Protecting your privacy when browsing the internet using a secure web browser is a critical element in staying safe online and keeping your personal data secure from third parties.

Many web browsers are data collection tools for advertising companies who collect data about you through your browser and receive income by sharing your data with their advertising partners with targeted ads for example.

The basic business model of most large email providers such as Gmail and Yahoo revolves around data collection so there is little or no respect the privacy of your inbox.

Third party access to user emails is common practice as is tracking your purchases along with access by government surveillance agencies.

Using a password manager is the easiest way to keep your personal and private information safe and secure.

Passwords are stored securely in a password vault allowing you to save your information in the cloud and/or on your devices and you only need to remember one password to access your vault. You should also use two factor authentication to become even more secure.

The online world is a dangerous place, the need for user authentication methods other than just the traditional username and password combinations has become critical to enhance your online security.

Two Factor Authentication (2FA), also known as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or 2-Step Verification adds an extra layer of security to your account in case your password is compromised.

Usernames and passwords combinations have been in use for decades, previous and ongoing security breaches at major businesses result in millions of username/password combinations being stolen on a regular basis. To make matters worse many people still use the same password to access multiple accounts so once stolen multiple accounts are compromised.

Biometric authentication is less vulnerable because a user's biometric data is unique making it very difficult for an attacker to fraudulently replicate an individual's eye, voice, fingerprint or facial recognition scan.

With modern mobile devices biometric authentication only takes a moment and apart from being more secure than passwords it's usually far more more convenient.

Many people assume having a private conversation discussing confidential business or personal information using a messaging service is private but more often than not this is not the case.

Unless you're using an encrypted messaging app with end-to-end encryption enabled nobody else can see your conversations unless they have a private key to decrypt your message. This includes your message service provider, hackers, corporations using your message content to serve you ads and government surveillance agencies.

You can enhance your security further by connecting using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to prevent your location and other identity related data from being leaked and logged.

With the increase in mobile devices along with the amount of sensitive personal and business data stored on them it's crucial that you encrypt your storage.

When using encryption, stored data is scrambled and unreadable to others unless the pass-code or decryption key is entered then the data is readable.

Many of us have multiple portable devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops and USB flash drives, all of which are susceptible to being misplaced, lost or stolen. Once your private data which could include contact details, bank details, your address, credit and debit card details, multiple types of messages and media gets into the wrong hands you will face many risks.