Why is it Important to Keep Personal Information Private Online?

Why is it Important to Keep Personal Information Private Online?

In our increasingly connected digital world, maintaining online privacy is no longer a luxury, but an absolute necessity. It is imperative that we understand the gravity of keeping personal information private online. This blog post aims to unravel the reasons behind this importance and equip you with practical tips for safeguarding your online privacy.

 

Why is it Important to Keep Personal Information Private Online?

 

The answer lies in the detrimental consequences of not doing so – the most notorious being identity theft. When your personal information falls into the wrong hands, criminals can impersonate you online, gaining access to your financial accounts, tarnishing your reputation, or causing a host of other problems.

 

Furthermore, oversharing on the internet can lead to unwanted surveillance and monitoring. In a world where privacy trade-offs are becoming increasingly common, it’s essential to be mindful of the information you share and who has access to it.

 

Here are the key reasons why you should protect your personal information online:

 

  1. Preventing Identity Theft: This is the primary reason to keep your personal information private. Identity theft can lead to financial loss, credit damage, and emotional distress.
  2. Avoiding Unwanted Surveillance: Excessive sharing can lead to increased monitoring from various entities, including advertising companies and potentially malicious actors.
  3. Maintaining Reputation: Your online presence can greatly influence your real-life reputation. Keeping personal information private helps avoid potential misinterpretations or misuse of your information.

why is it important to keep personal information private online

How To Protect Personal Information Online?

 

Now that we’ve established the importance of online privacy, let’s delve into 5 ways to protect your privacy online:

 

  1. Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Ensure each of your online accounts has a unique and strong password. Consider using a password manager to keep track of them all.
  2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Wherever possible, enable two-factor authentication (2FA). This adds an extra layer of security to your accounts.
  3. Be Wary of Phishing Scams: Be cautious when clicking on links in emails or messages. Phishing scams often mimic legitimate businesses to trick you into giving away your personal information.
  4. Keep Main Email Address and Phone Number Private: Use a separate email address for shopping and other non-essential online activities to keep your main email address private.
  5. Regularly Update Your Devices: Keeping your devices updated ensures you have the latest security patches, making it harder for hackers to gain access to your data.

 

In summary, the importance of keeping personal information private online cannot be overstated. It’s integral to preventing identity theft, avoiding unwanted surveillance, and maintaining your reputation. By following the practical steps outlined above, you can begin to take charge of your online privacy and navigate the digital world with peace of mind.

 

Take ownership of your online privacy today. Start by implementing these steps and remember, your personal information is just that – personal. Protect it like you would anything else that’s valuable to you.

Even putting into practice all the steps above, your personal data can still be compromised via a data breach at one of the many companies holding it. Learn more about data breaches here. Data Breach Meaning?

If you reside in California, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is another great resource.

Data Breach Meaning?

Data Breach Meaning?

In today’s digital age, data security is of paramount importance. A single data breach can have severe consequences for both businesses and individuals. In this blog post, we will explore the data breach meaning, how it occurs, various forms of data breaches, and provide examples of recent incidents. We will also discuss the difference between data breaches and other types of cyber-attacks.

 

What is a Data Breach Meaning?

A data breach is an incident where unauthorized individuals gain access to sensitive, confidential, or protected information. This information may include personal data, financial data, intellectual property, trade secrets, or any other valuable data. Data breaches can occur due to various reasons such as hacking, insider threats, human error, or system vulnerabilities.

 

How Does a Data Breach Occur?

A data breach can happen in several ways, including:

 

  • Hacking: Cybercriminals use various techniques such as phishing, malware, or exploiting vulnerabilities in software or hardware to gain unauthorized access to data.
  • Insider Threats: Employees or contractors with legitimate access to sensitive information may intentionally or accidentally disclose or misuse the data.
  • Human Error: Mistakes such as sending emails containing sensitive information to the wrong recipient, misconfiguring security settings, or losing physical devices can lead to data breaches.
  • System Vulnerabilities: Weaknesses in software or hardware can be exploited by attackers to infiltrate systems and steal data.

