Johannesburg, 20 Aug 2020
When you browse the Internet, your provider, social media sites and ad networks get to know every site that you visit. They can easily access your private data that you might be not so eager to share. In this article, you’ll find useful tips on how to stay anonymous when going online with a computer or a mobile device.
There is hardly any privacy online. Your provider keeps track of each site you visit, your government and your sysadmin can easily access your browser history. Multiple apps, social media sites and ad networks spy on you daily to get to know your tastes and preferences.
Sometimes, you may want more privacy. Maybe, you are not too eager to share your political or religious beliefs. Or you might be searching for sensitive content that you wouldn't like to publicly associate yourself with. In this case, you should resort to extra tools and measures to secure more privacy on your computer or portable gadget. Below, you'll find a list of useful tips on remaining anonymous online and preventing unwanted parties from snooping on you.
Use a VPN
A virtual private network encrypts the data that your device exchanges with the server. It's a good and trusted method to protect your financial credentials when using a public WiFi connection or to access a Web site that is officially banned in your country. Like this, your data won't be visible to your Internet provider — but your VPN provider will see it. With a VPN, you'll hide your identity for certain third-parties, but you won't become fully anonymous.
Resort to a private DNS provider
The Domain Network System converts the addresses that you type in the browser into computer-readable IP addresses. By default, you're using the DNS that your Internet provider offers to all its customers. Thanks to this, the provider knows every site that you visit.
To remain anonymous, you can install Google's Private DNS, Open DNS, or another solution of this kind. It will encrypt your traffic so that ad networks don't get hold of your private data. Also, a private DNS can erase your IP addresses from its memory in 24 hours, which creates an extra level of protection.
Download an anonymous browser
Such as, for instance, TOR or Epic Privacy. Epic is built on the Chrome base and features the following benefits:
- Third-party trackers and cookies are blocked by default;
- Your browser and search history is never logged; and
- To enable a proxy network, you just need to move a switch in the toolbar.
There is no in-built ad blocker, so you'll keep seeing ads. When you open the homepage, you'll see the number of trackers that attempted spying on you today.
TOR relies on a separate network of nodes. When you open a site, your IP will be visible only to the devices within this network. It will be close to impossible to track it from the outside. To maximise your anonymity, you can use TOR together with a VPN. However, this browser will considerably slow down your device.
Enable incognito mode in your browser
When you log in to your regular browser, it keeps track of all the sites that you visited, all the files you downloaded, and all the search inquiries you made. In everyday life, this saves time and effort. But if you want to remain anonymous, you can log out of your account and switch on the incognito mode. Like this, your cookies won't be visible, and your online activities won't be connected to a particular user.
In this article, we won't give step-by-step instructions on how to enable incognito mode in each popular browser. It's quite easy and doesn't require profound technical knowledge. You may Google separate detailed articles on 'How to Use Incognito Mode' in Safari, Firefox, Chrome, etc.
Disable excessive plug-ins
A plug-in is a lightweight program that enhances your browser's capabilities – Java and Flash Player can serve as two popular examples. Through a plug-in, third-parties can get access to your IP address and other sensitive data.
If you don't use plug-ins regularly, you'd better turn them off. Go to your browser settings, open the list of plug-ins, and disable those that you consider unnecessary.
Disable the spying algorithms of social networks
Social networks keep track of all the likes and shares that we make outside these networks. When you enter a site that uses, let's say, Facebook Like buttons, Facebook will get to know that you were there even if you didn't push the button. Later, Facebook will use this information for ad targeting.
Again, we won't give detailed instructions on how to disable this option in your network settings. Look for it somewhere in the settings, in the sections that are devoted to advertising. It's unlikely that the network will stop spying on you completely – most likely, it will go on, simply for security pretexts. But at least it won't offer you ads based on your browsing history.
Use HTTPS sites
The HTTP versions are now considered outdated and don't provide sufficient security. Their HTTPS counterparts encrypt the data that your device exchanges with the server, so it becomes impossible to intercept it from the outside. HTTPS sites are marked with a padlock symbol in their address bars.
Some sites are available in both HTTP and HTTPS versions. Moreover, you might first need to open an HTTP page to access an HTTPS one. To prevent this, you can install a browser extension called HTTPS Everywhere. It will automatically redirect you to the safe version of the page.
Conclusion
Now you know how to browse sites safely and anonymously. Ad networks won't collect your data, your browser won't keep logs of the sites you visited, and your browsing history won't be accessible to third parties in case you leave your device unattended. You can give a try to all of the above-listed solutions and select the one that suits you best. All of them are credible, reliable and relatively easy to use.
About author:
Emma Brighton is a cyber security enthusiast and Mac aficionado. She’s passionate about covering topics like Mac cyber security, Mac tips and hacks, Mac’s how-to guides. She is a contributor to Cyber Experts and Cybers Guards.
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