Clearing your browser may not seem like a significant cybersecurity precaution but it is and you should get into the habit of doing it.

1. CLEAR YOUR BROWSERS
BEWARE OF TRACKING AND HACKING

2. AS AN INTERNET USER YOU PROBABLY FIND IT
CONVENIENT WHEN A WEBSITE LOADS QUICKLY OR
AUTO-FILL’S YOUR CREDENTIALS. IT CUTS WAITING TIME
IN HALF AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO RACK YOUR BRAIN
FOR THE VARIATION OF YOUR USUAL PASSWORD THAT
YOU USED FOR WHATEVER ACCOUNT YOU’RE ON THIS
TIME.

3. Although you must appreciate the
speediness, you probably won’t
appreciate the fact that this
compromises your privacy.
Along with that, without a clear cache,
you’re not viewing the most up-to-
date version of the webpage, which
can cause errors. Ultimately, tracking
puts you at risk for hacking so
clearing your cache and browser
history regularly is an important way
to increase your own internet safety.

4. THIRD
PARTY
COOKIES
We’ve all seen them. Those pesky ads on the side of the
website you’re browsing that show you all the things you
would love to buy. How did they get there? You most likely
clicked on a tracking link that uses cookies.
Cookies are text files stored on a user’s computer which are
acquired when browsing a webpage. These files hold very
specific data that allows a website to identify and remember
who you are. This data is sometimes sent to remote
databases to be analyzed which allows sites to cater your
browsing experience to you.

5. THIRD PARTY COOKIES
AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU’RE BEING TRACKED,
AND ALL THIS STORED DATA IS EATING UP YOUR
DISK SPACE. THERE ARE VERY EASY WAYS TO
AVOID BEING TRACKED BY COOKIES IN YOUR
BROWSER SETTINGS. YOU CAN EITHER EDIT THEIR
LEVEL OF ACCESS OR BLOCK THEM ENTIRELY. THE
MORE PRIVACY THE BETTER.

6. HISTORY SNIFFING
Another form of tracking related to your
browser is, history sniffing. “History
Sniffers” are not only the previously
mentioned tracking companies looking at
your online activity to target you, but
they’re also cybercriminals customizing
their online attacks to make you more likely
to fall for them.
They have a very simple system to follow.
After you visit a website the color of the
link changes. History sniffers look at these
differences in color in order to compile a
list of sites that you’ve visited.
Then they time how long each visited site
takes to load. The quicker the loading times
the higher the likelihood that they’ve visited
the site multiple times.

7. HISTORY
SNIFFING
This information is useful to them for one very
threatening reason. They then have the ability to send
you malicious replicas of sensitive sites, like those that
involve bank information.
Before you know it, a cybercriminal will have access to
all your bank records. Clear your cookies, cache and web
history as much as you can. Try to do it once a week to
get into the habit. Browser hygiene can dictate the safety
of your cyber environment sometimes.

8. PASSWORD
S
Another misleading
benefit of cache is
logging into websites.
Most find it
convenient that they
don’t have to
remember their
Ticketmaster
password the two
times a year they
want to buy tickets.
Although seemingly
easy, also very risky.
There is a very simple
way for
cybercriminals to turn
those dots that
appear on your login
page as your
password, into the
actual characters that
are your password.

9. PASSWORDS
YOU CAN DO IT TO. NOW RIGHT-CLICK ON THE PASSWORD BOX AND SELECT
“INSPECT”. THIS SHOWS YOU THE DEVELOPER SECTION WITH A BUNCH OF CODE,
AND A HIGHLIGHTED SENTENCE THAT STARTS WITH “INPUT TYPE=PASSWORD”.
NOW DELETE THE WORD “PASSWORD” AND HIT THE ‘ENTER’ KEY.

10. PASSWORD
S
Now, when you’re already logged
in you rarely see the login page
but ultimately, you’re going to log
out at some point. This is where
the
cybercriminal comes in.
Once the login page is available
again your password will auto
cash and with a few clicks the
hacker has your credentials. A
helpful tip is to deny browsers
the right to remember your
passwords.

11. ARE YOU CONCERNED
ABOUT BEING TRACKED
ONLINE AND WANT MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT
HEALTHY INTERNET
HABITS? CONTACT THE
TNS GROUP TODAY TO GET
STARTED.