Ignoring cybersecurity recommendations and advice for taking a quiz on a social network, having benefits in commercial stores or even a simple Internet connection, may seem innocent behavior, but they are lethal to our digital life, putting users at risk, their information and privacy. Experts in the field share this checklist with 10 bad digital habits that can turn your online security into a horror movie.
In case you identify with more than half, we suggest you re-consider them or else you will have an eternal headache:
- Leave account sessions open on mobile devices because that way you don’t enter your data every time you open them. Perhaps you are one of the 82% of Latin Americans who do so.
- Provide personal data for discounts in stores (39% of Latin Americans have done so) or share your profile on social networks in exchange for offers to buy online (68% have felt comfortable doing so).
- Not reading the download conditions of an application before accepting. If you do, congratulations! You belong to the 36% of Latin Americans who do protect themselves and read them.
- Not having a backup in the cloud or an external disk of your information in case you lose any of your devices; this affects 24% of Latin Americans who do not have backup copies of their information.
- Not having a security application installed on the cell phone. Unfortunately, 43% of Latin Americans do not have it.
- When shopping online, failing to verify that a site’s URL is secure. Only 29% of Latin Americans accepted that “sometimes” they check that a page is legitimate.
- Send or post intimate photos to acquaintances. Be careful that your private life becomes viral because 30% of Latin Americans have shared this type of content.
- Always publish the places where you are, activating the location option in the posts. 28% of users in Latin America have believed it necessary to share with all their friends and followers where they are.
- Check your social networks on your work computer without any problem because you spend a large part of your day working. We discovered you, right? 39% of Latin Americans do.
- Share sensitive private data to get money or give the password of your devices to a stranger to let him check it for 15 minutes and earn $20 thousand dollars (28% of Latin Americans would do it).
How many practices of terror did you identify with?
While sharing personal information online may seem unavoidable in today’s digital landscape, it is possible to have security practices in place that help prevent our privacy from being “deadly at risk.”
Experts recommend users to take the following protection measures that will help avoid having a “digital life of terror”:
- Be aware of the personal data you share online. Remember that all information published on social networks and other digital platforms is at risk of falling into the wrong hands and/or can be used to authorize/deny your access to a particular service in the future.
- Always delete your account and history when you stop using an app or online service.
- Check which services are connected to your accounts and who has access to them. You can use Kaspersky’s Privacy Checker to find out how to change privacy settings in online services and take control of your personal data.
- For comprehensive protection against various threats, use a reputable security solution, to protect your privacy, such as an online behavior tracking blocker.
