Internet never forgets: why the fingerprint that we leave in the networks will bring us consequences

Fame is ephemeral, but the Internet is forever.

With the evolution of technology and communication, anyone uses the Internet to carry out different activities; However, with the passage of time, we have adapted our lives to digital environments that are not very aware of the information trail we leave behind in those places through which we pass. Every day, whether we want it or not, when we use the Internet we leave small crumbs that create a profile of us on the network: that is the fingerprint.

Although we voluntarily share personal information on our social networks or make purchases online, we believe that we own our information and privacy; It is a common mistake among users of social networks to believe that by deleting photographs, information or comments that they no longer wish to share everything will disappear, since searchers are dedicated to registering everything that appears on the Internet and have already copied the information.

In the same way, we unintentionally reveal data when leaving our IP address in each web page we visit. We show our geographical location, the type of browser we use, the operating system we have and, often, until the last site we visited. In addition, with each search our GPS geographical position is also registered, so the servers collect more data.

At first glance, the loose ends that we left on the Internet would seem harmless, but with cookies, everything changes. With these I do not mean delicious sugar desserts, but a way to link multiple actions of the same user and turn them into a connected thread. Fingerprints in the form of cookies are used to increase the usability of the Internet, they can also help make individual transactions more accurate.

So far it would seem that fingerprints only facilitate our life in the network. In the cookie you can store profile information and user preferences, which allow each website to keep track of our visits. Each footprint is small, but if the websites decide to share the information with each other they can form a very complete profile. These exchanges of information between servers and / or third parties are the economic basis of the Internet; In this framework, large corporations profit from our privacy.

Now, we must worry about the fingerprint since with it our actions can be tracked, at the same time that it serves as a basis for advertising servers, or otherwise, to use our database. Therefore, just deleting our data is not enough to remove the fingerprint we have left. There are several articles on the Internet that offer a series of tips and tutorials on how we can make our network trail disappear, one of which is the Internet Society.

For most of the users, it is enough to make a correct and sensible use of social and Internet networks if we correctly apply privacy policies in our profiles, but also when taking into account some of the tips that the Internet Security Office will share with us:

-Inform yourself about viruses.

-Protect your WIFI networks.

-Be cautious with public WIFI

-Manage passwords.

-Make backup copies and encrypt your data.

-Use user accounts in your online purchases.

-Protect your smartphone and tablet.

-Cuide your privacy

The most important advice is to transmit these security measures to our acquaintances, especially to minors. Finally, we must be aware that everything we publish on the Internet will remain forever on the Internet, because the Internet never forgets.