Types of Data Breaches

There are various forms of data breaches, including:

 

  1. Credential Stuffing: Attackers use stolen usernames and passwords from previous data breaches to gain unauthorized access to multiple accounts.
  2. Ransomware: Cybercriminals encrypt a victim’s data and demand payment in exchange for the decryption key.
  3. Third-Party Breaches: Data breaches that occur at third-party vendors can expose sensitive information from multiple companies.

data breach examples

Data Breach Examples

Data breaches have occurred across different industries, highlighting the severity of the issue. Some recent examples include:

 

  • In 2021, the Colonial Pipeline suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted fuel supplies in the United States. The company paid a ransom of $4.4 million to regain access to its systems.
  • In 2020, SolarWinds was the victim of a sophisticated cyber-espionage campaign that affected numerous government agencies and private organizations worldwide.
  • In 2019, a massive data breach at Capital One exposed personal information of over 100 million customers.

Data Breaches vs. Other Cyber-Attacks

While data breaches involve unauthorized access to sensitive information, other types of cyber-attacks may have different objectives. For example, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack aims to overwhelm a website or service with excessive traffic, rendering it unusable. Cyber-espionage refers to the act of spying on a target to obtain confidential information for political or economic advantage.

 

How to Prevent Data Breaches

To safeguard against data breaches, organizations should adopt a multi-layered approach to security, incorporating the following measures:

 

  • Implement strong access controls and authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication.
  • Regularly update software and hardware to address potential vulnerabilities.
  • Train employees on cybersecurity best practices and how to recognize phishing attempts.
  • Monitor and analyze network activity for signs of suspicious behavior.
  • Develop a robust incident response plan to minimize damage in case of a breach.

Understanding the data breach meaning is crucial for businesses and individuals alike. By staying informed about the various forms of data breaches, their consequences, and implementing effective prevention strategies, we can better protect our valuable data and maintain trust in the digital world.

Feel free to drop a comment below and be sure to check out our recent post on the similar topic of Data Privacy Laws! Also, you can stay up to date on many of the latest data breaches with the news at Infosecurity-Magazine.com.

 

4 Examples of Data Privacy Risks

4 Examples of Data Privacy Risks

This is an era where data privacy risks from internet connected devices involves your data being generated, propagated, analyzed, and stored by third-parties on a daily basis.

A large portion of your data being generated revolves around four main catageories of data privacy risks.

I. Domain Name Service (DNS) Leaks
II. Email IP Leaks
III. IPv6 Leaks
IV. Browser/OS Fingerprinting

These data privacy risks are predominantly tied to your internet protocol (IP) address which reveals a lot of your online activities. When using devices on your home network or small business network you have two IP addresses to contend with, your internal private IP address and your external public IP address.

The internal network facing IP address, also known as the private network address is assigned uniquely to each device on your home network by your home router. The address only pertains to the communications between devices happening inside your network.

The external public IP address is assigned by your internet service provider (ISP) and usually represents only your home router or small business router which is then used by each device communicating on the internet. This public IP address represents all of the devices operating behind that home router or small business router.

DNS Leaks

For example, when your device requests a website address through a given website name, such as https://eff.org, it’s translated from those letters into actual IP address numbers. That translation is made possible by the the DNS servers your device is communicating with.

The role DNS servers play in your overall privacy and security on the internet is often overlooked. This is due to the fact that using a modem and router provided by your ISP means the default settings are communicating with their DNS severs.

ISP’s log all activity on their networks and even if a website you are visiting has a padlock symbol signifying encrypted traffic between your device and the website requested, DNS traffic is usually not encrypted. So in addition to your ISP keeping record of all sites you visit, other third parties have visibility into the unencrypted DNS traffic as well.

A simple DNS Leak test will verify what DNS servers you are currently using. Additionally, if you have already taken steps to either change your DNS server or employ the use of a VPN its worth testing how effective your current settings are working.

