hampshire and his political career was ruined forever because his opponents found some sexually suggestive and referenced drug use posts on his social media profiles. But this is just one person and he isn’t the only one. Many careless internet users have fallen traps to scams, identity theft, and robbery at the hands of internet users they met online. And with more users signing up for the internet every day, the risks are changing and growing as well.

This also calls for taking bigger precautions of staying safe on the internet. You have come to the right place. Find below a list of 10 rules you need to stick to for saving browsing on the internet;

Sign Up For a Secure Internet Connection

First of all, you need to make sure that you have a secure internet connection at home. It means getting a dedicated line that all your devices at home can connect to securely. Also the internet provider you sign up with should have their own security since so many internet users connected to their host servers are at risk of getting attacked. Our recommendation is for Comcast Xfinity internet service since it offers advanced security that monitors the internet traffic going in and out of your home network connection. Reach out to Xfinity customer service for more information.

It is also advised that you shouldn’t share your private information (such as your bank account information) over public Wi-Fi. Because there are hundreds of other internet users connected to the same public Wi-Fi and that puts your device at risk.

Turn on the Privacy Settings

Marketers and hackers alike want to learn more about you. They can do so by getting information about your browsing and social media usage. Any website you visit and any number of clicks you make; this information is stored on the internet. It is inevitable.

But you can do something about it. Most of the web browsers and apps that you frequent have settings available to secure your privacy. For instance, Facebook has privacy-enhancing settings such as limiting the audience that can view your Facebook profile, removing access to third-party apps to your profile, removing activity data, etc. These can all be managed through Facebook’s security and privacy settings. They may be hard to locate because companies want to use your information for marketing anyway. But do go ahead and limit your privacy on the apps and web browsers.

Go for Strong Passwords

It is such a hassle, having to choose a password for your online accounts. But understand that your passwords are one of the biggest weakest spots on internet security. People find it easy to choose passwords they can remember, such as 123456, hellothisisme2, 12goodmorning, etc. We admit, these are easy to remember, but these are also easy for hackers to guess.

That is why you need to choose a strong password that isn’t easy to crack. It has to be unique and complex, at least 15 characters long mixed with letters, numbers, and special characters.

Be Careful What You Share on Social Media

You have already heard it from the story of the 19-year-old kid; the internet doesn’t have a delete button. Any comment you post on the internet or any image you share on your social media platform stays there forever because even if you remove the original content, you still can’t remove the copies of your content that have already been made.

There have been numerous scandals of politicians around the world because they tweeted something on Twitter that didn’t sit well with the general public. But before they could remove these tweets, screenshots were already taken and shared all over the internet by their opponents.

Hence, you need to be cautious of what you share on your social media platforms.

Don’t Talk to Strangers. No, Really, Don’t

You know how our parents or guardians told us not to talk to strangers when we were kids? No one says this about meeting people online. You connect with someone and you share with them privy details about your life when you have really no idea who the person you are chatting with is. Maybe they told you they were around your age in their 20s or 30s when really they could be a 50-year-old predator. The point is, you are not sure who the person on the other end of the screen is.

It’s very common knowledge that people on the internet have hundreds of profiles on social media. The whole purpose of it is to get closer to other users online and steal their information. Therefore, you need to be wary of who you are talking to on the internet.

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t get said enough, your privacy on the internet is of utmost importance. The information that you post on the internet can be used against you. The aforementioned tips should help give you an idea about how you need to be cautious on the internet. These tips shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the full benefit of exploring the internet, but you shouldn’t also lower your guard.