2. Hey guys, so have you ever
heard of a digital footprint?
3. I’ve never heard of this term until
recently either, so it’s alright if you
don’t know.
4. A digital footprint leaves behind a
trail of data where other groups can
collect information about you and
your digital presence. It is like a
trial you leave on the internet. An
example would be your browser
history, or the comments you leave
on Facebook. They all show that
you’ve been there to that particular
site.
5. There were once rumors that companies in America would request to
have your facebook password during job interviews. They want to
know what kind of person you really are when you’re not acting all nice
and smiley for the job. They see if you post bad stuff about others and
other’s opinions on you. Forget the sueing-for-invading-privacy part,
but are you now thinking about all the inappropriate things things you
post yet? They are all part of your digital footprint and it is possible for
someone to dig them all out.
6. Digital footprints also concern online privacy. People can get
a handful of juicy blackmail just by checking your browser
history and skimming through all the sites you’ve been
through. There are viruses that record all your actions on the
net and send it to others. Now, now, I’m not nominating that
you should clear your history more often or update your
anti-virus program. I’M SAYING THAT YOU SHOULD BE
MORE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU DO ON THE NET.
7. PS: Clearing your browser history won’t work
that easily. The computer company will always
have a backup (whether you like it or not) and
there is also a career called hackers.
8. Personally, I feel like I’m having a fairly good control over my own digital
footprint. It’s not often that I post things on facebook (much less post bad stuff
about others) or visit any inappropriate sites. I am very careful about concealing
information about myself. There are absolutely no links from my Fanfiction /
DeviantART account to my facebook or any other webpage that has my full
name on it.
9. But still, one should always think of ways to
be even more careful.