Should the test reveal that your settings are not achieving the desired outcome then you will have a starting point for identifying and making necessary corrections.

An excellent VPN service provider such as Private Internet Access will actually wrap all of your device traffic in strong encryption including DNS traffic and then route it through their servers, including their own DNS servers.

That shield against ISP traffic monitoring goes a long way towards increasing your online privacy and security.

Email IP Leaks

Another reason and use case for using a VPN service is that simple emails you send can also reveal your IP address.

If you are sending emails while connected to a VPN service then the IP address of the VPN server is revealed instead of your personally identifiable IP address.

Test to see if your email provider or email client leaks your IP address here.

IPv6 Leaks

IPv6 is the preemptive solution to the Internet’s problem of a dwindling pool of IPv4 addresses available. IPv6 vastly expands the TCP/IP identifiers that can be created.

IPv4 is still the prominent internet protocol in use today, however more ISPs are supporting IPv6 which means that is another avenue for a unique identifier which identifies you. If you have adjusted your router settings to disable IPv6 or use a VPN which claims to shield IPv6 leaks as well, then its highly recommended to test for IPv6 leakage here.

Browser/OS Fingerprinting

Finally, last but not least is browser and operating system (OS) fingerprinting. This is one of the most nefarious and privacy violating tracking methods currently used.

In essence, browser and OS fingerprinting involves capturing many unique data points about your web browser in-use and your operating system in-use. All the data points captured from your browser and OS, which are to numerous to list here are then compiled into a unique and traceable fingerprint across the internet.

So far the best defense to browser and OS fingerprinting is the herd approach. Meaning, you want your device to have identical specifications and settings along with the majority of other users. The more people producing the same browser and OS fingerprint waters down the tracking ability.

If you are ready for a reality check as to the insidious nature of this privacy violating tool then check out PANOPTICLICK provided by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

4 Examples of Data Privacy Risks

In summary, you’ve read about the perils of data leakage and 4 examples of data privacy risks stemming from DNS leaks, email IP leaks, IPv6 leaks, and browser/OS fingerprinting.

You may want to bookmark this page (Press Ctrl + D) and come back to test these areas of data leakage regularly as you work to adjust your settings and mitigate the data leakage.

For further reading on your public IP address vulnerabilities and why a VPN is so important I also recommend this article. What’s my IP?

Feel free to share your thoughts on data privacy risks below!

What Does Connected Car Data and Inexpensive Home Automation System Data Have In Common?

What Does Connected Car Data and Inexpensive Home Automation System Data Have In Common?

PART IX ON THE NETPRAETOR.COM OVERVIEW OF THE NINE MAIN CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAVE THE MOST IMPACT ON END USER DATA PRIVACY AND DATA SECURITY THROUGH DAILY USE.

With 5G cellular connectivity being rolled out in locations around the world, love it or hate it, 5G is poised to empower the next wave information technology advancements. These advancements are focused on pushing automation forward and will be tied to connected car data and inexpensive home automation system data.  

We are already seeing the current advancements as a foreshadowing of what is to come. Look at any car, truck or SUV built in the last 10 years, which most of us probably own and drive. 

Every time the ignition switch is turned on and a smart phone plugged in, personal data such as location and contacts are being processed and shared.

This is in addition to actual data about your vehicle, such as mileage and maintenance.

Additionally, many people have multiple data producing smart devices installed in homes in addition to the smart phones carried every moment of every day. 

The commonalities concerning privacy and security risks associated with connected car data and inexpensive home automation system data are numerous and will be discussed below.

Ties that bind

You may have an understanding that when your smart phone is with you while at home or away, it’s constantly transmitting and receiving data, most of which revolves around you.   

What many people fail to consider are the inexpensive home automation system data risks and the connected car data risks. You don’t have to live in a mansion or drive a Tesla to be affected by either. 

As mentioned above, if you drive a car manufactured in the last 10 years and have Apple Homekit, Amazon Alexa, or Google Nest Mini devices installed in your home or thinking about adding them, then this article is for you. 

