How to Stay Anonymous and Protect Your Privacy Online

Now more than ever, your online privacy is under attack. Your ISP, advertisers, and governments around the world are increasingly interested in knowing exactly what you’re up to when you browse the web. Whether you’re a political activist or simply someone who hates the idea of third-parties snooping around, there are plenty of tools available to keep prying eyes off of your traffic.

In this post, I’m going to highlight 18 ways to increase your online privacy. Some methods are more complicated than others, but if you’re serious about privacy, these tips will help you remain anonymous on the open Web. Of course, Internet security is a topic in and of itself, so you’re going to need to do some reading to remain thoroughly protected on all fronts. And remember, even the most careful among us are still vulnerable to imperfect technology.

1. The Onion Tor Browser

Tor is a service that helps you to protect your anonymity while using the Internet. Toris comprised of two parts: software you can download that allows you to use the Internet anonymously, and the volunteer network of computers that makes it possible for that software to work.

The core principle of Tor, "onion routing", was developed in the mid-1990s by United States Naval Research Laboratory employees, mathematician Paul Syverson and computer scientists Michael Reed and David Goldschlag, with the purpose of protecting U.S. intelligence communications online.

Is it illegal to use the Tor Browser? Just using Tor to browse the Internet is not illegal. The download is free, and hiding your IP address and browsing history is not, in and of itself, illegal. However, many of those that use Tor use it specifically for anonymity because they are doing something illegal.

2. VPN

If you’re very serious about maintaining your anonymity, consider investing in a VPN solution like TorGuard or Private Internet Access. These services essentially allow you to disguise your traffic. Your real IP address will be hidden from the world, and your traffic will remain indecipherable to nosy ISPs or governments.

Even if your government is actively on the lookout for VPN traffic, you can still benefit from so-called “stealth VPNs.” TorGuard offers its stealth VPN service at no additional cost, and it will make government detection and interference much harder to accomplish. For those of you being held hostage by your government, VPNs are by far the best bet for bypassing censorship and snooping.

3. Virtual Machines

In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is an emulation of a particular computer system. Virtual machines operate based on the computer architecture and functions of a real or hypothetical computer, and their implementations may involve specialized hardware, software, or a combination of both.

Keep in mind, your browser isn’t the only vector for third parties to invade your privacy. PDFs and other seemingly harmless files can serve as homing beacons, and potentially alert government entities when you’re viewing planted contraband. To prevent any sort of unintended breach of privacy, you should open suspect files inside of a virtual machine.

Load up your favorite Linux distribution inside of VirtualBox, configure it to your liking, and then save a snapshot of your VM. Next, download your desired file (using the protections illuminated in this article), and then shut off your virtual machine’s access to the Internet. Once you’re sure that the VM is cut off completely from the network, you can now open the file safely. Read what you need to read, make notes, and then shut down the virtual machine. Next time you need to view a file inside a VM, you’ll have your snapshot ready to go.

4. Blocking Third-Party Cookies

Third-party cookies are cookies that are set by a website other than the one you are currently on. For example, cnn.com might have a Facebook like button on their site. That like button will set a cookie that can be read by Facebook. That would be considered a third-party cookie.

Third-party cookies are one of the most common methods that advertisers use to track your browsing habits. If you visit two sites using the same advertising service, rest assured that the advertiser is keeping tabs on that information. Thankfully, every major Web browser offers the ability to turn off tracking cookies. Without third-party cookies, advertisers have to work much harder to monitor which pages you visit. While this is far from a panacea, it shuts down the most common vector used by advertisers to build usage profiles.

5. Turn On Private Browsing

If you don’t want anyone with physical access to your computer to see where you’re hanging out online you should enable “private browsing,” a setting available in each major web browser. It deletes cookies, temporary Internet files and browsing history after you close the window. Every company that advertises online is interested in knowing what sites you visit, what you buy, who you’re friends with on social networks, what you like and more. By gathering information about your online activities they can serve you targeted ads that are more likely to entice you to buy something.

For instance, the Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ buttons you see on just about every site allow those networks to track you even if you don’t have an account or are logged into them. Other times information collection companies rely on embedded code in banner ads that track your visits, preferences, and demographic information. If you truly care about your privacy you’ll surf the Internet anonymously by hiding your IP address. You can do this using a web proxy, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Tor, a free open network that works by routing your traffic through a series of servers, operated by volunteers around the world, before sending it to your destination.

6. Privacy Badger Browser Extension

If you’re looking for a “set it and forget it” method of blocking trackers online, try out the EFF’s Privacy Badger add-on. Available for Chrome and Firefox, this browser extension monitors when sites try to track your browsing habits, and automatically thwarts future tracking attempts.

While this add-on is built using the Ad-Block Plus codebase, this isn’t really an ad-blocking tool. Instead, the EFF is only interested in blocking snoops. Best of all, the list of blocked content automatically improves the more you browse — no need to fiddle with filters by hand.

7. Encrypt Your Connections

Encryption is the process of encoding information so that it is only intelligible to those given access to read it. Many online services, such as Facebook, Twitter and Gmail, now offer encrypted connections. Ensure that your browser uses an encrypted connection wherever it’s supported by installing the "HTTPS Everywhere" plug-in.

Email is an inherently insecure communications medium, but there are options available for encryption, such as Pretty Good Privacy. Unfortunately, your email messages will only be encrypted if the people you are communicating with also use a compatible encryption service, so this limits its usefulness.

8. Use a Password Manager

A password manager makes it easy to have a unique password for every site and ensures that if one service is hacked, other services will not be vulnerable. Some are free, many are low cost, and they are available for all platforms, including mobile.

9. Keep Your Social Network Activity Private

Check your Facebook settings and make sure only friends can see what you’re doing. Go to the settings cog in the upper right hand corner of your screen, then click on Privacy Settings >> Who can see my stuff.

On Twitter, click on the settings cog, then Settings. From there you can adjust all sorts of privacy settings, such as a box that gives Twitter permission to add your location to tweets as well as the ability to make your tweets private, meaning only people you approve can see them. You can also stop the microblogging platform from tailoring your Twitter experience based on other sites you visit.

If you use Google+, go to Home >> Settings. There you can adjust things like who can interact with you, comment on your posts or start a conversation with you.

10. Browser Leak Testing

Is your browser disclosing personally identifiable information? Head over to BrowserLeaks.com, and take a gander at all of the data your browser is giving away. This tool set will never be completely exhaustive, but if you want to verify that your privacy and security precautions are really working, this site is an invaluable asset.

Please leave a comment below explaining how you think it can be improved or where you find fault. This article is written by us. Thus your opinions and advice are not only much appreciated, but actually necessary in order for this article to grow and improve.