One of the biggest benefits of living in the 21st century is the fact that we have access to information at our fingertips, courtesy of the internet. It’s now possible to quickly search who the last president was or if your favorite restaurant is still open.
Unfortunately, with all of the benefits that the internet provides, there are also a few risks that come along with it. For example, you could have all of your information stolen and have people buying things from your accounts. If you are looking to avoid that, here are 5 tips to help you safely browse the internet in 2022.
Use a VPN
One of the best ways that you can protect yourself whilst browsing the internet in 2022 is by making use of VPNs. In case you are not familiar with what a VPN is, it stands for virtual proxy network and basically acts as a middleman between you and the site that you are accessing.
Why are VPNs like the Surfshark VPN great to use? Because they hide your personal information, as well as hide your actual location. Did you know that if someone were to get your IP address, they could find out where you live? With the number of cybercriminals on the rise, it’s almost essential to browse with a VPN these days.
Don’t Use the Same Passwords
Another great tip if you are looking to browse the internet with peace of mind is to avoid using the same passwords for every site you have an account. Think about it this way; if someone were to gain access to your password, they might try to log in with that same password to the various sites you have an account. If you are using the same password for every site, then they will have access to a lot of your information.
You should consider writing your passwords down if need be. Alternatively, there are many applications for desktop computers and laptops that allow you to save various passwords.
Don’t Use Sites That Aren’t Encrypted
A great way to stay safe whilst browsing the internet would be to not put yourself at unnecessary risk. One of the best ways to do this would be to not visit ay websites that are not encrypted. What does this mean? Almost every website these days uses something called SSL encryptions, which means secure socket layer encryptions.
This type of encryption basically creates a secure line of data transference from the site to your desktop computer, laptop, phone, and more. Essentially this means that no one can intercept the data that is being transferred, which could include information like your passwords to websites, banking information, and more. To see if the site you are visiting is encrypted, all you need to do is look at the top left of the URL bar to see if there is a locked symbol; if there is, you are good to go.
Don’t Download from Unverified Sources
Much like the tip above, a great way to reduce the risk of browsing the internet in 2022 is to not download anything from unverified sources. It might come as a surprise, but there are people out there with malicious intentions. If you were to visit a site that isn’t encrypted, and download a file, you could potentially be downloading viruses or malware.
If you did download something from an unverified source, it’s not the end of the world, as long as you haven’t installed it. One way to spot suspicious software is if the file just says “installer” or if you downloaded a specific application, but the name on the installer is different or doesn’t have the name of the application you wanted.
Use Anti-Virus Software
One of the easiest ways that you can stay safe whilst browsing the internet is to make use of anti-virus software. While it is true that a lot of anti-virus software does throw up a lot of false positives to seem efficient, they are generally good to use.
In addition to that, most desktop computers and laptops that use Windows 10 come with the default anti-virus software called Windows Defender. While that is good to use, there are more advanced options on the market, and it might be well worth it to consider buying software, just for that peace of mind, especially if you are someone that browses the internet quite frequently.