Depending on your own unique situation, it doesn’t hurt to review the risks associated with connected car data and inexpensive home automation system data. Here are some risks to consider when using these internet of things (IOT) devices. 

I. Location and pattern-of-life data 

In addition to your smart phone, both your car and your home will now give your location away. Combining connected car data and inexpensive home automation data and the location information about you becomes more detailed and precise. 

For example, depending on how a smart home is configured it will identify what room you spend most time in, what time you eat dinner, and when you go to bed. Depending on video capture devices being utilized it may record you and anyone visiting your house while going so far as to conduct facial recognition.

The same goes for connected car data. When you link your smart phone to your car your location for routes and destinations are more accessible.  

Data you are producing and sending out via connected car data and inexpensive home automation data goes beyond just your location. There are additional privacy and security implications which should be considered. 

The personal assistant or hub devices, especially Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are notorious for picking up and recording conversations even when not prompted.

With so many people working from home, having these devices nearby could pose a privacy concern and may want to be considered before important meetings take place. These IOT devices also compile information such as what TV’s and Movies you watch and shopping habits.

After your smart phone is synced with your car it also uploads your contacts, messages, call history, and favorite locations to the vehicle and in some cases to cloud servers as well. 

This may be fine if it’s a car you own and operate. However, what happens when you sync your phone to a rental car or company car? Guess what, that vehicle which you don’t own and operate regulary now has nearly a mirror image of your smart phone.  

For some of us that could be a pretty sobering prospect, especially if you value your privacy. I mention this because in the past I’ve done exactly that and want others to learn from my mistake. 

If the idea of strangers knowing your contacts, phone calls, messages, and frequent locations doesn’t sit well with you then keep reading. Although not without risk of possible compromises, there are ways to employ connected car data and inexpensive home automation data in a safe manner and enjoy the benefits that they do offer. 

II. How to employ connected car data and inexpensive home automation data with reduced risk? 

Now that you are aware of the risks here are many of the benefits that employing connected car data and inexpensive home automation data in your life can offer which revolves around convenience and safety. 

i. Convenience 

It can be helpful to receive alerts that a car needs maintenance prior to a breakdown.

Additioanlly, having the confidence that your home will automatically turn off lights when you leave and automatically turn them on upon arrival is a great feature.

ii. Safety

Depending on where you live you may have seen commercials for General Motors OnStar service which contacts first responders in the event of an airbag deployment and sends them to your location. That is a great potentially life-saving service which connected car data can be used for. 

Additionally, an inexpensive home automation system with security cameras can deter home invasions and alert home owners too suspicious activity while smart smoke and CO2 alarms can automatically alert when smoke or carbon monoxide is detected. 

As you can see there are great possibly life-saving benefits to be had by leveraging this technology. The key is to employ it smartly by using only devices that have the best reputations for privacy and security. 

You have read about the increased risks to your personal data concerning location, habits, and security associated with automated homes and connected cars. 

Thankfully though my own experience and research I’ve compiled a list of companies who more than just claim to be privacy and security focused, they put it into practice and act on it. 

Each of these products has earned a NETPRAETOR thumbs up and is broken down by best use case. 

GuardKnox

As I mentioned at the beginning we are on the verge of a new automated era with the advent of 5G and beyond cellular technologies. As self-driving cars become a mass market reality in the next decade, the protection and integrity of their systems will be critical. 

Do you want to drive in a car that gets hacked? GuardKnox is at the forefront of preventing that from happening. If you’re a consumer looking to buy a new Tesla or another automotive brand that has semi-autonomous autopilot capabilities, its worth discussing with the manufacturer if they offer Communication Lockdown technology. If they don’t ask them why. Enough consumers demanding safe and sound next generation vehicles will help to ensure they are built right. 

If you own a small franchise repair shop or auto dealership, ensuring you’re facility has the knowledge and capabilities to service these automotive security technologies could keep your business future-proof and one step ahead of the competition. 

