Last Updated on March 7, 2024
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Life without the internet is like the stone age era. Currently hundred and millions of people browse the internet every second of every day. Many don’t even realize that there are hundreds of risks involved in browsing the web without using any security tools.
Immediate pop-ups, unrealistic discounts, advertising banners and lot more are some of the best example of fishy online threats. If you fall prey to these threats, there’s no doubt in saying that your life will become a living nightmare.
1. Submitting Sensitive Information Over an Insecure Connection
One of the biggest mistakes we do online is sharing sensitive information such as credit card number or login details. People often complained about bank account is being hacked, ATM pins are being used. How could that happen, until your information has been passed on. There’s a thing called HTTP, the general URL abbreviation, these websites are unsecure and should strictly be avoided.
Websites need to use HTTPS rather than HTTP in order to transfer data securely between your computer and the destination website. What we do is ignore looking at the HTTP, and be diligent regarding it in the URL bar in the browser. If you never noticed this then chances are you have been exposed to sharing your confidential information off the internet.
Then again it’s not a big issue if you’re playing games or watching a movie or just reading something. However if you don’t see https:// it’s better to avoid sending any critical information like your credit card number or addresses.
This makes things worse if you are on a public WIFI connection. It is always recommended to use a secure tunnel to route your Internet traffic. You can use services like proxy or a VPN. A VPN would be more reliable in this case and it contains deep layer of security compared to proxy servers. To find the right solution, it is imperative to dig deeper in authentic VPN reviews before you make a decision.
2. Allowing Cookies from Everywhere
You must have seen a pop-up asking you to ‘Allow Cookies’. Well it is very important for you to know what Web Cookies actually are?
Web Cookies are small files created on your computer’s storage when you visit a website. These files store information on and off during browsing sessions on the web, such as login data. Most crucial part is that these cookies can be used to track your web behavior.
One should simple allow first-party cookies which are set by the site domain visiting and disallow third-party cookies. However most banking websites require third parties to be accepted otherwise it won’t work.
3. Opening Way to Many Tabs.
Everyone is trying to save time and they have a habit of opening multiple tabs saying to themselves ‘I’ll read it later’. Now imagine the pile of tabs in the browser all cluttered.
What we don’t know is whenever we open numerous tabs and the browser hangs in between we question the credibility of the PC or laptop saying it’s old and trash and now we need a new one. Well the system isn’t the problem but so many tabs impact the performance of the browser.
To avoid the mess one must use tab groups. It’s a way to allow categorization of tabs on firefox according to topics and open one group at a time. Chrome users can direct to ‘tab bundler extension’.
4. Avoiding Browser Updates
Every once in a while a pop up appears on the bottom right hand side of the browser asking to update the browser to the latest version which we ignore now and then thinking it’s just not something important to care about. Just like your mobile needs to be updates, a browser update is also equally essential.
To fix any bugs and lags in the previous one, companies update the version like Internet Explorer v.1.0 to Internet Explorer v.1.2. Major changes or updates occur in extended version so most of the times these updates are just petty glitches which are fixed within a few minutes.
Chrome users must be lost reading this probably because they don’t know what I’m talking about ‘Google handles it automatically in the background’. While for the rest of the surfers its key to know this. You never know when your browser is being used by ISPs to fetch your data and online activities.
This threat can be easily driven aside by having a fast VPN connection enabled on your browser. Its crucial and critical if you are using Mozilla Firefox; if not than this software will be a good defence on Chrome as well
Although changes depend from minor to major game changers in the browser from security lags to improving to the overall experience of the browser in terms of accessibility and easiness.
Otherwise if you’ve good reasons not to change, yet the newer version is always packed with more goodies and changes.
5. Depending on one to many Plugins.
Whether it’s Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer, the plugins will slow you down. For which it’s advised not to frequently install plugins on your browser.
Well to be honest without plugins life would’ve been darn irritating since Plugins are vital in the form of ad-blocks while reddit fans can’t survive without Reddit Enhancement Suit, it’s as if a fish without water. It’s recommended to delete and uninstall all the plugins and only keep those you need the most.
Chances are you’ll witness what happens when multiple tabs are opened at the same time. It’s better to avoid the hassle.
These are some of the tips which you shouldn’t miss as it will help you to optimize your performance and keep your internet experience as exciting as it should be.
Posted by:Cris Antonio
Cris Antonio is a content wizard, responsible for coming up with fresh and unique article ideas. Aside from writing, Cris also enjoys painting, collecting toys, and reading German novels.
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