More and more personal information is being stored on cloud servers.
While this enables a lot of amazing services, it also opens us up to a lot of potential risks. Our files, financial information and health data can potentially be viewed by people we do not know.
So if you want to limit your risk, while still taking advantage of the conveniences of modern technology, keep reading.
This article will teach you what to be aware of, so you can start taking steps towards protecting your privacy.
These solutions are simple and can be implemented by almost anyone. That said, if you don't want to implement them yourself, you can always find someone that can do it for you.
Data That Can Be Leaked
It's probably not a huge deal if someone gets ahold of your vacation pictures.
…or maybe it is.
Depends on the type of vacation you had.
But there's other data that shouldn't be in the hands of anyone else.
Things like…
- Medical records
- Daily schedule
- Bank account numbers
- Current location
- Account passwords
- And more!
So if you don't want some random person on the internet getting ahold of your personal information, here are 3 areas where you can improve your digital security.
Again, these are simple things that the average person can do.
Web Surfing
The best place to start protecting your privacy is with your web browser.
You might think that all browsers are the same, but that's simply not true.
My friend calls Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Internet Exploder 💥
That's a pretty good description.
They retired it because of the number of security issues it had. I stopped using anything Microsoft (whenever possible) a long time ago.
But my point here is that there are good browsers and bad browsers.
Good browsers do everything possible to protect your privacy.
Bad browsers like Internet Exploder don't care.
You'll never be 100% private on the public internet, but there are things that you can do protect yourself.
First, look for a browser that blocks as many tracking cookies and ads as possible. Cookies can give away your browsing habits and thus your identity.
You might be surprised at how many unnecessary trackers and ads there can be on a website. For example, when I visited the Wired website, my browser blocked 78 trackers and ads.
A second useful feature is to automatically clear your browsing history periodically. Most browsers keep your browsing history until you manually delete it.
If someone ever gets access to your computer, they can get a lot of information on you like:
- Your bank
- Where you shop
- Any health issues you may have
- And more
The browser I use erases all of my browsing history whenever I shut down or update the browser.
Finally, you should look for a browser that's open source. This means that anyone can go in and review the source code of the browser.
It keeps the developer honest because anyone with coding experience can spot security vulnerabilities.
Find out my favorite privacy-focused browser here.
Smartphones
Another way that your private information can be compromised is through your smartphone.
Several studies have shown that the Android operating system sends as much as 20X more data to the Google servers on a daily basis, when compared to the amount of data that iOS devices send to the Apple servers.
That doesn't mean that iOS devices are more private. Both devices send data continuously, while your phone is on.
So the question is…what information is being sent?
It's tough to know about everything that's being sent, but one thing we do know is that your location is being sent on a regular basis.
There have been several cases where location data from phones has been used to arrest people for crimes, sometimes mistakenly.
Now think about all of the other types of information that could be sent from your phone, without your knowledge.
Find out about the best privacy phone solutions here.
Cloud Storage Services
The terms of service of many cloud data storage services basically allow employees to access your data. It's not explicitly written in the terms of service.
But if you read between the lines, you'll catch it.
Of course, they do have security in place, so not every employee has that access. I wholeheartedly believe that most of these companies do their best to keep your data safe. Your files are encrypted on their servers, so most employees cannot open them.
However, there are a select few individuals at these companies who can access your data.
For example, take a look at the Box Privacy Policy.
The first sentence says that they don't share data with third parties. Then the rest of the paragraph outlines the third parties they can (and probably do) share your data with.
😂
My point is that someone at every company can access your data.
Therein lies the risk. Are you going to trust a handful of people you don't know?
Consider the military.
In general, they are some of the most disciplined and well-meaning individuals in society. They are also highly regulated and have to follow orders from their superiors.
But does everyone in the military follow orders?
Of course not. There are court martials and dishonorable discharges all the time.
That's just human nature.
Not everyone will follow the rules.
So if highly disciplined, professional soldiers break the rules, then what makes you think that the average Joe/Jane cubicle worker will follow the rules?
I believe that most will. But it just takes one rouge employee to expose all your data.
This means that YOU have to take responsibility for your data.
Remember that possession is usually 9/10 of the law. Not in a strictly legal sense, but it a very practical sense.
If a company possess your data, they can do what they want with it. Just look at the Privacy Policy of Microsoft.
Again, the aren't going to come out and say that they own your data.
But the reality is that they do.
Don't get me wrong, these services are fantastic for sharing work files and non-sensitive information. They provide a valuable service and I have nothing against them.
I simply want to show you the potential risks that come with storing sensitive information on these services.
If you want to protect your private data in a convenient way, download the guide below. It will show you how to have more control over your personal information.
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