在过去的几年里，个人、公司和政府跟踪您在网上所做的事情的能力已成为一个热门话题，现在 91% 的美国人(Americans)觉得他们已经失去了对在线隐私的控制。有关互联网隐私的(internet privacy)法律和法规(Laws and regulations)远远落后于这项技术，尽管一些州已经开始提出立法，以更好地保护用户的私人数据不被卖给出价最高的人。
(Comprehensive Guide)在线隐私(Online Privacy)综合指南
不过，在线隐私比(Online privacy)Facebook等出售用户人口统计信息的公司更深入。还有许多其他方式可以侵犯您的隐私，无论是在线还是离线。幸运的是，您可以采取一些措施来帮助保护您的信息安全(information secure)。
使用防病毒软件
大多数人都知道病毒会导致计算机问题，例如将浏览器重定向到特定站点、减慢速度或完全锁定它。如果有人使用病毒在您的系统中设置后门以扫描信息并可能记录您的击键以窃取您的密码，您可能不知道它正在发生。防病毒计算机(Antivirus computer)软件擅长捕捉这些潜入并严重破坏您的隐私的特洛伊木马病毒。(Trojan horse)
使用该软件自动扫描您的下载，手动扫描任何看起来可疑的内容并安排扫描定期运行。经常更新它，让它扫描您的网络和所有连接的设备以及您的计算机。该软件还可以帮助您加强计算机的防火墙，以防出现问题。
阅读(Read)：适用于Windows 10的最佳免费互联网隐私软件和产品(Internet Privacy Software & Products)，
使用虚拟专用网络
在线时保护您的隐私的最佳方法之一是使用虚拟专用网络(Virtual Private Network)( VPN )，它会掩盖您的IP 地址(IP address)并将其替换为不同的服务器地址。这使网站无法追踪您的 IP 以及您在网上所做的事情。VPN可让您保持匿名，从而降低被黑客入侵的风险。
注意在线诈骗
人们可以在互联网上成为受害者的骗局清单非常广泛。幸运的是，如果您了解最常见的情况，您可以更好地保护自己。需要防范的一些最常见的骗局是：
- 恶意软件(Malware)——自互联网诞生以来，电子邮件附件或链接中的病毒一直是个问题。如果您不希望电子邮件中包含附件，即使该电子邮件似乎来自您认识的人，在您确定之前不要单击它。来自陌生人的电子邮件和社交媒体或论坛上的可疑链接也是如此。不要(Don)打开它们。您可以被定向到将恶意软件下载到您的计算机的站点。防病毒软件(Antivirus software)将阻止其中的大部分，但新病毒——尤其是勒索软件——一直在开发以试图绕过算法，因此使用你的直觉也很重要。
- 网络钓鱼(Phishing)– 当您收到一封意外电子邮件，例如声称您的银行、社会保障机构或其他组织因为问题或更新(problem or update)需要您的信息时，您应该点击的链接乍一看看起来很正常。但是当您将鼠标指针(mouse pointer)悬停在它上面时（但不要单击(t click)它），实际地址将与链接所说的不同，并且与官方网站不匹配。通过新的电子邮件、短信或电话(text or phone call)联系被指控的发件人，以确认您是否不确定。通常，当从组织共享重要信息时，它会以信件的形式出现。例如，美国国税局(IRS)不会给你打电话告诉你需要付给他们一定数额的钱。如果您确实欠他们钱，他们会通过“蜗牛邮件”通知您，以减少被黑客入侵的可能性。如果您接到有关重要私人信息的电话，请始终保持谨慎。
- 技术支持诈骗(Tech Support Scam)–技术支持(Tech support)诈骗也是常见的诈骗，可以通过电话或电子邮件(phone call or email)进行。通常，有人会通知您您的计算机存在“问题”。您可能会被指示立即致电以进行处理。友好的技术支持人员(support person)会告诉您，您的ISP发现您的计算机严重感染了病毒，他们会随时为您提供帮助。他们会请求远程访问(request remote access)您的计算机 -(computer –)确保永远不要让任何人拥有此访问权限。他们会下载您的文件以查找银行和信用卡信息(bank and credit card information)，有时他们会破坏您的计算机，以便他们可以要求付款以修复它。
- 其他消费者诈骗(Other Consumer Scams)–有许多诈骗试图将您与您的数据和金钱分开，从汽车保修和 IRS 诈骗(car warranty and IRS scams)到彩票诈骗。幸运的是，使用垃圾邮件过滤器很容易避免其中的大多数。将您的电子邮件设置为自动过滤垃圾邮件，以防止大多数诈骗进入您的收件箱。如果有人通过，永远不要回复他们。如果你这样做了，它会提醒发件人他们已经到达一个真实地址，他们可以劫持作为回复电子邮件(reply email)向其他人发送垃圾邮件。
保护您的数据