Privacy4Cars

This application addresses the concern I mentioned earlier in the post. What happens when you sell your car or return a rental with your synced smart phone data? 

The Privacy4Cars application allows you too rapidly delete Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from vehicles, such as contact book, phone calls, text messages, navigation history, address history, and garage codes. 

Apple Homekit

At this time Apple HomeKit is the only NETPRAETOR recommended home automation solution. Its not 100% private or 100% secure, however Apple is doing the best job currently at making the most private and most secure inexpensive home automation system on the market.

If you already have an iPhone or iPad it doesn’t take much to start building your kit. I’m providing some affiliate links below to help get you started and keep an eye out for a detailed post on correctly assembeling an Apple HomeKit automation system. 

Apple TV 4K

Apple TV 4K is the foundation to establishing your Apple HomeKit based smart home. Not only will this provide endless TV watching and Movie entertainment, it acts as the critical hub for your entire smart home. Without this (or an iPad / HomePod) your smart home aspirations are not possible.

Lutron Caseta Smart Start Kit

This Lutron Caseta kit will give you the starting point for enabling hardwired smart dimmer switches throughout your entire home. I recommend this over the standard on/off switch starter kit as its more fun to have Siri adjust the light settings rather than just on or off.

Logitec Circle 2 Wired

Logitec Circle 2 is one of the few cameras that integrates with Apple HomeKit. It works with your Apple TV 4K to provide end-to-end zero knowledge encryption of your home video feeds. When setup correctly all video streams that run through Apple Homekit Secure Video will be encrypted by the Apple TV 4K in your house prior to being uploaded to the cloud.

Why live in fear of your footage being hacked or intercepted like Ring device users and other smart home system users do? This is one of main privacy and security advantages Apple brings to the table with HomeKit, elevating themselves way ahead of the competition.

What Does Connected Car Data and Inexpensive Home Automation System Data Have In Common? 

If this is your first time reading a NETPRAETOR post on data privacy and data security, welcome. If you’ve been following along the last 5 months, this concludes the 9 part series of the main information technologies which have the most impact on end user data privacy and data security through daily use. 

Look forward to new posts weekly and feel free to share your feedback in the comments section or let me know if there’s a topic you would like to hear more about.

Cloud Storage Strengths and Weaknesses?

Cloud Storage Strengths and Weaknesses?

PART VIII ON THE NETPRAETOR.COM OVERVIEW OF THE NINE MAIN CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAVE THE MOST IMPACT ON END USER DATA PRIVACY AND DATA SECURITY THROUGH DAILY USE.

What Is Cloud Storage

If you’re someone who needs remote access to files without having access to your local storage systems, then chances are good a cloud storage solution can be right for you. 

Setup properly, cloud storage provides you with the the ability to easily access and share files remotely without having direct access to the local storage device. 

This ease of access and flexibility can provide you with time savings through quick accessibility on any device and redundancy through off-site backups and syncing among multiple devices.

As with anything and especially related to information technology that houses sensitive personal information, cloud storage strengths and weaknesses must be considered. 

Starting with the bad news first I’ll go over cloud storage weaknesses, of which some are more important than others and can be deal breakers for use. 

Cloud Storage Weaknesses

I. Cost

Without a doubt, when it comes to cloud storage you get what you pay for. Simply, a quality cloud storage solution is going to come with additional costs in one form or another whether that be monetary or trading your data.

As I mentioned in my other post talking about Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s), buyer beware when it comes to any information technology device, application, or service advertised as free. 

99% of the time that so called free service is free because you are agreeing to give up your data when accepting their terms and conditions. 

Whether paying for cloud storage with your currency or your data, taking a close look at the costs charged by any cloud storage provider is essential. 

The monetary costs of quality cloud storage which respects end-user privacy can add up quickly if you are uploading and downloading large volumes of files to and from the cloud frequently. 

II. Internet connectivity 

Easy access to your data can quickly come to an end if no internet connection is readily available. Cloud storage strengths and weaknesses are predominately dependent on the availability of a reliable internet connection. 

