Negative Sides of the Internet: Continuation

As the Internet gets involved into all spheres of our life, we even do not pay attention to how it discloses our personal information. This creates a good background for the Internet crimes, so we should be extremely cautious while using the Internet.

Let us review the main harms that the disclosure of information may bring to us, and ways to prevent them. This list may be helpful for those, who seek for more pieces of advice, as they get stuck while writing on the Internet and its dark sides.

Tracking Our Life

Definition of the geo-location is a popular feature, that is added to a lot of online apps. This is quite a good thing for apps adjusted for jogging or finding a place for a quick meal around. However, if you want to post a photo or a comment, be aware that everybody can see where you are at. Thus, thieves can be sure about the times you are not at home to come to your house, or they can track the time and place you walk alone. The information will be full for them if you add a photo of a new jewelry you got as a present. There are even people, who check-in in shops showing that they have just bought a new iPhone, what provokes thieves just to come and get the packed brand new device. Do not share more information than you want the other people to see.

Using Our Funds

Today to purchase anything, one needs your credit or debit card number, expiration date, and the security code. That is it! While making purchases, make sure that you deal with reliable and secure companies or payment systems. Never share your card information with anyone via e-mail or social networks not to face issues with transactions without your consent.

Spoiling Our Reputation

Sometimes the Internet can spoil our lives just because we think it is anonymous.

Directly

Everyone has a right to have fun. However, sometimes this goes too far, and a party with too much alcohol can destroy your reputation, career, and personal life. Do not post pictures, which you would not like your parents, your employer or friends to see. Make sure others do not post the pictures of you without your consent. This is not a secret anymore that future employers and even college/university admission officers look through the applicants’ social network pages to get the full impression about their personalities. Do not join the group of poor students, who has missed their opportunities because of the picture of them drinking vodka from the bottle.

Indirectly

Do you monitor what you like? Your comments on a certain web resource, or your like may disclose your interests, and this may be a thing you should protect, especially if you are a politician or a public person. However, who knows, maybe you will soon become one, and you will need to answer, why you liked an extremist joke on Facebook? Even supporting a group, which sometimes posts any unacceptable materials, may be defamatory for you.

Making Us Vulnerable for Fraudsters

Introducing the Internet has opened a big number of opportunities for fraudsters. They are aimed at vulnerable and inexperienced Internet users to get a financial or any other material profit from them. This is not limited by trolling, which we have discussed in the previous article. The consequences have another character, namely:

Spoiling the Software

Visiting suspicious websites and downloading files from there may lead to a serious harm to your computer. A lot of viruses depending on their type and aim, may transmit information from your PC, or just spoil your software, blocking, or destroying it. There are some websites, which seem to have blocked your browser and demand money to be sent to unblock it. It is recommended to get an anti-virus software to protect yourself from the sad outcomes or inattentive Internet usage.

Suspicious Offers

One should also beware of the suspicious offers of cosmetics with almost magical effects, even if they are highly advertised and have a lot of reviews. A lot of job offers are posted on the web, and you risk to work without pay if you trust some unknown companies or personalities. Filter the offers and try to evaluate them objectively to secure yourself from failures or from getting involved in some criminal actions.

Provoking Us to Illegal Actions

You are surely already aware of the pirate content and its availability on the web. It is a big temptation to get something that you need to pay for without payment. However, such actions are against the law, and it is not necessary to forget about this. Downloading unlicensed tracks, pictures, you leave their creators without support, and due to reducing of outcome, they have fewer opportunities to create more items. Even though it may be hard to resist the desire to save, you should understand the outcome and not let the Internet take you to its black side.

Like-Farming

There is a popular but unfair way of advertising: like-farming. Firstly, scammers try to get as many likes for a certain page as possible, and then they turn the page into a page of a certain product, making all, who liked it, supporters of it. Thus, this is another reason, why you should watch what and where you like and post.

Taking Our Time

There is a common issue that everybody is aware of, but only a few can fight with: the Internet makes us lose the sense of reality and we waste much more time on it than we would need. If we mentioned online gamers and checked the amount of time they spend on playing, we would be shocked. Also, an average teenager spends much time on social networks, viewing the profile pages of others, what actually does not make a lot of use for them. The Internet is more a platform for wasting time than a platform for studying and development opportunities. As everyone is responsible for themselves, become an intelligent Internet user and manage your time, using only the web resources and websites you really need. Switch the Internet communication to the live one and you will feel the positive side of such a change!

Discover some more dark sides of the Internet in our next articles!