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Internet Security: What is it and how to configure your equipment to protect us while you surf the net? Step by step guide

Internet Security: What is it and how to configure your equipment to protect us while you surf the net? Step by step guide

No one is safe on the network, it is something we have to assume and the sooner we do it, the better for everyone. It is also necessary to raise awareness throughout the family about the importance of privacy , both personally and to any other and how vulnerable we are , no matter how much we consume content and no matter how experienced we are.

Internet security is much more than we imagine and we want you to know what it is in detail. With this concept we can refer to many things, making the list very long and endless this post.

However, we will try to address it from the most general points, so that, when you finish this reading, you know, how little sure you are on the network, what you are exposed to and how you can avoid it.

What is Internet security?

Internet security is a compendium of actions with which any user reduces , as far as possible, the vulnerability to which it is exposed by the simple made of having connected, with any device, to a network .

So, then, we can say that they are all those mechanisms that can be used in our favor so that they do not scam us, steal, do not know our information beyond what we want to give, no malicious elements, etc. are introduced into our devices and softwares

These can be both internal and external and serve, as we say, to reduce and eliminate those elements that make us vulnerable against teams, people, procedures.

A simpler way to understand computer, technological or industrial security (always depending on where we apply it) is to know precisely what we are exposed to as well as the solutions that exist to avoid it: that would be the security that we want to achieve so much.

What are the main dangers we should protect ourselves from browsing? on the network?

Although there is a lot to investigate, there are certain practices that are the most used at the domestic and small-scale level, that is, to which we submit all common Internet users every day:

Theft of malicious information

seguridad en internet robo de informacion

The theft of information maliciously and aggressively is done for several purposes. In general, seeks to impersonate , in one way or another, the identity of the user, whether to create profiles on platforms of a certain type, try to access their accounts, to sensitive information, to blackmail… The other great purposes are the sale of that information or direct access to our systems .

The ways to get this data are very varied and more or less professional and meticulous . From creating a «friendship» with the affected future to get the information “legal” to him until introducing malware on your computer that copies your passwords, for example, by downloading your information to try to access, with it, spaces where you can have other information of interest or phishing .

And, in turn, how do they do all this? They impersonate workers or entities to ask us for some information (what is known as social engineering ), creating fake profiles on the Internet, using attractive emails or SMS with those who are encouraged to click on a link …

Unwanted collection of information

Not to be confused with the above. Information is also stolen from us, let’s be clear (or, at least, it’s how we feel it). However, in this case it is done in a way in which it is assumed that the user gives his consent and its purpose , at least at present, it is assumed that is not malicious .

We talk about the data that Google collects from our searches and that serve to later advertise us, out there, precisely of things that we have looked for or similar, or that information that Facebook sold a few years ago and that has made it modify the law; Does it sound to you?

The privacy settings of your profiles on any page, the use of one or the other extensions, the cache, the type of pop-ups that you accept, the cookies stored. All this involves information that is used to analyze you and create attractive resources for you.

All this information are data that we are not hiding , because we type them, obviously, but nobody tells us that they are going to be used … or yes?

The truth, and more since the famous Facebook trial for the use of data, is that is informed and we also consent when we “read the privacy policies” and other information that we are given when installing apps, extensions or even games, when we participate in raffles or simply, the policy of a website that is hung up , in view of all, and that they indicate that you should read and that, with the acceptance of the creation of a user, you are accepting.

Nobody does, nobody reads 10, 20 or 50 pages about data usage; We all scroll and accept and, with that, we are consenting, like it or not. However, you should know that, on occasion, certain circumstances have been ruled abusive in which this data usage information was fetched, difficult to understand or was too hidden. Even so, don’t relax, if you accept, it’s your fault.

The good thing about all this is that there are many solutions to each of the circumstances. Nobody forces you to become a user in a site whose policy you don’t like or to install an information collection extension, you can erase your cache, configure the privacy of your profiles or the navigation you carry out in each site, etc.