黑客无法窃取他们找不到的信息。密码、银行帐号(bank account)、您的社会安全号码(Social Security number)和出生(birth shouldn)日期等重要数据不应在您的计算机上提供。切勿(Never)以不安全的方式保存它们，例如在记事本或 Word(Notepad or Word)中。然而，使用一个好的密码管理器(Password Manager)很好。此外，不要通过电子邮件或聊天发送这些信息，因为它几乎从未加密和安全。
将所有重要数据也远离智能手机。手机的安全性甚至低于电脑，因此切勿将此类信息发短信或通过电子邮件或私人信息发送，以免被截获。为避免智能手机自带的软件跟踪您，请进入手机的隐私设置并关闭其检测您位置的功能。
- 不要使用公共计算机——(Don’t Use Public Computers – )公共访问计算机和Wi-Fi存在风险且不安全。如果您必须使用一个，请不要登录(t log)任何网站或将您的个人信息以任何形式输入。如果您在任何地方登录，您的密码很容易被盗。如果出现某些情况，您必须在公共计算机上查看电子邮件或进行其他业务，请确保您在离开前注销，并在您再次访问私人连接时考虑更改密码。
- 使用更安全的电子邮件和消息传递(Use More Secure Email and Messaging – )——Gmail很方便，但在隐私方面，谷歌(Google)是最严重的违规者之一。没有任何免费电子邮件会像您支付的承诺加密、安全和隐私的电子邮件帐户那样安全。(email account)直接消息传递应用程序(apps suffer)也存在同样的问题。提供这些信息的公司（如Facebook）经常收集和出售您的数据，而这些信息并不安全(t secure)，因此它们很容易被拦截并用于了解您的信息。像Wire 或 Signal(Wire or Signal)这样的安全消息应用程序可以帮助您将私人对话真正保密。
- 不要在社交媒体上泄露您的数据——(Don’t Give Your Data Away on Social Media – )大约 70% 的美国(American)成年人使用社交媒体，而且似乎每个人都在餐厅或外出度假时发布信息。社交媒体已经每天跟踪您并从您的个人数据中获利，但宣传您的实际位置会增加另一层风险。切勿在社交媒体上发布此类信息，以保护您的隐私。
- 仔细检查(Double-check)您的社交媒体资料和隐私设置，以确保您确切知道展示的内容以及谁可以看到它。如果您的帖子是公开的，而不是仅限于朋友和联系人，那么您的房屋、汽车和周边地区的照片可以为陌生人提供足够的信息来找到您。掠夺者可以查看您的帖子并了解您孩子的姓名、年龄、大致位置、学校等，从而使他们处于危险之中。陌生人可以弄清楚你什么时候在度假，什么时候你的家是空的。
- 通过不填写由问题列表组成的流行社交媒体“了解你”模因，进一步保护您的隐私。他们通常会问诸如您长大的街道、您的第一只宠物、您母亲的娘家姓(s maiden name)以及许多其他个人问题。如果您碰巧忘记了密码，网站会询问许多常见的密码恢复问题，这些问题都在这些列表中，从而使黑客的工作变得更容易。(password recovery)在社交媒体上过度分享可能会产生后果！
采取足够的安全措施
- 选择强密码 -(Choose Strong Passwords – )如果有人可以访问，您存储在计算机上的任何密码都是公平的游戏。但是，即使没有人可以侵入您的系统，如果您选择的密码太容易被黑客猜到，他们仍然可以进入您的网上银行、社交媒体帐户和电子邮件。(online banking)
- 为每个站点使用唯一的密码，不要使用真实的单词、名称或任何人可以猜到的东西（例如那些社交媒体模因中的地点和事物）。如果您可以轻松记住它，那么黑客可能会弄清楚它。由大写和小写字母(capital and lowercase letters)、数字和符号组成的长密码是几乎不可能被猜到的强密码。
- 你不会记得真正的强密码，所以把它们写下来。如果您丢失了密码列表并且必须更容易获得它们，计算机软件(computer software)可以提供帮助。只要您选择加密且安全的密码管理器，就可以选择密码管理器。(password manager)许多密码管理器(password manager)甚至会为您推荐极强的密码。
- 在可用的情况下使用两步验证 -(Use Two-Step Authentication Where Available – )如果您的密码之一被泄露，可以保护您的另一层保护是两步验证。在每个提供它的网站上设置它，这样当您登录时，您必须完成第二步，通过让网站向(site send)您发送短信、电子邮件或自动电话(phone call)来验证它实际上是您本人。如果您收到要求验证的消息，但不是您发起(t initiate)的，请立即更改该网站的密码。