If the internet connection is good then large files can be accessed efficiently. If the internet connection is bad or non-existent then you could be cutoff from your critical files at inopertune times. 

III. Support and Data Security 

Cloud storage providers are not known to provide the best customer service and support. For example, in some cases it can be by design due to the employment of end-to-end encryption. Without access to the encryption keys a cloud storage provider simply can’t provide support to data it cannot access. In those cases the responsibility of file maintenance and recovery is shifted to the customer.

If you’re reading this blog chances are good you care about the privacy and security of your data. If that’s the case then the potential issues posed by end-to-end encryption are actually a good thing and can be mitigated if the right steps are taken when you choose to employ it. 

Rather than gambling with the grey area of wondering who is responsible for making sure your files in cloud storage are secure, why not take ownership and accept the stewardship of managing your own data?

Cloud Storage Strengths

I. Costs 

Cost is tied to both cloud storage strengths and weaknesses. As noted above the monetary and privacy costs of cloud storage can be a major weakness. 

However, with the cost of purchasing suitable quality physical storage rather expensive, especially for large volumes of files, reduced monetary cost of cloud storage can be less expensive per gigabyte or terabyte than using external drives and other storage solutions. 

II. Accessibility

In addition to monetary cost savings over physical file storage, cloud storage provides access to your files from anywhere an internet connection is available.

Imagine getting pulled over for accidentally rolling past a stop sign. Thats already a position you don’t want to be in, however making matters worse you realize you left your wallet with drivers license at home. Not only have you failed to stop at a stop sign, now you’re driving without your license. 

Given that most people are more likely to leave a wallet or purse at home than their smart phone these days, if you happen to keep a scanned copy of your drivers license syncd in the cloud you could at least produce a copy of your drivers license via the cloud storage application and hopefully mitigate additional problems.

III. Recovery

An additional benefit of storing important files in the cloud is redundancy and the ability to recover important files in the event of a hard drive or device failure. Files stored in the cloud are backed up and reduce the risk of physical storage failure.

IV. Syncing Devices

The best cloud storage providers will do more than just protect your data at rest in the cloud with end-to-end encryption, they will protect your data in transit as you upload and download files with end-to-end encryption as well. In addition to that, a great cloud storage provider will allow for an option that synchronizes your files across multiple devices. 

The way syncing works is when you make changes to a file on one device, it will then automatically cascade those changes through the cloud to all the other linked devices as well. 

For example, going back to the drivers license scenario above, let’s say you finally made a decision to store a copy of your drivers license in the cloud the day you go for a drive and roll through a stop sign, thus getting pulled over. 

If you uploaded your drivers license to your cloud provider from your MacBook Pro prior to leaving the house that day and your settings were configured to automatically sync with the application on your iPhone, its that syncing ability which allowed you to access your drivers license copy later that when you got pulled over and realized your wallet was at home. 

That example is just one of the many benefits of syncing files through cloud storage. 

V. Security

Not all cloud storage providers are created equal. The best cloud storage providers carefully weigh cloud storage strengths and weaknesses and will enhance the strengths while reducing the weaknesses. 

Only the best cloud storage providers add additional layers of security to their services. Again circling back to the drivers license scenario above, you would only want to store sensitive documents like a drivers license on a platform offering the best security with zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption. 

Ensuring that your files can only be accessed by you or individuals you designate is best achieved by only using cloud storage offering zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption. This will help to prevent your files being accessed by someone you didn’t authorize. 

Cloud Storage Strengths and Weaknesses?

Having reviewed the main elements of cloud storage strengths and weaknesses here are the three cloud storage solutions earning a NETPRAETOR thumbs up broken down by best use case. 

Large volumes of data to back up with end-to-end encryption

iDrive

Daily use for maximum compatibility with Microsoft Office suite

OneDrive

Daily use for best security with end-to-end encryption

Tresorit 

5 Best Reasons For Using Collaboration Tools

5 Best Reasons For Using Collaboration Tools

PART VII ON THE NETPRAETOR.COM OVERVIEW OF THE NINE MAIN CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAVE THE MOST IMPACT ON END USER DATA PRIVACY AND DATA SECURITY THROUGH DAILY USE.

