Tips for Safer & Authentic Web Research

Is the internet safe?

No, it’s not. A reputed newspaper declaimed that video-games (like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, or CS: GO) can be used to throw baits for money laundering. Moreover, it can cause a catastrophe. It can wash your brain. Yes, it’s true!

An innocent mind can be infected with the intense envy. Where money laundering is motivated by greed, enmity is a prop to incite terrorism. This is what the internet is firing up. Initially, its advent was proposed to spread information. But, the way it has manipulated innocent minds and created a rift among people is condemnable. It reveals the dark side of the internet, where web researches are carried out to feed misinformation, as if it is happening spontaneously.  

How is the internet misused?

The internet is a fathomless pool of information. But, the malicious scammers are indulged in consecutive attempts for misleading people through Facebook, Twitter, Google and many other social channels. For instance, a tweet by Pak’s president Imran Khan had a video showing brutalism of sheriffs in India. But, the barriers in the hands of the force had RAB written on it, which stands for Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) that actually belonged to another nation. However, the tweet together with video was removed later when the reality was burst out.

The reality is that a few masterminds have started exploiting the web to research such ideas that can fill them up with monetary benefits, although, the blood of innocents may be shed. Such inferior minded people want to be failsafe in their malicious attempts. Certainly, the web research is a key that has taken the stage in discovering the facts what you cannot think about. The biggest scam of the Cambridge Analytica is not yet faded in our memories, which had raised the need of data security and personal identifiable information to the whimsical heights. Eventually, the GDPR happened to restrain such massive exploitation of data.

People are still swarming on the internet like bees to chat, extract information, create intelligence and build some innovative ideas. But, they must learn how to differentiate a fake and the authentic information. However, one cannot control those filthy minds, but we can restrain our information from being tapped by them.  At least, we can avoid catching them up with our behavioral and preferential data, which the manipulative data analysts harness for manipulating through ‘divide and rule’.

Internet Safety Tips for Everyone:

Here are a few tips to use public Wi-Fi, which is often accessible free of cost.

1. Public or free Wi-Fi is the most vulnerable networks that cyber spies easily hack. So, avoid using your bank information or card details while being accessed to fee Wi-Fi.
2. Turn off Wi-Fi if you are not using it, as it rapidly discharges your device’ battery. Your device will become vulnerable to an automatic connection, which can be a fraudulent network. Thereafter, a volley of annoying email ads will flood your device.

To get rid of such situation, integrate the extensions like ‘Do Not Track Me’ or ‘Blur’.

1. Connect using VPN (Virtual Private Network). As its name suggests, it is a virtual private network, which lets you to stay anonymous while being online. Your browsing remains under the cover from the networking company, as your searches will not be visible because it directs browser to see the virtual network IP, not your own exploring actions.
2. Don’t let your device remember your network, as most handsets remember and get automatically connected to the hotspot that they have used at least once before. Scammers create the access point with the same name & thus, get access to your profile data or bank details.
3. Attentively check the name of the network. The authentic one always asks for the password to log in, whereas the duplicate or fake one will be free to use. If you’re going to connect with the free network, consult with its owner first.
4. Always use upgraded anti-virus software. It warns you about the fake hotspot connections, besides failing most of the hacking attempts.
5. Choose networks that offer two-stage authentications. Any network that does not require authentication can be suspicious. Stay on the safe side by selecting the one that requires a text code or password.
6. Keep your passwords encrypted. If you cannot encrypt, use password manager to keep your information stored in the encrypted format.
7. If you see any weird character (such as Gugle.com instead of google.com) in the very familiar website’s URL, it most likely means that the website is not authentic. Make sure that you use a secure and reliable browser because a better browser identifies such differences and warns you before any catastrophe.
8. Use a safe connection that goes to https:// for safe internet browsing & transfer of data.

The aforementioned hacks are useful when you are engaged in a serious web research project. Your safe web browsing will not let the hackers think about your innovative ideas that can be a cup of your competitor’s cup of tea.