- 成为精明的在线购物者——(Be a Savvy Online Shopper – )数据显示 96% 的美国人在(Americans) 网上购物(shop online)。它简单、方便，并提供实体店无法比拟的选择。如果您让您购物的网站保存您的付款信息(payment information)，也会给您的财务带来风险。
- 无论看起来多么方便，都要抵制单击保存付款信息的框以备下次使用的冲动。(payment info)如果网站的数据被泄露——这在大大小小的零售商身上已经发生过很多次了——你的信用卡号码(credit card number)可能会被泄露。每次购买时，请多花几分钟时间输入您的付款信息(payment information)。并确保只从值得信赖的在线商店购买，这些商店的安全连接在其 URL 中使用“HTTPS”前缀指定。
- 删除跟踪 Cookie——(Delete Tracking Cookies –)许多网站，尤其是零售网站，会在您的浏览器中存放 Cookie，让网站识别您，这样您就不必每次都登录。不幸的是，许多人还在线跟踪您的其他活动(activity online)。您可以查看浏览器的设置以轻松删除其中的任何或全部。现在也必须选择退出Google FloC。
- 不要使用智能家居产品 - (Don’t Use Smart Home Products – )Google Home、Alexa和Siri一直在听，以便在您触发它们时做出响应。如果您想在家中或设备上锁定隐私，请不要使用这些产品。但是，如果您开始依赖它们，您仍然可能需要更改设置以防止它们记录您对他们说的所有内容。
- 许多人没有意识到这些设备存储了多少信息。几年前，谷歌默认停止记录和保存交互，但如果你的设备较旧，你可能需要更改设置。(Google)Siri(Siri doesn)不允许您选择不被录音，尽管录音并没有连接到您。如果您使用Alexa，请查看amazon.com以删除其录音。
- 智能家居设备带来的隐私问题甚至超出了录音。如果您使用智能电器，从恒温器到灯泡，每次打开或关闭某物时，该信息都会被捕获并传输到服务器，从而添加到有关您的信息的缓存中。(time something)避免使用这些设备，或深入了解每台设备的设置和政策，以便准确了解正在记录的内容。
- 尽你所能保持安全——(Do the Best You Can to Stay Secure – )为了尽可能保证你的信息安全，请记住，你使用的每一个可以访问互联网的设备，以及你使用的每一个网站，都是一个潜在的漏洞。不要(Don)在您的计算机、手机或一般互联网上放置您想要保密的任何内容。注意常见的骗局，并避免它们。使用像DuckDuckGo这样的(DuckDuckGo)隐私搜索引擎(privacy search engine)。从Microsoft.com下载(Download)此数字公民工具包(Digital Citizenship Toolkit)，因为它为您提供了很多关于此主题的提示。最后，检查所有设备和应用程序的设置以查看跟踪和收集的内容，并将它们调整到您喜欢的水平。
如果您按照这些步骤来保护您的数字隐私(Digital Privacy)，您将大大降低您的私人信息最终落入他人手中的风险。
A Comprehensive Guide to Online Privacy
The ability of individuals, corpоrations, and the government to track what yоu do online has become a hot-button topic in the last several years, now that 91% of Americans feel like they’ve lost control of their online privacy. Laws and regulations regarding internet privacy have lagged far behind the technology, though several states have started proposing legislation to better protect users from having their private data sold to the highest bidder.
Comprehensive Guide to Online Privacy
Online privacy goes deeper than companies like Facebook selling demographic information about its users, though. There are many other ways in which your privacy can be violated, online and off. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help keep your information secure.
