Privacy policy

What is digital privacy and what is its purpose on the Internet?

Digital privacy is, in short, the right that every Internet user has to keep the information on their devices secretSo far everything is clear, but it is a more subjective concept than it seems, since although rules have been established to determine that one content or another should be private, these are not usually followed for certain aspects.

The latter applies to our online consumption habitsFor example, if you search for vacation destinations on Google for a week straight, you'll notice that the Google Ads you see on every site are related to this topic. So how does the browser know which ads to show us? Well, it uses a "plugin" called Cookieswhich are like a kind of tracker.

These get "stuck" to our browser and identify us, in this case as "potential customers of niche X"And the ads we'll see next will be closely related to that sector, whether we've searched for hotels, plane tickets, Rome, consumables, or anything else.

Is this illegal? Well, the answer is no, since all the postcards that use cookies warn us about it, and we accept them without paying much attention. This is a rather innocent example of how our privacy is violated on a daily basis.But keep reading and you'll notice it can be much worse.

How does privacy work on the Internet? Key elements

Returning to what was said at the beginning, Internet regulatory bodies have established certain guidelines to guarantee the privacy of Internet users. These aspects are the foundation of online data securityAnd it's important that you know them all so you know what to expect in the future. When you see any of them:

Privacy policies

Privacy policies are a statement or document that every website or application on the Internet must communicate to its users, as well as any subsequent updates. leaving them with the complete freedom to decide whether to accept them or unsubscribeThey clearly state in text how all data handled or supplied by users will be used, processed and stored.

The problem does not lie essentially with them, In fact, they are a very valuable document for anyone who values ​​their privacy to determine whether it is worthwhile to give up some rights to use a platform.The real obstacle lies with the users, who 90% of the time completely ignore these policies and all their updates.

Cookie Policy

As we mentioned, cookies are a file that is stored in the cache memory of your browser or computer. identifying your IP address so that when the user logs back into the platform, they are shown the content they usually see.These are used on virtually all websites, such as YouTube or Google. A cookie notice is simply an announcement informing you that by accessing and using its website, you are agreeing to all the cookies it contains.

SSL certificate

The SSL certificate is another of the most important aspects you should know to ensure that a platform is protecting your data. SSL It is a security protocol that encrypts all data passing through a websiteFor several years now, it has become a requirement demanded by European entities for any portal that requests the email of its internet users or any other contact information to send newsletters.

What are the main online privacy risks that users face?

Digital privacy should be one of the main concerns of internet users today. as this will help them avoid encountering certain scenarios which will bring them very bad experiences.

Impersonation

Identity theft is a term used to define a type of A cyberattack in which a person impersonates another to perform certain actions without compromising their identity.or to defame the owner of the stolen identity. This has always been a very common global problem, even in the physical world, but since the birth of social media, everything has worsened.

A person only needs to know your boyfriend and steal a dozen of your photos from any of your social media profiles to create a new account using your name and image. This simple fact makes it a very difficult attack to prevent. because even people in your circle of friends could do something like this.

Bullying

Harassment is another risk we are exposed to in the real world, but for some time now it has evolved and almost 90% of the main forms of harassment are carried out through social networks and digital forums. In this sense, harassment can take several forms, the most common being:

• Bullying: One form of harassment consists of making fun of a person's physical or psychological defects, even being considered racism and xenophobia if it is done against a person of a particular nationality or race.
• Grooming: This is a form of pedophilia that occurs through social media. In this case, the harasser would be an adult who stalks and harasses a minor with explicit sexual intentions. While it could be confused with sexting, in this case the attacker does not sexually abuse anyone; rather, it is the victim who allows themselves to be manipulated and ends up giving in sexually.
• Gender violence: one of the most common forms of violence in which a person is verbally or physically violent towards their counterpart of the opposite sex.

These are just some of the forms of harassment that can be seen on the Internet, but in general we can, in one way or another, appreciate them all, since the harasser only needs to have contact with his victim to harass and attack at will.

Sexting

Sexting is the practice of sending sexually explicit content via chat. While these expressions are entirely voluntary, The information they contain can later be used to harass a persongoing so far as to extort and blackmail her in exchange for not sharing her photos, videos or chats on a public social network, or making sure they reach a family member.

