The internet, as we know it, is full of surprises. It has made our lives so easy and has brought almost everything on our fingertips, but all these perks come at a price. Have we sacrificed our privacy over such digital delights? Well, apparently, yes! We are looking at a space where our data can be compromised with a single blunder from us. The default state of the online world is feral; it feels more like a jungle which has predators waiting with prying eyes.

It would be rightful to say that there is no default privacy on the internet. Although many tools are designed to protect privacy but do they really pull off as they are advertised? Apparently, No. We as the user post so much information on social media which is personal and highly confidential. We perceive that the information will keep only visible to friends and people we have shared it with but in reality, it isn’t the case.

Consider your love letter being caught by your partner or parents? How would you feel then? What if your medical condition you don’t want to share is out in public on a shady website? Or what if your bank account is empty without your knowledge?

Our data is eroded by information-driven commerce, which is now a money-making business for many companies. They tend to sell our data to advertisers, and we, in return, get targeted ads. There are official data selling companies and recently we have heard of “Cambridge Analytica” that have harvested data of millions of Facebook users and used it for Trump’s election campaign.

Not this alone, but weak governmental protections and hacked records are making the internet society a questionable domain.

The best way to protect ourselves is by making sure that we have proper knowledge of best practices we need to implement in our daily lives.

Never Use Credit Card

If you are planning to buy something on the internet and thinking to make a purchase with a normal credit card and stay anonymous, then you’re doing nothing but fooling yourself. You can try using PayPal but before you do that let me tell you that many of its records have been stolen or subpoenaed.

It is far better to use e-currencies like Bitcoins since they are anonymous payment methods that hardly require any of your information for the transaction. You can convert your money into these alternative anonymous forms of payments and buy at your ease.

In the worst case scenario if you still have to use a credit card, always use a trusted website with SSL certificate and HTTPS address.

2. Test Your Privacy Protection Arsenal

You must figure out how well your arsenals are before you head on and take the challenge. Go to the website named Panopticlick and click the test me button. It will check if your browser is keeping invisible trackers out and blocking unwanted ads or not. It will then give you the result which will give you a wholesome idea of where your anonymity stands. So it is more like a checker to your efforts to ensure privacy online.

3. Test for Browser Tracking and DNS Leaks

One more test which can give you an idea of anonymity online can be to check if your domain name server commonly known as DNS server is leaking. The DNS server translates the domain name to numeric IPs like 151.121.0.432.

Internet service providers (ISPs) usually use their very own servers, which are then used to retain what you do online.

VPNs like ExpressVPN and PureVPN protect your presence on the internet by using DNS protected servers. Later if you want to check if your DNS server is leaking, then you can go to DNSLeakTest and run their extended test. See if your ISPs DNS server is visible, then you have a DNS leak, however, if you see the DNS server which is run by the VPN provider, then you are good to go.

4. Share Everything Anonymously

The cloud storage which is used to share files is the most hostile to privacy, and these are not my words, these are from Edward Snowden, the famous whistleblower of all time. Many experts around the globe suggested Encryption. Encryption is like the extra layer of security that makes your internet traffic completely anonymous.

If you are looking to share files anonymously and for free then you can consider using OnionShare which was made by Micah Lee, a journalist at Glen Greenwald, he was the recipient of the NSA files from Snowden and was a close aide to the whistleblower.

OnionShare is available for free on Windows, Mac OS, and Ubuntu.

5. Prefer Search Engines That Hardly Track

Search engines like Bing and Google are notorious for keeping track of their users, thus server with targeted ads. To ensure maximum anonymity on the internet, try using search engines which do not keep track of what you do online. A good example of that could be of DuckDuckGo, which offers plenty of features and safe browsing.

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6. Switch off your Location

Websites can track your location using your PC; they can also identify you and then bombard you with unwanted ads. There is a bright side to it; you can turn it off.

In Windows 10;

1. Go to Settings
2. Then click privacy > location
3. Change the settings to “off.”
4. You are done.

This is not enough since websites can look into your history. Later clear the history by simply hitting the clear button underneath the clear history button.

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7. Keep your Webmail Private

While you send emails using webmail services like Outlook and Gmail, they can be easily snooped upon. Encrypt your emails with private web mailing software like ProtonMail. It will encrypt all the content in the email and will also protect you with end-to-end encryption. Since this private webmail software doesn’t keep logs, nor does it demand any information to create the anonymous account. The best part is that you can use the email encryption software on your mobile devices as well as it has customized apps for iOS and Android.

8. Frequently Delete your Browsing History and Cookies

It is beneficial to delete your cookies and browsing history frequently. These two are culprits that help track you, which can be later used to track your location.

Meta Description: Surfing the internet anonymously is tricky but it is not impossible. Here are the 8 best ways using which you can obtain full anonymity online.

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