The internet is a place where we can all play and explore to our heart’s content. But it’s also a place that can be dangerous for children, who may not always know the dangers lurking in the dark corners of cyberspace. Just as you wouldn’t let your offspring roam around Times Square alone, neither should they roam free on the web without protection from  IPv6 privacy risks. In this article, we will discuss six ways to protect your family’s privacy online!

It might be tough to keep privacy on the internet these days, with more of our personal information flowing out into the public domain, including family photographs and finances, to mention a few.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, last year in the United States there were multiple incidents of identity scams, which indicates that many people are apparently having difficulties in this area.

The percentage of Americans affected has increased dramatically, from 2 percent in 2004 to 33 percent in 2016. However, despite these alarming figures, there is a lot you may do to avoid becoming a victim. Here are 6 key strategies for maintaining your online privacy.

Avoid unnecessary app permissions

There’s no way to talk about online privacy without addressing those bothersome app permissions that appear when a new app is installed. While most people just want their software to work, they should double-check that the things the software wants access to are appropriate.

For example, if a trustworthy picture editing program needs access to your photo library, it would be useless. 

You may be perplexed by the need for a calculator application to access your microphone, GPS, or contacts. However, after downloading that free calculator software, you might begin to wonder why such an app would require access to your microphone, GPS, or contacts since the intended function of the program should not utilize those smartphone features.

For those who aren’t cautious, giving such broad permissions might be a significant privacy hazard and may result in you being tracked or listened to. Is this paranoid? There are already examples of smartphone applications utilizing the microphone on the device to monitor TV viewing habits.

Avoid public network (Wi Fi)

In terms of keeping in touch while away from home, public Wi-Fi at libraries, airports, hotels, and cafes is a wonderful tool. Public Wi-Fi hotspots, on the other hand, are not officially secure. Many businesses nowadays provide them, but they are not as safe as your home Wi-Fi router’s wireless connection since they are unsecured.

When you’re utilizing these wireless networks, you must exercise extreme caution, especially when sensitive data like account passwords or financial information is transmitted. This is due to the fact that Wi-Fi sniffing may be used, and the unencrypted data packets may be intercepted by anybody in range of the signal – this is known as wireless eavesdropping.

A serious security concern is that malevolent individuals might set up a phony Wi-Fi network impersonating a genuine free Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing them to steal your and your family’s data.

In conclusion, if at all possible, avoid utilizing public networks, but if you must use it, then look for workarounds such as surfing with a virtual private network or tethering your cell phone, and encrypting the wireless network signal to prevent unencrypted data from being transmitted. Also, don’t log into bank accounts while using untrusted networks.

Beware of Phishing scams

A phishing scam is an attempt to obtain sensitive information from a person by sending them a fraudulent email. Most individuals are aware that they should not respond to the “Nigerian prince” fraud, which asks you to transfer money so they may inherit millions of dollars.

However, phishing scams are becoming more creative, and they include genuine data, authentic logos, and appear to come from legitimate email addresses at first sight since they contain the business’s name.

Never respond to these emails, according to children who use email. Banks and the IRS do not request your financial information via unsolicited emails. It is generally recommended that fraudulent emails be forwarded to the fraud department of the company they were sent to.

Last but not least, don’t be curious if the message includes an attachment, since this will undoubtedly infect your PC with harmful code, putting it at risk of a cyberattack.

Usage of VPNs

A virtual private network (VPN) is a fantastic tool for maintaining your online privacy. Rather than exposing all of your information on the internet all at once, it goes to a secure server through an encrypted channel, giving you excellent anonymity.

This is particularly good, as previously said, to increase the security of operating a public connection. This is also beneficial for your household connection since it ensures privacy and prevents prying from your ISP. The ISPs have previously been criticized for tracking individuals and selling their information (as if they didn’t make sufficient money ).

2FA 2-Factor Authentication

Stronger passwords are essential to keep accounts safe, but relying on them entirely is not a good idea. A strong password can help defend against a brute force assault, but it may still be obtained if the hacker manages to break into an online password database.

This has gotten to the point that there are sites dedicated to allowing users to input their realcomponline login details in order to see whether their account has been hacked. Instead of relying totally on a single password, there is another and superior approach known as “two-factor authentication” (abbreviated to 2FA).

The reasoning behind it is that two pieces of information are preferable to one, and you must have something that you know – in this case, the password, which should continue to be a solid one as outlined above – as well as something that you possess.

The most common thing you have and presumably the hacker does not have is a smartphone, which may be used for 2FA in a variety of ways.

If you log into a mobile banking service using your phone number, the mobile bank app may text you a special code that you must then input along with your password. SIM card cloning, on the other hand, might allow attackers to circumvent this technique (although it’s not something that happens all of the time).

A smartphone authenticator app, which is downloaded to the phone and performs the task of a security token by providing a number code that is only valid for a short time, is the most secure and preferred solution.

Use strong passwords

A robust password is the first line of defense in protecting your network. You should use a Wi-Fi password with at least 12 characters and more combinations of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, special characters, and digits.

To secure all of your online accounts, use the same logic to prevent ‘brute force attacks’ that randomly attempt dictionary words. While this may seem obvious to more seasoned users, it has been discovered that the most popular passwords are ‘123456′ and ‘password.’

Unfortunately, far too many individuals are taking the easy path, and the whole family must be educated on this efficient method of generating strong passwords for accounts. Another crucial piece of advice: don’t use the same passwords on multiple accounts.