We live in a digital era where everyone is intimately connected through an online platform called social media. It has brought a revolution to our lifestyles. A person sitting in Asia can befriend someone from Europe, isn’t it great? This connectivity has created ample opportunities for people to find employment, friendships, entertainment, and love.
But while exploring these great platforms, we live our trails everywhere on the internet. We knowingly or unknowingly reveal a lot about ourselves. Malicious people later use this information and take undue advantage of it.
There have been cat-fishing incidents where people steal other people’s social identities, using this information to gain what they desire! Another shocking scenario one can find oneself stuck in is Doxxing! What is Doxxing? Let us understand via this blog.
What Is Doxxing?
Doxxing is a horrible situation where someone gathers a person’s personal information and posts it online either on a private page or in a more public location. This act is done solely by harassing the victim or leading others to harass them. The word ‘doxxing’ is derived from the term ‘dropping dox’ – a technique used by hackers as a revenge tactic back when IRC was popular. This was done to infringe on one’s anonymity, intimidate or harass them, or even draw the attention of law enforcement agencies.
It is a form of online harassment which involves sharing a person’s private information like their name, address, or phone number, without their consent. This often leads to further harassment by people using the leaked details to target the person.
You don’t need to be a public figure to face doxxing. Anyone can be a victim! Someone might leak your personal information just because they didn’t like whatever you posted on social media or disliked you after you beat them at some online game.
Is Doxxing Harmful?
Doxxing doesn’t seem that harmful because your information like phone number, email id, social media handles, and addresses are all present on social media, right? But what if this data is accompanied by more information like financial details & documents, bank account information, private correspondence, embarrassing photos, etc.? Now, does that sound horrible?
Slight negative information is enough to tarnish your identity and spoil your name forever! Doxxing can also:
- Damage your personal or professional reputation;
- Humiliate and embarrass you;
- Cause extreme social backlash;
- Identity theft;
- Make you more cyber attack prone;
- Destroy your sanity;
- Invite unimaginable harassment and death threats, etc.
How To Prevent Yourself From Getting Doxxed?
1) Curb The Information You Share Online
Ever tried searching for yourself on Google? If not, try it immediately and see how much information is displayed there. Because search engines are the first go-to place for hackers to find more information about you. The first results you will discover about yourself will be your social handles, and you can’t do much about them. But what you can do is make them more private. This way you can protect the sensitive data from being misused.
2) Think Before You Comment
All those forums that allow you to comment anonymously still capture your IP address that can reveal your location and your identity. If you still wish to write comments, make sure that you don’t fill out any forms or provide information that is asked for. Another thing to remember is not to log in with your social media accounts and use a VPN instead of changing your IP address.
3) Always Use A Virtual Private Network (VPN)
There are several benefits of opting for a VPN. One of which is that a VPN encrypts your online data and hides your actual IP address; it’s one of the most effective security measures you can take to protect yourself from getting doxxed.
4) Make Sure You Are Not Present On The Data Broker Websites
These websites dig deep through the internet, gather real data about a person in one place, and sell it to businesses to mint some money. As far as money matters, these data broker websites make your exit lengthy and frustrating. There are several websites to check if you are present on any of such websites. Search it, exit these websites, and strip off all the data you may have left there.
5) Carry Out A Thorough Social Media Examination From Time To Time
Conduct a social media audit once in a while and delete all the posts that contain too much personal information. Look for comments that may accidentally share this data type and get rid of them immediately.
6) Avoid Online Quizzes At Any Cost
Some quizzes ask a lot of random questions, which are, in fact, the answers to common security questions. These quizzes require one to fill in personal information like email addresses, social media handle names, and sometimes contact numbers to allow participation. It becomes more accessible for hackers to collect this readily available data.
7) Always Protect Your Passwords
Frail, easy, and shared passwords are the key for hackers to infiltrate your personal world. They hack your bank accounts and social media accounts and sell your personal data to the dark web. These hackers can also initiate more cyber attacks against you once they hack your system. Therefore, always set unique and strong passwords, never use your old passwords and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.
Conclusion
In this lucrative world of digitalization, users must access these platforms cautiously. Doxxing is a serious and dangerous issue that can lead one into life-threatening situations. Therefore, it’s wise to practice cyber security practices to avoid any hazards.