Your 6-Step Guide to Women’s Online Safety
Welcome to the wild web, ladies—where endless possibilities and lurking predators can be a digital blur. In this high-stakes online arena, every click can open doors to success or set off silent alarms.
Navigating this cyber minefield means dodging everything from phishing scams to terrifying invasions of privacy. Research shows about 9 out of 10 Americans say that being harassed or bullied online is a problem and a Pew Research Center study found that women are more than twice as likely as men to experience sexual harassment online.
News4JAX Report
So many people that we talk to think that online attacks will never happen to them, but AI is turning scams and abuse into a goldmine, making it easier than ever for perpetrators to harass their victims.
Digital Health Checkup and Wellness
We recently contributed to a News4JAX report highlighting how pervasive these cyber threats can be, and how you can strengthen your online security.
1. Check your digital profile: Do a Google search on your name to check which websites you’re listed on, and clean up stale and incorrect data
2. Get notified in real time: Set a Google alert for your name and other relevant information. Google will notifiy you within hours if your name is mentioned online
3. Don’t overshare personal data: Including addresses and phone numbers of your work location. Many stalkers have unpleasantly surprised women at work
4. Location-enabled apps: Apps integrated with social media tracking can be exploited to track a victim’s movements.
5. Don’t tag Your social media location: Again, stalkers can determine your daily patterns and location. Some platforms allow users to search for posts and people by location
6. Device access: If someone has physical access to your devices, they can install tracking or keyboard apps that invades your privacy, track your location and even compromise your passwords
The only important thing anyone needs to know from your social media posts is that you’re having fun! A few simple changes to your privacy settings and sharing habits can make a big difference in safeguarding your personal space. Use your safety intuition to stay aware, check those settings to stay secure, and always think twice before you tag.