Manipulations

A person with enough information about us can easily create a narrative convincing enough to manipulate us. This is common on social media where sexual predators are looking for vulnerable children to use as they please. and get them to send him increasingly compromising information.

Scams

Scams are rampant online, and often they don't even need to violate our privacy to be carried out. However, Protecting the security of our data will make it more difficult for, for example, someone to use our credit card to make purchases without our authorization..

Data theft

As you can imagine, none of this we've mentioned would be possible if our data weren't stolen first. This is the first step towards suffering everything else..

Privacy of our devices: What are the security problems with them?

One thing we need to understand about this topic is that it all starts with our devices, because They are the ones we use to access the InternetAnd it is in them that all the verified information we keep is stored; from our most intimate photos, including our credit card details:

Operating Systems

Operating systems can be our biggest enemies. One of the most widely used is Microsoft's Windows 10, which is also one of the most powerful, but it has a factory configuration that can cause problems with our privacy. This applies specifically to desktop computers, but we can also run risks with mobile devices..

Android, for example, has one of the most robust architectures, and in some ways can be considered 100% secure, but there are certain aspects we need to be careful about. Applications like Google Maps leave a detailed record of all the places we visitNot to mention that browsers for these devices are not as secure as on desktop computers.

So the first thing you'll need to do to fix this is Install a 100% reliable operating system on your computers.

Online browsers

Online browsers are your second enemy. If they're outdated, they often contain vulnerabilities that are easy for malware to exploit. Furthermore, We store many of the passwords for the platforms we use most often in them.From social networks and emails, to online games and payment processors.

IP addresses

IP addresses They are one of the strongest pieces of evidence that the internet is designed to spy on us completely. These are numbers that identify a computer within a local, metropolitan, or international network, such as the network we use to browse the web. This piece of information may seem harmless, but you'd be surprised by how much information someone can obtain about us with this innocent number..

To begin, a computer's IP address can be traced, and subsequently geographically located. In other words, anyone who knows your IP address can easily find out where your house is., what your neighborhood is or at least know what city you are in.

Tips to improve the privacy of all my digital devices

Knowing and being aware of what you should start doing on social media, it's time to take it to the next level and focus on the steps we should take to increase privacy on all our devices.

So take note and pay close attention:

Use a secure OS

We've already told you that operating systems can be our worst enemies when it comes to protecting our privacy, so Our first piece of advice is aimed at changing it.However accustomed you are to the interface of, for example, Windows, you must understand that your security comes first, so if it is necessary to break old habits, you will have to do it.

Later we'll tell you which are the most secure operating systems you can install on your computer, but for now it's important to keep in mind that To be as private as possible, you'll have to ditch the operating systems you probably grew up with.

Install a secure browser

The next step is to install a browser that is as secure as possible. This may not be as difficult for you as changing your operating system.But undoubtedly many people are very fond of browsers like Chrome or Mozilla, but in recent years new alternatives have emerged that many of these users have tried and liked for their versatility.

Delete Cookies

While cookies aren't a direct threat to our privacy, it's important to remove them as soon as possible. Many companies, like Google, have already indicated that they will be phased out of their browser to some extent, at least in the desktop version. What you need to do is simply disable cookies so that none can be stored in your cache.

To disable third-party cookies in Chrome, for example, you need to go to "Setting" and then go to section "Website settings"Once there, you must go to the Cookies section and select the options. "Block third-party cookies", as como también "Clear cookies and website data when you exit Chrome"so that all cookies are deleted from your browser when you close it.

Always update your OS

If you've decided not to change your operating system, it's important to at least keep it fully updated. Many users, especially Windows users, often experience a major headache when they see a new update package arrive for Windows 10. But however long it takes, it's important to install them all..

Updates are better than those that developers make to operating systems to eliminate vulnerabilities that they detect from time to time in their architecture and programming. These vulnerabilities are basically gateways to our privacyTherefore, removing them is one of our top priorities. So, every time an update arrives, see it as a gift.

Install an ad blocker

Internet ads are quite annoying. While those from brands like Adsense are verified to ensure they don't direct you to malicious websites, there are other networks that don't respect this. For example, if you enter a pirate website with adult content, you will encounter a huge number of intrusive ads that are not verified at all, so they can lead you to ruin.

For this reason it is important Having an ad blocker in our browsers, which removes ads from the screen completely, so that we don't run any risk while browsing our favorite websites.