TIP #9: DON’T LEAK YOUR LOCATION

Tracking pixels, along with cookies, are just another method to track your location for the purposes of ad targeting. Tracking pixels are embedded in images. When you open an email, you automatically download that image, and that image request immediately lets the server know that you’ve opened it, along with other information like device, browser,

TIP #10: BE CAREFUL WITH LINKS AND ATTACHMENTS

Malicious links or attachments can be harmful to your computer or other devices. Obviously, it’s a bad idea to click on spammy links, or to open attachments from strangers (especially .exe ones). That doesn’t mean you necessarily need to stop clicking on links or opening attachments altogether, though. There are several options to keep you

TIP #11: INSTALL PATCHES AND SOFTWARE UPDATE

Whether you’re on your phone, your laptop, your tablet, or a desktop computer, there’s never a convenient time to install patches and updates. It’s easy to continue blowing this off. While you may not want to set everything up to update automatically, try not to put it off forever, either. Making sure you’ve got the

TIP #14: ENCRYPT YOUR HARD DRIVE AND BACK UP YOUR DATA

In addition to protecting your online data, you’ll want to protect your physical devices too. Some of this is common sense, like making sure not to leave your laptop and phone unattended. It’s also a good idea to be careful when plugging USB devices into your computer, since they may contain malware that could damage

TIP #15: START USING CLICK-TO-PLAY

Adobe Flash has a long history of security vulnerabilities, but uninstalling it completely can make many sites unusable. A good middle ground is to enable click-to-play, which will allow you to selectively use Flash. You can whitelist specific websites, choose to allow all plugins on a page during a specific site visit, or just click

TIP #13: STRENGTHEN YOUR SECURITY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

When someone tries to reset a password, they’re often able to do so by answering security questions. Unfortunately, many of these questions are asking for information that’s either publicly available or very easy to find: Your date of birth, the name of your first pet, or your mother’s maiden name, for example. If an account

TIP #12: USE A PASSWORD MANAGER

The best way to keep your online account secure is by using strong, unique passwords. That means that your password has to be complex enough that it’s hard to crack. You should also use a different password for each account in case one gets compromised. An easy way to memorize complex passphrases (which could be

TIP #8: REVIEW THIRD PARTY PERMISSIONS ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

A third-party application is a product that’s not part of the main service that you’re using, but that has access to your main account or its credentials. For apps that you aren’t using regularly, consider revoking access to third-party application permissions from Twitter, Facebook and your phone. For example, Hootsuite is a third-party application that

TIP #16: USE END-TO-END ENCRYPTION

One of the best ways to keep your calls and text messages safer is to use end-to-end encryption, which encodes your messages in a way that only authorized recipients can read it. There are several free and secure apps available you can use.  Signal is free and open source, and one of the best apps

TIP #7: USE PRIVACY-ENHANCING PLUGINS AND EXTENSIONS

Consider installing browser extensions or plugins to help minimize your online footprint. These tools primarily protect you from advertising, or from companies tracking you across multiple sites through cookies and other methods that track your browsing habits. However, this type of blocking also helps minimize the personal information websites can find out about you, which