Your digital profile is valuable
- October 2, 2018
Your search history, your browsing habits, how long you spend on each website, what you look at before you buy and the websites that you have an account with – your digital profile builds an incredibly detailed picture of you.
With today’s technology, it’s easy to deduce your likes and dislikes to design the perfect ad for a product that is so tempting, that you simply have to buy it!
But that’s just the advertising side of the coin.
Your digital profile is growing
It’s no longer just about your online searching, browsing and buying habits.
Smart watches, smart clothing, smart appliances, GPS-enabled smartphones help companies complete the picture. It’s nearly at the point where companies can find out what you eat, where you go, how often you put a load of washing on or open the fridge door, how many steps you take each day and your average heart rate.
This personal (and typically private) information is extremely valuable. Imagine what a health insurance company could do?
Value your digital information
Everyone needs to value their digital information and care about their privacy – from the health information you track with wearables and the smart gadgets in your home, through to the locations tagged in your photos.
- On the web: Think about what information you provide to websites. Use a tracking script and cookie blocker in your browsers.
- Smart devices: Check who has access to the information collected by smart wearables. Lock down your gadget’s security settings, if they have them.
- Publishing photos: Disable location tagging when publishing photos online and consider whether they would be better shared with a select group of friends (not public). You don’t want everyone to know where you live or if you are on holiday.
Your rights under the GDPR
If you are a European citizen or resident, you have rights under the GDPR to know what information is being collected, why, who has access to it and how it will be used. If you are concerned that a company is collecting too much information, or might pass it on to a third-party – ask them!
We hope you find these tips useful! Keep an eye on future posts for more about how you, your family and your colleagues can stay safe online.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this first week’s theme is Cyber Safety Starts at Home. For more information about
NCSAM and StaySafeOnline, please visit staysafeonline.org/ncsam
Comparison of private search engines
If you want to search in private there is a number of private metasearch and search engines available. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of each one? See the comparison chart and make you choice.
How to keep your searches private
Keep your search and browsing information out of the hands of advertisers – use a private search engine
How do private search engines make money?
If you want to use a private search engine, one of the question that often is askes is “How do they make money?”. There various ways a search engine can keep you privacy and make money. See the comparison chart and learn more about private search engines.