This blog post was updated on July 30, 2024.

It was originally published on April 15, 2019.

Should you be concerned about online privacy?

As hacking, phishing, ransomware, and other cyber threats have become common in the workplace, people are increasingly becoming aware of cyber threats and associated business risks. Thanks to frequent news and regular cybersecurity training, employees are becoming more cautious and vigilant at the workplace. 

However, when it comes to online privacy, digital privacy, or internet privacy, most people are not as vigilant. They often share their personal data with social media platforms or the developers of free apps without a second thought. While they are typically meticulous about protecting data at work, they tend to be less cautious with their personal information online.

It's crucial to recognize that security and privacy are deeply interconnected. A breach in your personal digital privacy can have significant repercussions, not just in your private life but also in your professional environment. Cybercriminals often exploit personal data to infiltrate business networks, making digital privacy a critical component of overall cybersecurity. Therefore, maintaining robust digital privacy practices is essential both at work and in your personal life to ensure comprehensive protection against cyber threats.

This blog post shares 5 simple tools that will help you secure your online data while you surf the internet and conduct your business online.

5 simple Tools for improving your online privacy

You can make up your own mind whether your online privacy is worth defending or not. If you do choose to be in control of your internet privacy, to better secure your data while you surf the net, and to conduct your business online, we are with you.

You don’t have to compromise on your convenience when securing your internet privacy is so easy. Follow along and by the time you finish reading this post, you will be in control of your online privacy.

If you are concerned about online privacy, you have probably heard of DuckDuckGo. It started as a web search engine but has now expanded to a lot more. It offers a browser that doesn’t track your searches (that’s right) as well as an anti-tracking tool. 

It doesn’t collect or share users’ personal data. This means that the same search results are visible to different users as there is no user profiling. This is in sharp contrast to what Google does. Consequently, Google Chrome is not recommended at all if you are concerned about your privacy. [img: DuckDuckGo]

With each passing day, there are more users running private searches on DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo is estimated to have over 100 million users and processes around 3 billion searches in a month. If you are concerned about privacy, you too should use DuckDuckGo. However, if you feel tied to Chrome you can at the very least add DuckDuckGo Privacy Essential extension. This extension does the following:

• blocks hidden trackers on the sites you visit, 

• takes you to encrypted versions of sites when possible, and 

• exposes poor privacy practices when known.

Secure websites with a valid Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate begin with “https”. The HTTPS protocol authenticates the websites you access and protects the privacy and integrity of the data exchanged over the network.

Most sites you visit will have an HTTPS connection, but sometimes you may be redirected to the insecure HTTP version. When HTTPS Everywhere is added to your Chrome browser, it will automatically switch the site from the HTTP copy to its HTTPS version.

However, this doesn’t mean that all sites will be converted to HTTPS. You will see an error on some smaller sites that do not have SSL certificates, . If you know that the site is secure, you can always disable the extension just for that site. It will still work on other sites and keep your personal information protected.

uBlock Origin is a free browser extension for content-filtering, including ad-blocking. Make sure that you install uBlock Origin and not uBlock. It is lightweight and uses less memory and CPU time. This means, you can browse the web while blocking ads much faster than with other ad blockers.

It is easy to use; you just need to click the big power button in the popup to disable/enable uBlock Origin for the current web site. It also gives you more control over what’s blocked and what’s allowed - you can create your own filters, rules, and add sites to your whitelist. However, if you are not an advanced user, just stick with the default settings and you won’t have to deal with any obtrusive ads.

We at Jones IT are huge fans of password managers. The one we use in-house and recommend to our clients is 1Password. It takes care of tedious tasks such as:

• coming up with strong passwords for your online accounts, 

• remembering the passwords and associated usernames, as well as

• filling web-forms. 

Thus, it allows you to apply your mental resources where they are most needed and helps you become more productive. 

1Password encrypts all your passwords and stores them securely in a vault that you can access using a master password. After you install the browser extension and log in, all you have to do is click the LastPass icon next to the username field and select the associated account. This automatically fills in your login credentials.

You can also pair 1Password with an authenticator application such as Google Authenticator. This creates a multi-layered security system consisting of an OTP (one-time password) in combination with a memorized password. Google Authenticator is an application that implements two-step verification services using the Time-based One-Time Password. 2FA (two-factor authentication) is a great tool that provides you with multi-layered security.

Most of the websites you visit run JavaScript in the background. JavaScript is a programming language that forms the backbone of websites and applications. It plays an important part in making websites interactive and giving you an excellent user experience. However, problems can arise when malicious JavaScript codes are hidden in the code of the website you visit.

Websites can contain malvertising, which is a malicious online advertising that contains scripts designed to download malware onto your computer. Such ads can be inserted into legitimate and reputable websites and therefore have the potential to reach a large number of users. The scary thing about this is that the computer can be infected without the user even clicking on the ad, as the JavaScript will run automatically in the background.

However, if you disable JavaScript completely, many websites won’t load at all and those that do will have reduced functionality. So it is a real catch-22 situation. But worry not, No-Script Suite Lite is the solution to this dilemma. While No-Script Suite blocks all scripts by default, you can add sites to its whitelist on which the scripts will be allowed. You can also easily enable or disable the extension.

In the beginning, it may appear annoying as most of the sites you visit will not render properly. You will have to manually add sites to your whitelist but you can do it with just a couple of clicks. Once all your favorite sites are whitelisted, you will not even notice it running in the background and it will protect you from hidden malicious scripts.

A Word of caution

Not all Chrome extensions are safe. Extensions are usually created by third parties to fix potential vulnerabilities (as in this case), or to improve productivity. Google screens the extensions available in its Chrome Web-store, but sometimes it messes up. So before you install an extension created by an unknown third party, check its ratings, read the reviews, and do a quick search online. If you are not sure, it is best not to install the extension.

As for the 5 extensions recommended here, I have done my research and they have been living on my browser for a while.

Conclusion

The World Wide Web revolutionized the world by giving individuals the ability to reach millions of people. Unfortunately, not all of those who reach out to you are nice people. There are some who have malicious intent and are constantly trying to exploit the digital vulnerabilities of individuals and businesses. But don’t you worry, we got your back. We regularly share cybersecurity tips and best practices so that you can keep your computers secure and your life stress-free.

Does your workplace have systems in place to secure your business and personal information? Do you need help ensuring that all your data is secure from known threats? Reach out to us by clicking the button below for a consultation on how we can help protect your systems and data from common vulnerabilities as well as targeted cyberattacks.

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