Be Anonymous When You Browse the Internet

Did you know that anonymous browsing is good for you? This may conjure up associations of something like a vitamin a day is good for you which would not be far from the truth. Sometimes, anonymous browsing is that important because what we’re talking about is your sensitive and private information. We’re also talking about your habits, your personality, and several other data about you, your friends, and your family. Yes, the rabbit hole does go deep indeed. The web is wide and sprawling. Therefore, protecting your personal information is akin to protecting your health, in a way, because your sensitive and private information is extremely important.

What are the Risks Online?

The truth is, you can be compromised, your data can be stolen, your whereabouts exploited, etc. Just think about the following: where do you store your credit card details? Where do you store your location information? How about your private messages, videos, and contacts? You got it, in one of your devices (maybe you have several that are interlinked). It’s all in there in that compact little device. Would you want to compromise your device and let this all out in public? Would you want someone to hijack or hack your bank account? How about your medical information?

Now, why be anonymous at all? How about what happens when you browse? Did you know that you were being tracked, profiled, and monitored while you are online? Furthermore, not only is your laptop, desktop, your smartphone, and your tablet doing this while you browse, every smart device in your house is! Now, why all the paranoia, you might say? Well, there are several reasons to be alert and on the ready when it comes to being anonymous on the internet jungle!

Why is Being Anonymous Important?

We’ve set several questions above that only touch on a few things that can take place if your anonymity and security aren’t in check while browsing what some aptly call the internet ‘jungle.’ First of all, there are some key facts to consider. For one, hundreds of millions of us obliviously enter private information into online search engines like Google. It is understood by experts that only a portion of people think about what they’re putting in that search box. Now, the search engine is just one way to expose yourself. What about your Gmail, social media, instant messaging, browsing history, and the digital fingerprint trail that you leave online?

The problem is twofold. First, you’re giving your data over to large corporations that will use it to profile you. You’re just a number to them, while your data is being harvested by Big Data algorithms for personal gain. Secondly, some of your information may end up on the wrong side of the internet such as on the dark web. This could be details about your identity, finances, medicals, anything. This data could be used against you or compromise you digitally, or even steal your identity (or your money) in real life!

How can You Protect Yourself?

Opt-out of Services

So, what should you do? Well, thankfully there are solutions out there that we’ll cover now, so do not worry. First of all, you might want to opt-out of using the services of a commercial giant like Google. This means using alternatives to the apps and services you use daily like Gmail, Google search, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and whatever else you might be using. On average, a person has multiple accounts with multiple services on the internet. There are now over five billion of us connected to the internet. Combine those two and you have yourself a big potential problem! That is if you haven’t sanitized your security and anonymity as much as possible first.

Choose a Privacy-Focused Browser

Secondly, you might want to look at the source of the problem, which is your internet browser, and how ‘open’ your internet traffic is. The answer to these problems is a privacy-focused internet browser and a VPN, respectively. You probably use a default internet browser that comes with your computer or device. Note that, these internet browsers are not specialized in anonymizing or obfuscating your digital trail. In this case, you should opt for a browser that is transparent, honest, and focused on having you as much as possible online. Some browsers that come to mind are Mozilla, Brave, Qwant, and many others.

Consider a VPN

Now, once you have a nice clean browser to work with and have set it up so that third-party trash and fingerprinting are as strictly blocked as possible, it is time to look at setting up a VPN. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a network security software that encapsulates your entire internet connection and makes it useless to anyone monitoring you or trying to hack you. This is thanks to a process known as encryption. A VPN also does wonders for anonymity, in that it can take your public internet protocol (IP) address and switch it with one of the provider’s own. Effectively, you could place your internet connection in the middle of Africa (or anywhere else) and the rest of the internet wouldn’t know the difference.

Extra Steps

On a side note, there is an advanced thing you can do to anonymize yourself even further. Very few people pay attention to this, and that is to disable your WebRTC and WebGL within your browser. This means that your browser will not leak any information about your browsing or the make and model of your device to other websites.

Now you know how important it is to take care of your internet hygiene and apply internet best practices in this day and age. We also recommend that you no longer browse the internet without the proper tools above! Remember, your devices are never set up optimally from the box. Manufacturers and vendors always leave it up to the user to do this setup. Thus, they usually cannot be held responsible for any issues down the line once a device is purchased. It is also important to read the fine print properly when purchasing electronic devices.