Scams

As in everything, there are more and less elaborate ones, but there are, and many, tens, hundreds, thousands. From the African king who needs your help to clean his money to leave the country and will give you a percentage to the pyramidal processes through the sale of miracle products or that never arrive .

The ghost investments, loans with conditions that we cannot even believe in how good they are, job offers in which you are asked for money or sending something , directly, sentimental scams , rentals and, of course, impersonation for the purpose of any scam (data theft, customer acquisition signing an abusive agreement, etc).

What scams are everywhere; The scam of the stamp or the donation of goods to the sects are two clear examples that we all know already, but, in the network it seems that we still do not get used. People with bad intentions abound and, if there is a channel, there will be a method ; We are not safe anywhere and, therefore, distrusts everything that sounds too good .

Harassment

seguridad en internet cyberbullyng

There are many forms of harassment on the network . Each one has its objectives, its methodology and its peculiarities , although there is a common main aspect: a victim who suffers an abusive and inferior treatment in one way or another .

We present a small list of harassment on the Internet:

  • Extortion . Extortion is the use of resources such as threat, intimidation or violence to achieve something. When the purpose is sexual it is called sextorsion , which is the use of that superiority to get sex, either physical, in meetings, or through the network. In general, sexting, which is the sending of sexual content in digital format (a danger and vulnerability!), Often leads to sextorsion, using the material uploaded of everything to blackmail.
  • Stalking . It’s the stalking to a person. Obviously, it is achieved because there is an excess of information or access to the contents of said user. The famous buzzing, the insistent crushing of Facebook or the search for a person by both means as it blocks you are very clear. It is also considered as such the treatment between couples who investigate what the other does and use it to have control , cause fights, etc.
  • Bullying . It is a harassment that occurs, in theory, among equals . is attacked repetitively, including contempt, insults, lack of value to any aspect of the attack. It often happens that it occurs physically, that is, in a face-to-face, especially among minors, and, with Internet standardization, it moves there. This, of course, is not always the case; someone may attack another without knowing you at all, for a simple opinion that you have read or leave you to know the motivation (which is never an excuse, of course).
  • Grooming . It is the concept that refers to a harassment in which the victim is a minor and the attacker is older . The intention is sexual . It can, of course, lead to sextorsion although, at first, the idea is to captivate the victim so that she is the one who “accesses” the situations that occur. The two main ways to achieve this are with false profiles in which the identity of a minor is supplanted (or a non-existent profile is created directly) or by offering something that the minor is lacking to create a bond of trust and even affectivity .
  • Gender violence . It is given to people of the opposite sex. Its effect on the Internet occurs when performed in a group , usually defending radical ideas, although, of course, it will not always be this way. The person is deprived of value for their sex either clearly or covertly. .
  • Violence in general . A circumstance in which the way you speak and treat another is more violent than you want to endure . This can be somewhat subjective depending on the user and the type of relationship, although it is clear that you should never give in and accept actions, ideas and words with which you are not comfortable, although they may seem harmless (which, sometimes, is the case, making it harder for the victim to realize and act).
  • Image attack . The disclosure of information of someone or the expression of false data in order to attack the image of someone, whether personal, professional or of any other type, is also considered a type of harassment I would enter here, too, the opinion of another opinion given in which the first ridicules the content or the way of thinking of the second; make a mockery , speaking clearly.

Cyber ​​attacks

Are attacks that are made to computers connected to the network. It is not something personal but a practice that seeks to alter the operation of a machine or to be able to access its information or control it for a purpose.

Steps to increase the security of your browsing and Internet connection

To be safe from many of the situations that we have detailed above, it is necessary to have good practices when surfing the web, so that security increases in one way or another.

Next, we will detail a list:

Privacy settings

seguridad en internet configurar privacidad

It is essential to start by making a correct and balanced configuration of our privacy at all levels. This means entering the configuration menus of all spaces and elements related to the network.

