Resources and information abound on the Internet. Hence, we resort to Internet for doing research for myriad purposes such as taking an informative buying decision, for educational or professional projects or when we inquire information on any subject. However, we need bear safety issues and relevance of information in mind while conducting research online. We often tend to lose track of our core concern or primary focus as we divert to relative subjects while we research online. Moreover, we may land up on websites containing unsafe or inappropriate content. Hence, to conduct a safer and more effective online research, I have started adopting following strategies –
Opt for security updates
Make sure your browser is upgraded with safety tools and is running the latest version. All browsers launch periodic safety updates and tools to enable us to carry out a safer online research. Go to ‘Help’ menu of your browser to check out the version of the browser that is currently in use. Next, check out the encryption level that ensures that the browser can support; make sure the encryption strength is 128-bit. The higher the value is, the lesser possible it will be for a hacker to crack the encryption code.
Optimize the Internet Zone
Next, you need to focus on the Internet tools that filter unsafe sites and content to intrude in your online research process. Adjust the settings of your browser to restrict local Intranet sites, sites that you know will harm your PC when you research online. Also, restrict access of sites that are irrelevant to your search query and those suspected websites. You may find these options under ‘Security’ tools of your browser.
Prevent installation of cookies
Cookies are tiny files that get stored on your computer. These files may pose a threat to security of your PC as these files store user ID, password, language preferences and other data on how you customize your online research process. Â Though some cookies help us conducting online research easily, but some are malicious in nature that serves for malware or Trojan and sends your credit card information, personal details, IP addresses etc. Â To prevent installation of cookies on your system, you can either block all cookies or else tweak the settings option to restrict specific type of cookies.
To perform a more effective online research, you make use of other tools such as subscribing to RSS feeds and join a reputed and related group or forum. Modify the search query by replacing a term with the synonym or alternate words related to your topics. I know we all love to ‘Google’, but conducting online research over other search engines will broaden the search process and retrieve information from broader spectrum. So, how do you streamline your online research process to search safer and better?
Great points. People may not be aware of all the tracking that’s going on.
It’s also a good idea to verify important information when possible.
Happy to help my readers with tips and tricks on Internet usage…thanks for dropping us your feedback 🙂