There are an infinite number of ways in which you can compromise your privacy on the internet. Some people take their internet security more seriously than others, but the point stands that everyone should pay attention to what is going on whenever they’re on the internet. After so many shocking information about surveillance managed to find its way to the public’s eye, there’s been an increasing interest on what an average person can do to keep away from ever-watchful eyes of the World Wide Web.
Well, there are definitely some steps that you can take, which will assure a higher level of privacy, though truth be told, if someone wants to find you, they probably will.
Use TOR (The Onion Router)
The name sounds strange enough, but this low-key browser will get the job done if you are in search of finding a browser that is safe to use. TOR is the main communication line of many activists and influential underdogs that choose to share their knowledge and information over this website, rather than to be exposed to the privacy scrutiny of all major websites such as Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. The most popular search engines can abuse your private data in whatever purpose they see fit, while TOR approaches everything from a very different point of view. The Onion Router works solely on volunteer servers in the way that your IP address will actually circulate through those servers, which in return allows you to keep your exact location private. The underlined word here is “volunteer,” as every user of TOR contributes to the website by sharing a small part of their bandwidth speed to keep everything running. In this way, TOR is much like any torrent website.
However, sharing of your bandwidth can come with certain repercussions, because there are a lot of illegal activities on TOR as well (not much of a surprise, really). This means that sharing your bandwidth with TOR can connect you with some unsavory characters, which is not something anyone wants. TOR will allow you to see the internet in all its glory, but it does come with risks that need to be considered.
Use Virtual private network (VPN)
Perhaps you’ve heard of VPNs before, but you’ve never given it much attention. The companies that can provide you with virtual private connections are multiplying every day and you need to know how to choose a good provider. There are different levels of protection you can get while using VPN, it all depends on what exactly are you looking to protect, and how much are you willing to pay for these protection services. Speaking of money, this is usually the biggest sore spot for people who are thinking about getting a VPN, because they don’t see it as an investment. Thankfully, we can find some very cheap VPN providers on the market today that can cater to all needs.
You can avoid so much trouble if you opt out for using a virtual private connection, and even if you’re not in the knowing of how things should work there are many ways to find out. What we would recommend is looking for different reviews that can be easily found all over the internet, and PureVPN reviews are just an example in the sea of thousands of articles dedicated to this subject.
Another security glitch that even most VPN providers don’t cover is DNS leaks. Even when your VPN’s got your back in keeping your IP private, DNS leaks can be very telling of your identity. An easy way to find out if you’ve got DNS leaks is to test your network. Once you know what you’re dealing with, you can take measures to prevent it.
Change Your Browser
Not many people realize how important your browser is. Even though it doesn’t seem like switching browsers can be a game changer, it will, in fact, work for you if you know which browser to pick. The bigger part of the planet is using website browsers we all know about – Google, Yahoo, Opera, Bing, and others, that freely use your location and history of web searches to customize your search results. This does sound handy, but when you think about it, its downsides are many. This process of providing you with results browsers seems to fit is limiting, not to mention “filter bubbles” that gives you access to a very small portion of information that can actually be found on the internet. Also, your browser leaves something that’s called a unique thumbprint, which is an information trail that can lead to significant security issues. You can check your web thumbprint using different websites to know your visibility on the internet.
After you’ve read these pieces of advice, think well about the steps you want to take. Your privacy should definitely be one of your first priorities when accessing the World Wide Web and if you don’t protect it, no one else will.
