The internet has brought us many opportunities and the world is thankful for that. However, it came with a big threat that most people couldn’t have predicted at that time. The internet connects us to the world, but the world includes all kinds of people.
Some good people will help and there are also bad people just looking for an opportunity to take advantage of you. To stay safe, you have to recognize these threats, and that’s what you will learn in this brief article.
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Publishers Sell Out
Many writers think that they have freedom of opinion on the internet and they can keep their real identity a secret. The publisher knows who contacted them and how, so they can approach you. Most publishers claim that your identity is safe with them, but they easily sell out.
If you want to raise awareness about an issue that you can’t share with your real name, you should only use popular and widely trusted platforms such as The Doe. They always validate the story before publishing it, and it’s against their values to share the information of their writers.
No Such Things as Privacy
The minute you connect to the internet, you lose your right to privacy. You connect to the internet through a local ISP (Internet Service Provider) that can record and see all your activities. A website can see your IP address, cookies, and device information when you connect to it.
Anyone can locate you through your IP address. If you notice you will see your location mentioned at the end of the page of Google search engine. The VPN provider has all your information even if you use a proxy. You have to be a very skilled computer network expert to be able to bypass these systems.
Affects Your Mental Health
We don’t realize how the internet is affecting our mental health. It is making us feel bad about ourselves. We see people pretending to be what they are not and other people feeling inferior seeing those lies.
Besides, cyberbullying has become more common than ever. We waste a lot of time on useless things that only waste our energy and affect our peace.
Full of Viruses
Despite so many initiatives, the internet is full of viruses. Some spread adware so they can open random links from your device and earn money. There are also malware that do nothing but damage your system and data.
Worst of all are ransomware that encrypt all your data and demand a ransom for the key to decrypt data. These viruses are everywhere and even IT professionals end up falling for them at least once in their lives.
Paradise for Predators
The internet is a haven for predators because they monitor you from the dark. It’s not that they are hacking into systems, everyone is deliberately sharing his information without considering the threat.
Any status or picture you upload tells them a lot about you. They learn about your location, your friends, and your interests. This is particularly dangerous for kids who become easy targets.
