Most people who surf the internet have no idea how unprotected their personal details and data really are. By simply visiting different websites, a user exposes his/her information to them, and allows them to potentially track down their physical location. They can also identify details about the device you are using, and even install cookies that track your movement on the internet.
Now, if you’re one of those people who really don’t care, then that’s fine. But most people wouldn’t want their information to be in the hands of every website they visit, and they wouldn’t want their information to be analyzed by third parties they probably don’t even know about.
For these reasons, surfing the internet in relative anonymity is not only advisable, but in some ways it has become a requirement.
Here are a few suggestions on how you can safely surf the internet, without fear that your information is being traced or analyzed:
Web Proxies
This is perhaps the most common method of surfing the internet anonymously. Popular web proxies include Anonymouse, Hide My Ass, Blewpass and many others. These proxies are fairly easy to use, and all you need to do is type the URL of the website you want to browse anonymously. In this way the website you are visiting doesn’t have access to your IP address, it only has information from the proxy website.
Even though this method is perhaps the easiest, most accessible and efficient; it has its drawbacks. First of all, the browsing speed can be affected to an annoying extent when using proxies. Options like streaming music and video can be problematic as they take more time.
Some websites just can’t be accessed through proxies, thus; it’s not always a reliable method to surf the internet anonymously. Furthermore, even though these proxy websites don’t allow the website being visited to get access to your IP, they still have access to your information, and some of them have a policy for retaining your information which could be troublesome for you in the future.
Virtual Private Networks
These are dedicated proxy servers, which maintain the anonymity of the user and still offer a speedy connection. Through a VPN, your connection becomes encrypted, and thus; websites have access to only the VPN’s identity information rather than your personal information. A potential problem with VPNs is that they are not free unlike proxy websites.
Tor has quite a reputation for being one of the most secure VPNs. In fact, it has even helped people communicate digitally when their governments shut down the internet, and it has also helped reporters and journalists leak information on the internet in complete anonymity, especially in countries with limited or restricted internet access. Tor has several layers, like an onion; and it bounces data requests or information through random Tor servers, which is why it is so effective in maintaining your anonymity.
Hope these have helped, happy surfing!
Article written by Security Audit Systems on 8/12/2014