What is egosurfing: keys to knowing the information that the Internet has about you

March 9, 2022

Egosurfing is an action really recommended by cybersecurity experts to protect our privacy on the network and know what type of information has been published, whether you have given permission or whether it is illegitimate.

For the Internet Security Office (OSI), everything we publish about ourselves or third parties on social networks, platforms or websites will remain on the network. Photos, videos, comments, public documents. Our entire digital identity can be damaged if privacy is compromised and personal data is leaked. So how can we avoid it?

Looking for ourselves: what can it be used for?

Egosurfing consists of using networks and search engines with search terms specific to ourselves, such as our name or identity number, to find information.

"This is a good practice that we should all carry out periodically, to know what is said about us, how it is said, who says it and for what purpose," they warn at the OSI, dependent on the National Cybersecurity Institute.

Is it really necessary? Yes, because we must remember that the Internet "is the largest information bank in history" and, although we may not know it, there may be our information circulating that anyone can access.

What if we find something that we do not want to be on the network?

Browsing the Internet you can find some personal information, an image or a video that you did not know or that you do not want to continue on the network. So, what can be done if we find false information or profiles on networks? First of all, underlines the OSI, it is essential to configure the privacy options "to prevent strangers from accessing" our profiles.

On the other hand, it is advisable to "manage how our contacts can tag us in different publications" and, finally, report the social network so that they remove that content.


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