In light of recent revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, it’s now more vital than ever before to encrypt your data online, reduce your personal footprint, and keep your most treasured memories as close to the chest as they can get.
Post-leaks we live in a world that tells us nothing is truly safe, if it’s a conversation you’re having with a loved one over the phone, an email back and forth between bosses, or just a heartfelt text message sent to a sibling on their birthday. With that in mind, VPNCreative is here to help you get through the worst of it with our top 3 ways to protect yourself and your data online.
Use Private Browsing Windows
If you use popular web browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, you may have noticed an extra feature each time you go to open a new tab. “Private Browsing”, or incognito mode as it’s more commonly referred to, is the option to open up a new window or tab that is completely separate from the rest of the browser, doesn’t record any data while you’re using it, and blocks websites from tracking you with standard tools like cookies and data drops. It is the preferred method of privacy for anyone looking to visit a site known for malware, and can be a great way to tread lightly if you want to use it on a daily basis.
Adjust the Privacy Settings on Your Social Networks
Many analysts believe that while the NSA and its related agencies have been tapping into backdoors to gain access to your information for years, they also pick up whatever they can get off surface sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, and LinkedIn. These web portals are a treasure trove of valuable information, providing the government with as much information as they need to write up a profile on you, track your usage stats, and find out who your closest friends are in the real world and the digital. Each comes with its own set of easy to adjust settings, so make sure to check your account and be sure everything is locked up as tight as it can get before you log in next!
Encrypt Your Communications
As always, this wouldn’t be a VPN Creative article if we didn’t recommend you to any one of our stellar VPN providers, who work tirelessly to provide you with the most seamless, comprehensive, and up-to-date private networking solutions both online and off. VPNs allow you to browse the net anonymously, making sure your traffic and all the data that streams across it safe from hackers, attackers, and ne’er do wells who are out to steal your identity and use it nefariously to smear your name in the mud. The government isn’t far behind this pack of privacy invaders either, employing advanced strategies and dastardly data-mining operations that would make George Orwells head spin around twice.
By following these steps, you can maintain the sanctity of your servers, without having to compromise how you use the internet or the websites you visit while aimlessly browsing for fun. Stay tuned to VPNCreative for all the latest updates on the Snowden leaks, along with our continuing coverage on the most efficient methods of staying under the radar of US and UK dragnets that are out to track, analyze, and store every virtualized move you make.