Use Antivirus Software
Most people are aware that a virus can cause computer problems like redirecting a browser to specific sites, slowing it down, or locking it up completely. If someone makes a backdoor into your system with a virus to scan for information and possibly log your keystrokes to steal your passwords, you might not be aware it’s happening. Antivirus computer software is good at catching these Trojan horse viruses that sneak in and wreak havoc on your privacy.
Use the software to scan your downloads automatically, manually scan anything that looks suspicious and schedule scans to run regularly. Update it often, and let it scan your network and all your attached devices along with your computer. The software can also help you strengthen your computer’s firewall to prevent problems before they start.
Read: Best Free Internet Privacy Software & Products for Windows 10,
Use a Virtual Private Network
One of the best ways to protect your privacy when you’re online is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that masks your IP address and replaces it with a different server’s address. This keeps sites from being able to trace your IP and what you do online. A VPN keeps you anonymous, and your risk of being hacked drops as a result.
Be aware of Online Scams
The list of scams people can fall prey to on the internet is extensive. Fortunately, if you’re aware of the most common ones, you can better protect yourself. Some of the most common scams to guard against are:
- Malware – Viruses in email attachments or links have been a problem since the internet began. If you’re not expecting an attached file in your email, even if the email appears to be from someone you know, don’t click on it until you are sure. The same goes for emails from strangers and suspicious links on social media or in forums. Don’t open them. You can be directed to a site where malware is downloaded to your computer. Antivirus software will stop most of these, but new viruses – especially ransomware – are developed all the time to try to get around the algorithms, so using your intuition is also important.
- Phishing – When you get an unexpected email like one that claims your bank, social security, or some other organization needs your information because of a problem or update, the link you’re supposed to click will look normal at first glance. But when you hover your mouse pointer over it (but don’t click it), the actual address will be different from what the link says it is, and won’t match the official website. Contact the alleged sender in a new email, text or phone call to verify if you’re uncertain. Usually, when important information is shared from an organization, it will come in the form of a letter. For instance, the IRS will not call you and tell you that you need to pay them a certain amount of money. If you do owe them money, they will inform you through “snail mail” to reduce the likelihood of getting hacked. If you get a call over the phone about important private information, always be cautious.
- Tech Support Scam – Tech support scams are also common scams that can take place through a phone call or email. Generally, someone will inform you that there’s a “problem” with your computer. You will likely be instructed to call immediately to get it taken care of. The friendly tech support person will tell you that your ISP has found your computer to be heavily infected with viruses, and they’re here to help. They’ll request remote access to your computer – be sure to never let anyone have this access. They’ll download your files to look for bank and credit card information, and sometimes they’ll cripple your computer so they can ask for payment to repair it.
- Other Consumer Scams – There are many scams to try to separate you from your data and your money, ranging from car warranty and IRS scams to lottery scams. Fortunately, it’s simple to avoid most of them with a spam filter. Set your email to filter spam automatically to keep most of the scams out of your inbox. If some get through, never reply to them. If you do, it alerts the sender that they’ve reached a real address they can hijack as a reply email to send spam to other people.
Protect your Data
Hackers can’t steal information they can’t find. Vital data like passwords, bank account numbers, your Social Security number, and date of birth shouldn’t be available on your computer. Never save them in an unsecured manner like in Notepad or Word. It is however fine to use a good Password Manager. Also, don’t send this information through emails or chats where it’s almost never encrypted and secure.
Keep all important data off your smartphone, too. Phones are even less secure than computers, so never text this kind of information or send it by email or private messages where it can be intercepted. To avoid your smartphone’s own software tracking you, go into the privacy settings on your phone and turn off its ability to detect your location.
- Don’t Use Public Computers – Public-access computers and Wi-Fi are risky and insecure. If you must use one, don’t log into any site or put your personal information into any form. If you log in anywhere, your password is vulnerable to being stolen. If some circumstance arises where you must check your email or do other business on a public computer, make sure you log out before you leave, and consider changing your password as soon as you have access to a private connection again.
- Use More Secure Email and Messaging – Gmail is handy, but Google is one of the worst offenders when it comes to privacy. No free email is ever going to be as secure as an email account you pay for that promises encryption, security, and privacy. Direct messaging apps suffer from the same issues. The companies that provide them, like Facebook, often collect and sell your data, and the messages aren’t secure, making them easy to intercept and use to learn information about you. A secure messaging app like Wire or Signal can help you keep your private conversations truly private.
