The advent of social media has enabled advertisers to target their consumers better than ever before. But, are you aware that your operating system could also be helping companies display personalized ads based on your online searches? Read on to learn more about Windows 10’s flawed privacy settings and how you can fix them.

Passwords are a double-edged sword. If you make them too simple, they’ll be easy to guess; if you make them too complex, they’ll be impossible to remember. One solution is to create an uncrackable password and save it to your browser. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that tactic could drastically reduce your privacy.

Installing powerful antivirus software and setting strong passwords are no longer considered the bare minimum in cybersecurity. With hackers, government agencies, and ISPs constantly monitoring networks and your online habits, hopping onto a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is crucial for keeping your surfing habits private.

If you imagine medical records as being stored in a cabinet somewhere in your local hospital, think again. Until quite recently, medical records were publicly accessible via Google. In an effort to prevent cybercriminals from capitalizing on these resources, Google has removed sensitive medical records from appearing in search results.

Have you recently created and uploaded a Microsoft file on Microsoft’s free document-sharing platform, docs.com? Did you know that other than yourself and the small group of people you wish to share documents with, your uploaded documents can be publicly viewed and searched via Google or Bing? Regardless of your reasons for using docs.

The reason we part ways with certain things is that we don’t wish to see them ever again. But in this modern day and age, is that possible? Imagine that the deleted search history you believed to be dead and gone rose from the IT grave like zombies bent on causing you nothing but embarrassment and awkwardness.

It takes seconds to infiltrate and obtain private information. And while it’s unlikely that Microsoft will cause your business financial ruin with their data collection, the fact is that Windows 10 gathers a ridiculous amount of private information from users.

It’s safe to say that malware attacks, phishing scams, and social media engineering practices are going nowhere fast. That means that, whether you are a home user or the owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business, if you choose to ignore safer online security practices you are putting your identity and the security of your company at serious risk.