Since the bulk of our daily lives revolves around the Internet, each and everybody’s privacy is at risk of being invaded. Internet service providers (ISPs), advertisers, governments, and cybercriminals across the world have a vested interested in tracking every move you make online, thus creating a strong need to go anonymous.
If you don’t want anyone else to see your browsing habits and personal information, there are a number of ways to keep prying eyes from spying on your Internet traffic. How, though? In this post, we’ll be highlighting 8 simple yet effective measures that you can take to maintain your anonymity online. So, here it goes:
Hide Your IP with an Anonymous VPN
One of the best ways to remain anonymous online is investing in an anonymous VPN service like PureVPN. It replaces your real IP address it with a virtual one and protects your Internet traffic with AES 256-bit encryption to conceal your activities from others.
Moreover, with essential VPN features such as WebRTC Leak Protection, Internet Kill Switch, and DNS Leak Protection, etc. on offer, you’ll never again have to worry about your compromising your online identity.
Keep Your Web Searches Private
Whenever you use search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing, they collect revealing information about you such as your originating IP address, what you searched for, what device you used, where you were located at that time, etc.
All this information is pieced together to build a detailed profile for serving targeted ads. However, by using privacy-focused search engines like DuckDuckGo, you can keep your web searches truly private as it doesn’t track or save any of your search history.
Block Third-Party Cookies
Did you know that advertisers use third-party cookies to track your browsing habits across multiple sites? As the name implies, these types of cookies are placed on your device by other parties and not the website you’re visiting.
You can hide from them by blocking all third-party cookies within your browser’s settings. If you want to delete cookies, programs like CCleaner can be useful because it will erase cookies and other information about you for any browser’s you’ve installed.
Get HTTPS Everywhere
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is extremely important when it comes to protecting your Internet traffic from being intercepted for sensitive information like passwords, for example. Unfortunately, not every website provides support for TLS connections and this is exactly where HTTPS everywhere can help.
The HTTPS Everywhere browser extension, which is provided by the Electric Frontier Foundation for free, enforces SSL/TLS connections on the websites you’re visiting to keep important Internet traffic secure and private.
Use Tails Operating System
There are so many live operating systems that you can use for anonymity. For example, Tails can be started on almost any computer from a CD or USB drive and wipes clean all traces of your activities as soon as you finish the session.
What’s more is that Tails automatically routes all your Internet traffic through TOR to maintain anonymity and even contains built-in encryption tools for instant messaging and email. The best part of all, it’s free and open-source!
Block JavaScript
JavaScript can reveal specific details about your computer to any web server like the size of your screen, what browser extensions you’re using, etc. Also, unpatched JavaScript vulnerabilities could be used to trick your browser into giving up even more personally identifiable information (PII).
To be truly anonymous online, you’re better off disabling JavaScript – but that’s easier said than done as many sites use JavaScript to function! You’ll have to delve into your browser’s settings, or use an extension like NoScript or Sybu, and manually manage which sites have permission to run JavaScript.
Avoid Self-Disclosure on Social Media
Sure, we get it – resisting social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc. can be difficult! But if you’re planning on signing up, the least you can do is be cautious. So, when you’re using these sites, make sure to never post things like:
- Your date of birth
- Your home address
- Your phone number
- Your middle name
- Any personally identifiable information that could be used to steal your identity
- Travel or any other plans – don’t make the mistake of announcing your absence in advance
Go the Crypto Way!
If you spend fiat currencies online, your transactions can easily be linked back to your identity as you leave behind a trail of identifiable payment information. So, if you want to make online purchases anonymously, using cryptocurrencies is your best bet.
Bitcoin is the most well-known cryptocurrency out there, and though it may not be 100% anonymous, it can provide you with the financial anonymity you desire. Be aware, though, the use of Bitcoin comes with a learning curve.
Final Word
And…you made it! Hopefully, you’re now well equipped to stay anonymous and undetectable on the Internet. If you have any questions or anything else to add, feel free to use the comments section below!