- Don’t Give Your Data Away on Social Media – About 70% of American adults use social media, and it seems like everyone posts when they’re at restaurants or vacationing out of town. Social media already tracks you and profits from your personal data every day, but advertising your physical location adds another layer of risk. Protect your privacy by never posting such information on social media.
- Double-check your social media profiles and privacy settings to be sure you know exactly what’s on display and who can see it. If your posts are public rather than restricted to friends and contacts, pictures of your home, cars, and surrounding areas can give a stranger enough information to find you. Predators can look at your posts and learn your children’s names, ages, general location, schools, and more, putting them at risk. Strangers can figure out when you’re on vacation and when your home is empty.
- Protect your privacy even more by not filling out popular social media “getting to know you” memes made up of lists of questions. They typically ask things like the street you grew up on, your first pet, your mother’s maiden name, and many other personal questions. Many of the common password recovery questions sites ask if you happen to forget a password are on those lists, making the hacker’s job easier. There can be consequences of oversharing on social media!
Take sufficient security measures
- Choose Strong Passwords – Any passwords you store on your computer are fair game if someone gets access. But even if no one can hack into your system, they still may be able to get into your online banking, social media accounts, and email if you choose passwords that are too easy for hackers to guess.
- Use a unique password for every site, and don’t use real words, names, or anything that someone could guess (like the places and things in those social media memes). If you can easily remember it, a hacker may be able to figure it out. Long passwords made up of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols are strong passwords that are nearly impossible to guess.
- You won’t remember truly strong passwords, so write them down. If you lose your list of passwords and must have them more readily available, computer software can help. A password manager is an option as long as you choose one that’s encrypted and secure. Many password managers will even recommend extremely strong passwords for you.
- Use Two-Step Authentication Where Available – In the event that one of your passwords gets compromised, one more layer of protection that can protect you is two-step authentication. Set it up on every site that offers it, so that when you log in, you have to complete a second step to verify it’s actually you by letting the site send you a text message, email or automated phone call. If you get a message asking for verification that you didn’t initiate, change your password for that website immediately.
- Be a Savvy Online Shopper – Data shows that 96% of Americans shop online. It’s easy, convenient, and offers a selection no physical store can match. It’s also a risk to your finances if you let the sites where you shop save your payment information.
- Resist the urge to click the box that saves your payment info for next time, no matter how convenient it seems. If the site’s data gets breached—and this is something that has happened many times to retailers big and small—your credit card number can be exposed. Spend the extra few minutes it takes to enter your payment information each time you make a purchase. And be sure to only buy from trustworthy online stores that have secure connections designated with the “HTTPS” prefix in their URLs.
- Delete Tracking Cookies – Many sites, especially retail sites, deposit cookies in your browser to let the website recognize you so that you don’t have to log in each time. Unfortunately, many also track your other activity online. You can look in your browser’s settings to easily delete any or all of them. It has now become imperative to also opt-out of Google FloC.
- Don’t Use Smart Home Products – Google Home, Alexa, and Siri listen all the time so they can respond when you trigger them. If you want to lock down privacy in your home or on your devices, don’t use these products at all. But if you’ve come to rely on them, you still might want to change your settings to keep them from recording everything you say to them.
- Many people don’t realize how much information is stored by these devices. Google stopped recording and saving interactions by default a couple of years ago, but if you have an older device you might need to change your settings. Siri doesn’t allow you to opt-out of being recorded, though the recordings are not connected to you. If you use Alexa, check out amazon.com to delete its recordings.
- The privacy issues that come up with smart home devices go even beyond sound recordings. If you use smart appliances, from thermostats to light bulbs, every time something turns on or off that information is captured and transmitted to a server, adding to the cache of information about you. Avoid these devices, or look deep into the settings and policies of each one so you’re aware of exactly what’s being recorded.
- Do the Best You Can to Stay Secure – To keep your information as secure as possible, remember that every device you use that has access to the internet, and every site you use, is a potential vulnerability. Don’t put anything on your computer, your phone, or the internet in general that you want to keep private. Be aware of common scams, and avoid them. Use a privacy search engine like DuckDuckGo. Download this Digital Citizenship Toolkit from Microsoft.com as it has a lot of tips on this subject for you. Finally, examine the settings of all your devices and apps to see what’s tracked and collected, and adjust them to a level you’re comfortable with.
If you follow these steps to protect your Digital Privacy, you’ll greatly reduce the risk that your private information will end up in someone else’s hands.
