Introduction:
We live in a world with data breaches every day, our information becomes outdated as soon as we update it. Now is the time to make sure you have taken all the necessary steps to protect your sensitive and personal data. This guide is going to show you exactly what you need to do to destroy your online footprint and restore your digital identity.
You may know that it is important to protect your privacy and in some situations, even the very safety of your person. But it can be hard to determine which steps are necessary for protection, since information on the topic is scattered here and there across the web. The truth is, there are many different ways of protecting yourself online and it would be impractical for this document to include every single option that’s available. The purpose of this article is only going to cover basic steps that will help keep you safe from prying eyes while not being too difficult or expensive to follow through with.
What is Digital Identity?
Before we start, it’s important to know what we mean by digital identity. Essentially, a digital identity is the collection of all your personal data that can be linked back to a single account. This includes things like your name, address, telephone number, credit card info and social security number. If you’ve ever made a purchase online or had an email account before then you already have at least one digital identity. This information is critical in order to protect your privacy so it is important not to share it with anyone unless you completely trust them. The only exception to this rule would be companies like Google who maintain the right to use and display anonymous user information for advertising purposes if they choose to do so.
Steps to follow to fix your Digital Identity Protection:
- Create a new email account and disable your current Gmail account with all its associated email addresses, users and accounts. This is where the bulk of your personal information will be stored so it’s best to have a new email address with nothing attached in it. If you already have an Gmail account and don’t want someone to be able to gain access to all your other accounts then you can use these free temporary Gmail accounts:
- Delete any and all social media accounts that are linked to the one email account you just created. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media websites that were tied together with this one email address. For example, if your email account was [email protected] then deleting your Facebook account will also delete your Twitter and Instagram accounts. If you have multiple Facebook profiles or have used other email addresses to link social media accounts to then you will have to delete one by one each instead of using this method. This will help prevent someone from accessing all of your information and links between sites in order for them to be able to post as you in these forums and change your own posts, messages and comments without anyone knowing that it’s happening.
- Disable any password protected devices such as your computer or a tablet, phone or other device that you use to access the internet. If it isn’t already, do not create anything from any email address linked to your digital identity in any of these devices. This means even if someone has managed to get into your Gmail account, there is no way for him or her to remotely access another digital identity because you’ll have deleted the email address that was linked to it.
- Change all the passwords associated with both the new Email account and your Digital Identity immediately following the steps outlined in this guide.
- Make sure you keep all your passwords in a safe place that is not connected to the internet or any other electronic device. There is no way to prevent someone from accessing your information if they figure out where you store all of your passwords.
- Delete any and all email accounts associated with the same Digital Identity and with any other classes of information that you have listed previously (names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.). This includes your own personal email address so make sure that when it’s deleted completely no trace remains of it. Keep in mind that this will mean that you don’t have an email account anymore but because we’re dealing with sensitive data it’s better for the current situation than having two different email accounts tied to the same digital identity.
- Assemble a team of trusted people who can help you get rid of your digital footprint by following the steps outlined in this guide. The reason for this is that know one will be able to help you if you mess up any step.
- Take each step one at a time and make sure to re-check each one before moving on to the next one that requires further action.
The most important thing is to make sure that your current email address has been reserved only for personal use and no official purposes because it is linked with your digital identity.
Conclusion:
In summary, these simple steps will help you completely remove your digital identity from every site on the internet and protect your privacy. By following each one in turn you should be able to destroy any data that can be used to impersonate you online until all of the information has been deleted.
Removing digital evidence from the internet is important in many situations. Whether it’s being accused of a crime or just keeping a record of what you’re doing online for your own personal use, it’s bound to happen at some point. Because it’s so easy to remove any trace and damage left behind, we wanted to create a guide for others who may have found themselves in this situation and looking for ways to remove digital evidence off hackforums.