Browser

Your browser, no matter which one you use, will have a configuration section within its own settings . Look for it and dedicate it a long time, because you can not imagine the amount of aspects related to your privacy and the navigation and memory and information collection options that are there and that you can choose to keep or disable.

Social networks

Social networks, of such habitual use, deserve an extra mention. We do not talk about the content that you decide to upload yourself, attention! but of other adjustments that you must make in an identical way, investigating in the options of your profile of each of the platforms and choosing wisely the parameters that best balance enjoyment and privacy / security.

Other websites

In general, wherever you enter you will see that you can make adjustments to your profile , including privacy ones.

Eye also, when entering a website, to the typical box of use of cookies . In it they not only tell you that you use them but, recently, they give you the option to modify them so that the site is left with only the navigation information you allow .

Synchronization configuration of your information

Signing in to Google from different devices means that your data and the information and files you handle are synchronized. It can be useful but also implies that Google has all of this , which, in turn, means giving away data to the company that may benefit most from it.

Synchronization has its own section in the browser privacy settings menu , so if you have listened to the previous step, you will have done this too.

The thing is … do you want to be out of sync? It has cost us a lot to have things here and there (I say it from experience) but the truth is that Google makes it increasingly difficult if you don’t synchronize. So … it is a matter of seeing how much it affects us in navigation and if it compensates although, if what you are looking for is to improve your privacy, surely yes.

Data encryption

Since we are lucky enough to choose more or less extensively what to synchronize and what not (you don’t have to choose all or nothing), you are sure to keep up with certain aspects. When you decide to do so, make sure that the information that is “exposed” is encrypted .

This is something that, again, you can access from the same synchronization menu that we talked about in the previous point, with an option that says something like «Encrypt the data to sync » or similar.

Common sense when uploading content

It goes without saying that everything you upload to the network is a giant vulnerability .

If you want to keep a low profile, do not offer sensitive information such as that used to locate you or to communicate with you outside the spaces in the network that you have created for it . Phone number, address, location, photos in easy-to-recognize spaces, directions on where you will spend certain moments, workplace, hours … All this only serves for whoever wants to find you, do it .

It seems somewhat exaggerated but the truth is that you can not imagine what many people suffer because they are in the network with someone who gets heavy and is stalking or stalking, as we have seen before.

The type of content that you upload can also make some people or others interested in you.

In general, photos with sexual character translate into a situation of continued harassment by many people, especially men, who send dozens of friend requests or write you private messages, even without being friends on the net. And this already unpleasant situation may increase, from insults to humiliation.

On the other hand, content that shows an in-depth ideology is never beneficial . Of course, we all have the right to have our opinions and express them but think that those things you write can be read by recruiters or even the human resources staff of your company or your teacher.

Should it matter? The truth is that no but, unfortunately, many people may rather sympathize with you for that simple reason and be unfair in certain aspects, for example, discarding your job application or being harder with you to when passing your subject.

Think, too, who you expose with your images, mentions and labels . From minors to people who do not want to be related to any topic or conversation, and what that may entail.

SSL or HTTP spaces

seguridad en internet https ssl

Sometimes, your security does not depend on you but on the sites you frequent. There are currently two callsign on the pages that are the ones that will tell you that, in effect, they are safe. These are the SSL certificate (the information is manipulated with encryption systems and as it goes, comes back) and the HTTPs protocol .

Google support services are not as friendly

These support services that appear in Chrome, in addition to not being especially useful, are a hotbed of information . You can get rid of them by deactivating them in the advanced browser settings , in the “Privacy and security” tab.

Cookie management

Cookies are your trace on the Internet. We have seen before that you can configure and maintain it, as there are some that are responsible for even saving your usernames and passwords, something highly dangerous because, although those profiles no longer exist, they can serve as a basis for decrypting other usernames and passwords.

You have already seen that from the browser you also have access to its setting, with a lot of options and nuances, incidentally, with its own tab, «Cookies», within of “Settings” .