The internet is a master of so many crafts, its applications and implementations are countless which is why it has become one of the most important technologies of humankind ever since its creation. This extreme flexibility of the internet can be observed in such a way that it is a technology that has been integrated into all walks of life, the live demonstration of this concept was observed during the pandemic.
During the pandemic, the internet was used to work from home, take online classes, manage both online and offline businesses, stream live TV, watch movies, play games, and doother activities. Since there was a restriction on physical movement so internet came as an alternative and allowed people to do all the things virtually rather than physically, as was the case before the pandemic.
This was the reason that the internet user base saw an incredible boost in the year 2020-2021 because those who weren’t a fan of the internet were also forced to get a connection to continues their day-to-day workings. As the internet became a designated essential service, this made access to it mandatory for every citizen. And to ensure this availability, many providers slashed their prices and governmental aid was also offered to citizens in this regard.
One major example of this sort is the EBB or Emergency Broadband Benefit program that granted users financial aid so that they could remain connected to their services. Similarly, service providers also chimed in with their fair share of deals and discounts. Brands like Cox internet prices were reduced to facilitate the users.
However, with the internet becoming easily accessible and more users joining the internet community in recent times, it has created of of several problems as well. And this problem mostly relates to the security and privacy concerns of online users.
Dangers of the Online World
The thing about the internet is that it is somewhat of a dual-edged sword and whether it can be a beneficial thing or a tool for malicious purposes is entirely dependent on the user. But the unfortunate fact of the matter is that most of the people present on the internet don’t hold noble intentions for others.
Since avid internet users are quite aware of these malicious practices that happen online and this makes it is difficult to trap them. However, in case of naïve users who have recently adopted this technology, they areextremely prone to these malicious entities. The unfortunate fact of the current cyber world is that not only there are hackers and cyber criminals but big companies also spy on users’ movements across the web to sell that data to advertisers.
Online Tracking and Advertisements
Cybercrimes although still existent have become few and far in between, that’s because hackers and cybercriminals are running out of tricks to trap internet users. Plus, the security mechanisms on the internet have also become extremely robust that it is quite difficult to get into one’s system technically.
However, what can one do in a case when a user himself is giving the necessary details to the hacker or a website? Yes, this is what’s happening right now in the online world. Most commonly known as phishing hacks in which hackers masquerade to be someone else and in that disguise either ask for control of your computer, your social media credentials, or your financial details.
Once a naïve user provides them with that, the hacker either takes control of their social accounts, and devices, or eitheempties their bank accounts with the financial details provided. So make sure to never give personaldetails or credentials to anyone no matter where they pretend to be from.
This was an example of phishing attacks, which most old internet users are immune to as they are quite cautious in opening unknown links or providing their details to random people. However, there is one thing that most experienced internet users also do which is extremely dangerous for their online privacy.
Many of us when visiting a website it pops up a window asking us to accept and reject cookies and terms of service. Most of us just click on accept without even giving it a second look or thought. This is extremely dangerous as cookies stored in your web browser allow those websites to track your movement across the web and this data is sold to advertisers.
The advertisers use this tracking data to show users personalized ads for better targeting, but the type of data these cookies collect can sometimes be sensitive which a user might not be comfortable sharing. This is why either user should read the privacy policy and terms of service of a website or reject the cookie prompt in the first place.
This will prohibit websites to store cookies on your browser and you will avoid tracking by these websites, but this can hamper the experience somewhat as some images might not load or you might need to put credentials every time you visit that website. A quick fix can also be to use VPN which masks your physical location with a dummy IP address to preserve your anonymity on the web.
Conclusion
With the internet seeping into almost anything and everything that we do today, the security and privacy concerns associated with this technology have also skyrocketed. The increase in the number of web users most of which are both naïve and are being introduced to the internet for the first time has increased the need to educate internet users about the potential privacy risks that they might have to face in this virtual world, which is what this article aimed to do.
