Anonymity

This may be a clichéd topic, but online security and anonymity is a concern which has assumed massive proportions. Gone are the days when people simply stalked their friends' Facebook profiles and messed up their CS class projects on shared desktops (or maybe they're still here). The recent 'Ransomware' cyberattack (which prevented users from accessing their files unless they paid the ransom in Bitcoin) proves that technology needs to give a 100% to functionality and leave no gaps in software rather than beautify their UIs. Consumers and the average Joe should take things like the encryption feature on Whatsapp or the simple but important privacy features on computers like location, syncing, etc very seriously. According to recent reports, Internet crime is a rapidly growing market and cyber attacks have been at an unprecedented 10-year high. Globalisation and networking are things to look forward to, but they come at a price. The connections may be unfavourable and access may be gained by charlatans and hackers for unpleasant purposes.  Spare a thought about the amount of work traffic on your digital devices at this current moment. Files, documents, emails, pictures, drafts, etc are all stored digitally in fragile firewalls (let's not kid ourselves). These often represent a person's life's work and if not backed up, can be stolen, or as recent events have demonstrated, used against you. Cyber threats probably sound worse than they are. People tend to not be vigilant or overly concerned about the authenticity of websites. The symbol to the left of legitimate websites (a lock), which certifies its status. Green locks and authentication certificates by websites such as GoDaddy.com are a good sign of safety while red crosses or suspicious looking domain names such as random formats instead of standard ones are warning signals. Other ways of shielding against external threats are not clicking on unknown links which are sent to you via spurious email IDs, not accepting fraudulent offers from unreliable marketing campaigns, and also, importantly, not downloading games on your computer recklessly. The first two practices are commonly referred to as 'phishing', which attempts to attain your personal details like address and credit card information. Downloading games online is harmful in the long run because the installation websites/software often come with viruses and built in ads. These cause unwanted popups on your computer and make it slow.
Now we come to an issue that has garnered attention in recent times. The issue of providing personal information to websites so that they may function better. An example of this is the simple process of providing your contacts and Google account details to a site like Quora. Quora is a very reputable site and is protected (by something called SSL encryption, used by many sites, which allows information sent by user to only be viewed by the server), so there is no cause for worry, but there have been many reports of online platforms misusing user information and hacking, etc. The tainted taxi giant Uber has reportedly been tracking celebrities and politicians using their personal info and has received a lot of flak for this. Of course, they have bigger problems currently, like recurring losses and controversial comments made by the CEO, for which he received criticism. There have also been isolated cases of Facebook accounts being hacked. By now, you're probably wondering why this post is called so. It's because the easiest way to stay safe online is to not display anything that may be used against you. I saw a video where a professor (not sure about this) recommended the browser 'Tor' for complete anonymity. Google this for more information but beware; Tor is also home to some of the darkest and most sordid stuff on the internet. You could probably be sold drugs.  If you wouldn't want to go down this path, then you should opt for things like incognito browsing, multiple levels of encryption (offered by Whatsapp, incidentally) and ultra safe passwords for your information and even Wifi connection. You don't want any unwanted piggybackers.
The internet is a gift guys. But it's a lot like money. Use it with discretion and don't let it control you.