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AnchorFree Marks Privacy Day with Five Online Tips to Protect Individuals and Families
Published Jan 30, 2013
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Following this year’s Data Privacy Day, David Gorodyansky, founder and CEO of AnchorFree, has produced a selection of tips and tools to empower consumers and protect their online privacy
“Identify theft is a real danger in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said Gorodyansky, whose company produces Hotspot Shield, one of the world’s most popular online privacy tools. “We spend billions every year on keeping our homes safe, yet relatively few are even aware of the growing threats they and their families face every time they go online.”
Gorodyansky recommends these helpful tips for keeping your family’s online data and reputation private and secure:
1. Risky business – Make sure all family members understand the public nature of the Internet and its risks. Any digital information they share – emails, photos or videos – can easily be copied and pasted elsewhere, and is almost impossible to take back. Anything that could damage their reputation, friendships, wallet or future prospects should not be shared electronically.
2. Keep it hidden, keep it safe – Make sure all family members are careful about sharing sensitive information such as birth date, addresses, phone numbers, location, financial information, social security numbers, passwords and vacation plans. Most reputable online services have privacy settings. Teach your kids how to use them, too.
3. Browse intelligently – Avoid using sketchy, unfamiliar websites, and delete suspicious emails, particularly those that ask for unnecessary personal information or request that you download something. These may be malware or phishing sites out to steal your personal data.
4. Turn off geolocation – Many apps’ permissions include backdoor location trackers that are constantly streaming your location. If you’re not actively using your phone to navigate, turn them off. Many apps aimed at children are disclosing location; make sure your kids are following this rule of thumb as well.
5. Get behind a shield – Use a solution such as Hotspot Shield, which will help identify malware sites and provide a secure, encrypted connection to the Internet for desktop or mobile devices, protecting your browsing from hackers and snoops. This is particularly important when using public Wi-Fi or other unknown networks.
With more than 100 million downloads on PCs, Macs, iOS and Android platforms, Hotspot Shield allows users to browse the Web free from privacy and security concerns, access all Internet content from anywhere in the world and – on phones – save money on their data plans.
“Whether you’re a teenager whose life revolves around your social networks, a professional who’s constantly surfing the Web on the go or a parent keeping an eye on your child’s online habits, you are entrusting more information to the public realm than ever before,” said Gorodyansky. “And yet few of us are taking the proper – and very simple – precautions against cybercrime.”
“Just like wearing a seatbelt or locking our front doors, we have simple and accessible means to protect our online lives. But with so many Americans falling victim to identity fraud every year, it’s clear we’re not making the most of those tools. Data Privacy Day comes only once a year, but it’s a great reminder that we’re all responsible for our own online privacy, and doing so is as easy as clicking that seatbelt or securing your home.”
Data Privacy Day is an international day of awareness to educate consumers about privacy and safeguarding their personal information. Led by The National Cyber Security Alliance, a non-profit public-private partnership focused on cybersecurity education for all online citizens, Data Privacy Day commemorates the 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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