Your privacy is hurting, a lot of times because of your own actions. Here are the 5 biggest dangers to your privacy right now. How many do you think involve you, and any sloppy or inattentive behavior...? Check it out!

Stopping and thinking, and making small adjustments, can truly help guard your privacy.

1) Data Breaches:

Data breaches expose sensitive personal information, such as names, addresses, and financial details, to unauthorized individuals or group, and can lead to identity theft and financial fraud, and other forms of cybercrime.

2) Social Media and Online Tracking:

Social media platforms and online services collect extensive user data for targeted advertising. Whatever you post online, whatever websites you visit, whatever you buy, all that data is stored and sold. Or worse? Scammers get their hands on it. The result? Targeted marketing and huge risk of financial fraud and scams.

3) Internet of Things (IoT) Devices:

Got a smart fridge, printer on a network, wearables and the like? Anything that connects to the internet, and doesn’t have frequently updated software, poses a big privacy risk. Devices collect (personal) data, and we don’t have to tell you again what can happen there.

4) Biometric Data Collection:

Do you use biometric data, such as fingerprints, facial recognition, and voiceprints, to log in to devices or websites? Biometric data, once compromised, cannot be changed like a password. Use trusted programs and devices for this, only, and use the best security practices for devices, always.

5) Surveillance and Monitoring:

Cameras everywhere! How do they track and store your movements, do you know? Sure, surveillance programs are keeping us safe, but who tracks what, and is that data safe (think breaches). Surveillance and camera’s compromise individuals' privacy, that’s for sure.

Right now, do these simple things to protect more of your information.

First: Go to all your social media sites and erase personal information that does not need to be there. Do you need your life story on Facebook, for instance?

Second: Before you fill out any information for any app, website, questionnaire for free gifts or the like, think: "Do I really need to provide this information, and why?"

Third: Check if any of the programs or apps you use were caught in a data breach. Look at your sign-on passwords for all your accounts and change passwords frequently.

Stopping and thinking, and making small adjustments, can truly help guard your privacy.

Stay safe out there!