Protect Your Digital Self in a Few Minutes a Day

By: Tod Roscoe

No one can feel safe nowadays if you post anything online from time to time on your social media profile, or anywhere else. What kinds of aftereffects you might encounter if you share or leave your email somewhere? What about the things you say or express online? Don't you think this kind of information may end up in the wrong hands? Let's find out what scary scenarios may happen to you unless you're paying due attention to that and how to avoid being trapped into digital dangers for your identity.

First of all, let us start with the popular background check tools that use open governmental and private sources to gather all the information available about you in one place. You might be surprised by the amount of data available freely about you online and that you are not aware of it. Those types of tools fall under the Open Source Intelligence category apps.

Plenty of lawbreakers were able to design special tools that allow parsing the information they need just like the police search tools in popular movies. Those tools scan publicly available databases as well, that's what makes them so dangerous to you. What can be done against those big data monsters? It's quite easy to check what kind of information about you may be freely available through those OSINT tools and how easy someone fraudulent can get use of it.

Digital footprint

Any emails you ever replied to or received, every post you shared on Facebook, every selfie you uploaded on Instagram – all of that creates your digital footprint. Anything that was ever said or done on the Internet will stay there forever and that is one of its foundation stones. Clicking on "accept cookies policy" button will help the webmasters track the activity you perform on their websites. And since this kind of info is stored somewhere, you will add that to your digital footprint. Most of the digital footprint types can be divided into two main groups: "active" and "passive".

• "Passive" are the ones you leave unconsciously or in some cases without even knowing about that. For example with the data tools such as Google Analytics, the website owners are tracking how many visits or clicks were obtained from your IP, location or country. Since most of such processes are going unnoticed and you were not going to send that data over, you may not even realize that something is collected.
• "Active" footprints are the ones you choose to share on the web. Posts from your social media accounts or your contact details on various forums or Web 2.0 pages are classic examples of your active digital footprint. Once you log in to some shared directory from your working desk and make changes to something that is visible for everyone with access is another example of the active footprint.

How to find your online presence?

One of the most obvious ways to find yourself online is by using some of the most popular search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, etc. In case you are aware of the digital footprint you leave or simply don't want your search history to be revealed, try DuckDuckGo or use Incognito mode in Google Chrome. The Tor browser is another great option to be considered.

You can also use such people search directories like Nuwber, BeenVerified or Instantcheckmate. Or simply srutinize what info you already shared on social media with the help of FB People Directory or Facebook Email Search.

What identity theft can lead to?

Financial aspect – you won't believe that but once the information about you is leaked it may be used for years after that, leading to fraudulent activity on your credit card, cleaning your bank account, getting a job, using our SSN or getting tax return instead of you.

Emotional aspect – once you reveal that your identity was stolen you might encounter such things as being under constant stress or feeling anxious. In some cases, people can commit suicide as they don't have the power to stand against that. Just imagine someone's calling you and demanding to pay the credit you never asked for. The result may be quite tragic.

Physical aspect – your identity being stolen may result in stomach pains and headaches, inability to work or think properly.

Social aspect – since we all live in a digital world, identity theft may lead to losing your job or spoiling your reputation in some cases. Once such a case is revealed, you need to ask for professional help from governmental or private institutions, depending on the severity of the problem.

Simple Tips to be Safe and avoid compromising your Identity

1. Always use strong passwords. There are plenty of tools that will help you to generate secured ones and store them in safe applications like Dashlane.

2. Check whether your email was a part of a leaked emails batch by checking it on HaveIbeenPwned.
3. Don't use your real name on forums and high-risk websites, unless it's really needed.
4. Disable sharing location on your mobile devise option.
5. Never use your personal and financial details in shared networks, especially public WiFi, or use a secure VPN connection.

With the growth of mobile and PC traffic worldwide, the demand for all kinds of leaked data will only grow over time. To save yourself from any negative effects of data leakage you would only need to follow the simple security rules.

Disclaimer: (This article is sponsored and includes some commercial links)