How to Avoid Getting Doxxed

How to Avoid Getting Doxxed

1) Use a VPN

A virtual private network offers excellent protection from exposing IP addresses and physical addresses of an individual. The VPN takes the user's internet traffic, encrypts it, and sends it through one of the service's servers before heading out to the public internet. In a previous blog, we outlined several VPNs that take privacy and security very seriously.

2) Limiting Personal Information Online

People must go to much greater lengths to dox a person that doesn't share personal information online. Social media sites often ask many of invasive questions, which can lead to attackers learning more than enough about their target. By keeping this information offline entirely, doxxers usually move on to someone else.

3) Auditing Social Media Posts

Over the years, social media profiles fill up with all sorts of data about the person and their past. Take the time to go through social media accounts and delete posts that contain too much personal information. Even if you didn't post it directly, look for comments that may accidentally share this type of data as well.

4) Ask Google to Remove Information

If personal information appears in Google search results, the individual can request that it get removed from the search engine. Google makes this a simple process through an online form. Many data brokers put this type of data online, usually for background checks or crime check information.

5) Avoid Online Quizzes

Some quizzes ask a lot of seemingly random questions, which are actually the answers to common security questions. Plus, it gives attackers more data to work with. Supplying an email address or name to go along with results makes it even easier to associate information from other data sources.

6) Practice Good Cybersecurity Practices

Put anti-virus and malware detection software in place that can stop a doxxer from stealing information through malicious applications. Regularly update software to avoid any security bugs that could lead to being hacked and doxxed. Once an operating system reaches the end of its supported life, switch to a newer version to decreased security vulnerabilities.

7) Change Passwords Regularly

Data breaches happen all the time, so it's usually only a matter of time before a username and password combination gets out in the wild. By switching every month and using a password manager to create complex codes, it's harder for a hacker to break into accounts. An individual can consider using two-factor or multi-factor authentication as well, which requires more than just a username/password combination to access the application.




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