How to Achieve Online Anonymity

How to cover your tracks every time you go online

What goes on the internet is always on the internet they say; but is there anything you can do to feel secure in the world of computers. To help you out, here are some tips and tricks that you can easily use to be safe on the internet.

Nowadays, if you go online your presence is immediately logged and tracked in all possible manners by all forums. It's helpful to some extent because it gives you a better user experience and gives you content that you relish. 

But it is always a matter of concern because you never know what information they take away from you on the name of cookies.

So, here is the list of things you can easily do to cover your online tracks and be on the safer side. 

Go Incognito (Private)

This is perhaps the easiest and simplest way to browse the web with fewer digital footprints but most user simply ignores it or are not aware of it. 

Incognito window gives you the benefits like none of your browsing histories gets saved in the browser's logs;  Any searches you've run are forgotten and no cookies—are saved on your computer.  

It is to be said that if you log in to Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc., then all your activities can be monitored and recorded if you are on the incognito mode or not. 

Another thing to remember is that your host or ISP(internet service provider) can still very much see what sites you go to even if it's in a private tab. In Firefox, press Shift+Ctrl+P on Windows and Shift+Cmd+P on macOS. 

Use a VPN

Virtual private networks basically pretend that you're accessing the web from a different country, for instance—if you are in a China-like country and go through heavy censorship on content and websites then VPN is the easy solution.

Your host and ISP can not see what sites you visited or what activities you carried out. Even in some VPN cases even the law enforcement authority cant track you, for that you need to use double VPN or Tor VPN, etc.

It really needs to mention that don't go to any VPN for security, because it turns out to be that even the VPN providing companies collects your data and logs so always trust the best-paid VPNs. 

There is a caveat apply that if you sign into platforms like Twitter and Facebook, they can log any of your activities there, VPN or not.

Clear Browsing Data

It's easy and highly recommend that once you finish your work or search on the internet wipe off your browsing history completely. 

Clear browsing data dialog box lets you wipe your browser's memory for the past hour, the past day, the past two days, or from the beginning of time, you can choose an option.

Use Different Tools

Well, now comes the big daddy !! if you are in search of some serious privacy this is the best option. It's particularly created for privacy. Tor browser works a little like a VPN but it should be considered the advanced level of secure browsing. 

It jumps your browsing around different servers across the planet, making it very hard for anyone to link your activity back to you. Your browsing will be a little on the slower side though because of this extra protection, but consider it worth it. 

If you dig more to go, Tails OS is an operating system built around the Tor browser, which can be run from a USB stick. The thing is that you've got an incognito mode for the entire system—every time you boot it up, it's seen as booting it up for the first time. 

For the full guide to installing and using Tails OS here, and whenever you need that extra level of security and privacy restart your computer and boot from the USB drive other than your normal operating system. 

You can use a Tails OS USB drive to work on people's computers and leave no trace behind.