What is collaboration tool software?

Collaboration tools are applications designed with the purpose of enabling people to work together efficiently and securely across audio, video, text, and data transfer channels. 

Some reasons for using collaboration tools may be focused solely on a specific channel such as text messaging or video, for example. 

Whether for business use with colleagues or personal use with friends and family, if you’re in the market for a specific collaboration tool or uncertain why you need one in the age of COVID19, then continue reading.

No matter the reasons for using collaboration tools one thing is certain, the world as a whole is now seeing the value of staying connected when physical interaction is limited or outright banned as the global pandemic has revealed in such an abrupt and paradigm shifting way. 

The 5 best reasons for using collaboration tools below will help you identify the main benefits of online collaboration tools and provide ideas of how you may use them for business and for personal use. 

I. Increased security and privacy

There is no doubt, sensitive information is traversing the internet constantly. If you listen to the news even a little, there are too numerous reports to count highlighting data breaches and data compromises from the mishandling of sensitive data.

These compromises can be as simple as an email being accidentally sent to the wrong person or more nefarious acts of not properly encrypted data being intercepted. 

Most people do not pay attention to the fact that email communication is inherently insecure. Simply sending emails with sensitive information or attachments is like sending a postcard through the mail with your medical history and tax ID number written on it. 

For those reasons it is of paramount importance that only the best collaboration tools are selected to ensure your privacy and the privacy of those whom data you handle. 

Collaborating from an encrypted and centralized location with only authorized individuals can protect sensitive information. 

II. Travel cost savings

Even before the COVID19 pandemic spread across the globe many businesses and individuals were looking for ways to collaborate remotely in an effort to reduce expensive travel and lodging costs. The COVID19 pandemic has brought a lot of attention to the very important role collaboration tools have across the world. 

Eventually when the world fully reopens from the global shutdown, traveling both for work and for fun will resume. When it comes to business travel for meetings, adding up the cost of transport, lodging, and dining out can prove to be very expensive.

Corporations and small businesses alike have valid proof of concept regarding the widespread success and acceptance of empowering remote workforces. The cost savings alone are one of the many reasons for using collaboration tools, now and into the future.

III. Reduction in the number of collaboration software tools used

Selecting the right collaboration tool for the job can mean the difference between more time spent on progress towards profitable goals or wasted time spent troubleshooting issues and dealing with data compromises. 

A great collaboration tool will allow for the secure centralized use of many applications from one place, instead of having to sign-in to multiple different applications during a session.

IV. Collaboration in real-time

Simple emails may have been fine in the past, especially when they can be followed up in-person by walking over to a colleagues desk or office. With remote working arrangements quickly becoming the rule rather than the exception, the lack of physical interaction is another one of the many reasons for using collaboration tools. 

In this case, collaborating in real time with the right tool allows for audio, video, text, and document sharing among many individuals at one time. This real-time centralzied approach can prove much more productive than tracking document updates via email and provide instant feedback. 

V. Increase productivity

Aside from being the next best thing to in-person interaction under global lockdown orders, a boon to productivity is another one of the many reasons for using collaboration tools. 

Increased productivity is inherently fostered by excellent collaboration tools. They allow only authorized individuals access to all the information they need in one place. Cutting down on time spent searching for documents can add up to a lot of time saved.       

5 Best Reasons For Using Collaboration Tools

Various factors need to be considered before selecting collaboration tools and implementing them. In this post you just read about the 5 best reasons for using them. 

Here are the top NETPRAETOR recommended collaboration tools, each earning a coveted NETPRAETOR thumbs up and broken down by best use case.

Apple users:

FaceTime & iMessage

Cross platform use with friends and family:

Skype

Most comprehensive business collaboration:

Microsoft Teams

Most secure collaboration with end to end encryption: 

Wire

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