Online privacy is something everyone should take seriously. With the increasing numbers of websites and online platforms being created every day, online privacy risk increases. The internet has indeed changed the world for the better but, it has its disadvantages as well.
So many people make use of the internet across the globe; the number is estimated at 4.9 billion as of 2019. Every day, these internet users share information online, some very personal information that exposes their privacy. As a family who uses the internet, it is essential to protect your online privacy. This article aims to educate you on how that can be done.
Why protecting your family’s online privacy is important?
As you and your family browse, there are some things you would not want other people to know. It could be your account passwords, personal details, bank data, and more. To protect your family’s online providing means protecting these data you share online from being accessed by strangers. These strangers can be anybody; they could be hackers or other cyber thefts that can cause some serious damage when they pick them up.
Getting your online accounts hacked or compromised by cybercriminals is not a good experience. You could lose important contacts, files, money, and get defamed to name a few.
Another reason why you should protect the online privacy of your family is because of data brokers. You may not know but online data brokers gather information people share online and sell them off to companies. What would companies be doing with this information? They use it for direct marketing, credit risk assessment, and targeted advertising. This might not be very bad but, these data brokers make money from selling this information; that is something to worry about.
How to protect your family’s online privacy?
Having known why it is important to protect your family’s online privacy, keep on reading to know how to do this simultaneously;
1. Get a family Wi-Fi
A Wi-Fi connection is an easy place for hackers to access people’s IP addresses and carry out their hacking activities. Public Wi-Fi is set up in places such as hotels, airports, shops, etc. and people have a habit of always joining the connection when at such places. Well, to protect your family’s online privacy, everyone should be instructed to not use public Wi-Fi to avoid Wi-Fi sniffing.
You can get a family Wi-Fi that everyone can connect to when they want to browse. That way, you are sure that only family members are in the network and can view the IP addresses. Your Wi-Fi device should be portable so it can be taken along when visiting public places.
2. Have a guest Wi-Fi network
As it is with setting up a family Wi-Fi, it is also recommended to set up a guest Wi-Fi network. Often, others – friends and neighbors – might visit and want to share your Wi-Fi with you. Other than connecting them to your family’s private Wi-Fi network, you should use a guest Wi-Fi network.
You do not necessarily have to buy an entire new Wi-Fi device. Most Wi-Fi routers let you set up guest networks by creating a second Wi-Fi hotspot. Users who connect to the second Wi-Fi hotspot do not gain access to the connections on the first one as they are completely cut off.
3. Use strong passwords
One way to simultaneously protect the online privacy of your family is by encouraging everyone to use strong and secure passwords for all online accounts. You and your family can protect yourself from fraud, hack and identity theft by simply making use of stronger passwords.
Hackers who invade the online privacy of others have a habit of guessing passwords of online accounts. If the passwords used are simple ones, then they can easily guess it and gain access and control of the online accounts. Longer passwords are stronger than short ones; passwords should be 8 – 15 characters long and special characters can be utilized.
4. Perform routine privacy checks
Checking the online privacy settings of all family members from time to time is important to keep them protected. This could range from browser privacy settings, app permissions, and others. Everyone can check and clear their browsing history, cookies, and other data stored by the browser.
This will ensure that everyone in the family keeps up with the family’s online privacy protection rules and no one is lagging behind. With time, it will become a habit.
5. Use a VPN
Using a VPN service is the best way to protect your family’s online privacy. Protecting online private is the basic function of VPNs and why people make use of them. With VPN, members of the family can browse the internet completely anonymous by masking IP addresses and keeping shared data private with strong encryption.
The best possible VPN to use for protecting online privacy is RitaVPN. The VPN protects all sensitive information you share online from the prying eyes of hackers and other cybercriminals.
Data transferred is securely encrypted between your devices and the VPN servers using AES-256 technology and open VPN protocols. It is an ideal VPN for the family as it connects up to 4 different devices with a single subscription. Everyone does not have to pay individually for the service.
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Conclusion
Following the methods listed above can help keep your family protected when they go online. Truth is that a VPN service such as RitaVPN is enough to do the entire work. Its main function is to protect online privacy which is what you want.
However, it all boils down to carefully; to protect online privacy, families need to be careful about what they do online and the information they disclose.
