What can openness in the network lead to and how to avoid it
'24.10.2019'
Source: Rambler
The question of trust: why does the Internet know more about us than loved ones, and what is the danger?
“The mobile phone has become the black box of our life,” - this phrase is uttered by one of the heroes of the film “Ideal Strangers”. The word "mobile" in it can easily be replaced by "Internet" or "social networks", writes Rambler with reference to SNC Media.
Laura Dornheim, information security expert and communications director of the German company eyeo, told how excessive openness on the network can turn out, and also gave advice on how to use the Internet to the maximum, without putting yourself at risk.
Choose your penpals more carefully
The Internet and social networks were originally conceived as a tool for rallying people, but, as practice has shown, in some cases they can turn into a means of separating them. Sometimes we see the following picture: in a family or friendly circle, everyone sits with their noses on their phones, and communicates with those who are tens or hundreds of kilometers away, instead of spending time with loved ones in reality.
People are much more willing to share their secrets and secrets with penpals whom they have never met live, and explain this by the fear of being misunderstood by their relatives. After all, even close people and friends may not share the interests and preferences of a person. And with the help of the Internet it is so easy to find like-minded people and open to them without fear of condemnation and consequences.
On the subject: How to control your child on the Internet: 6 important tips for parents
Online dating is attractive not only because of the apparent simplicity of the relationship, but also because of the illusion of security. “I am here, he / she is there. What is wrong with just talking to a complete stranger? ”- these are the thoughts that come to a person who decides to start a conversation with someone on the network. This may be a momentary weakness, an attack of frankness, the need for a simple human understanding. However, few people think before that a person on the other side of the screen may have his own motives for dating, which are not always pure and disinterested. A sensitive and attentive online interlocutor may suddenly turn out to be a scammer, collecting information about you and your loved ones.
Do not rush to share confidential information with unfamiliar people
One of these dangerous motives is to obtain personal information that can later be used for a variety of purposes. The easiest way is to receive information from you directly, having secured your trust. Strange as it may seem, our home address, place of work, mobile phone number and the names of family members are all ready to share this with people whom we recklessly call penpals after several days or weeks of communication.
In order not to take risks, try to take a closer look at the people you meet online. Do not rush to tell what your pet's name is, if his name is a code word for a credit card. And do not forget that the less people know your sensitive data, the less reason you have to fear fraud. But still they are.
Be careful with banner ads and phishing sites.
Even if you don’t fundamentally meet anyone on the network, and you don’t call anyone else’s nicknames, you can’t completely exclude the possibility that your personal data will not fall into the hands of online scammers.
According to VTsIOM, in 2017, almost a third of Russian citizens recognized themselves as victims of online fraud. One of the main reasons is the carelessness of users themselves who clicked on unverified links. They entered their email address or mobile phone number on the sites, being interested in a tempting offer for discounts, and this data fell directly into the hands of people with ill intentions.
Moreover, these sites, to which unverified links were sent, did not always look suspicious: many of them were almost an exact copy of well-known online stores or social networks. This type of Internet fraud is called phishing (from the English fishing - "fishing"), and its essence is precisely to extract confidential information from users under the guise of sites that they trust.
To minimize the risk of such situations, you should trust the work of the antivirus - it blocks clicks on suspicious links. A good addition to the work of the antivirus will be the installation of an ad blocker, for example AdBlock. It will remove from the field of view advertising banners that can also direct users to phishing sites.
On the subject: How to avoid becoming a victim of a scam on a dating site: the FBI itself gives recommendations!
Keep your data secret
Many people do not even suspect that the Internet is not as anonymous as it might seem: all requests in search engines are monitored, and using complex algorithms it becomes clear what users are interested in. Based on such data, a portrait is compiled. This mechanism, for example, is used by marketers to offer people exactly those products that, based on their actions on the network, could be useful to them.
Our photos on social networks, passwords and codes that we enter on a variety of resources, secrets that we share with strangers on dating sites - all this makes up a huge database. For the most part, its content depends on ourselves: we can consciously limit the amount of information about ourselves that we put on public display. However, Internet security is the result of comprehensive measures. This is not only competent actions on our part, but also technological protection of modern programs: antivirus, ad blocker, as well as utilities that prevent tracking through a webcam (for example, Webcam On Off) and wiretapping through a microphone (Micro Guard Free).
Follow simple rules and do not neglect the programs created in order to protect you - that’s the whole secret of how to protect yourself from possible network troubles. At the same time, it is important to understand that such precautions do not limit you in any way in using the Internet: all its capabilities and advantages are still available to you in full scale.
