In the ever changing landscape we call the internet, it’s getting harder and harder to keep our personal lives and the way we interact with others online private and away from the ever constant and preying eyes of companies like Google, Bing and Yahoo who are tracking every move that we make.
Ask yourself; are you really comfortable with the fact that as an individual, your innate right to personal privacy is being violated to such an overwhelming extent all in the name of convenience?
How Is it That The Search Engines Know More About Your Habits Than Your Mom or Dad?
If you ask the Major Search Companies like GOOGLE, Bing and Yahoo this question, they claim that this is done in efforts to serve individuals up with personalized data based on their specific browsing habits because it’s what people really want. The question at this point is, at what cost is this being done at?
Considering the recent chain of events in the news lately with the FBI and NSA demanding that Internet Companies turn over the Master SSL Encryption Keys which would effectively permit them to freely access all consumer data that is being passed over the internet at any given time, one really has to question if there is not a more sinister and dubious intent going on behind the scenes?
How to Protect Your Online Identity From Hackers, Thieves and You Know Who!
Although it’s almost technically impossible to truly protect yourself from the Hansel and Gretel Breadcrumb effect when Surfing the NET, there are definitely some things that you can do to achieve Anonymity while using your computer online and it won’t even cost you anything to do this!
I am going to discuss a couple of ways that can help you to lock down and secure your digital world from the constant onslaught of preying eyes when surfing the internet.
Surfing The Internet: most people don’t realize that when they surf the internet they are identified by a unique external IP Address that is assigned to them by their Internet Service Provider.
So basically what this means is that, whenever you visit a website a server log is generated and the server catalogs a concise record of your interaction on the website such as…your unique IP Address, the time you were on the site, what pages you visited on the website, your Geo Targeted Location, how long you were there, etc, etc.
In Your Quest for Instant Gratification, Ask Yourself This…Have You Become an Enabler?
As I had mentioned above, whenever we visit websites across the NET we are basically leaving our digital signatures everywhere we go and in short, we are creating a trail of virtual Breadcrumbs that leads directly back to us.
It’s unfortunate that most people don’t understand the true dynamics of the web and what is actually going on behind the scenes because if they did, I am sure that most people would not be very comfortable with the fact of just how much of their personal lives and private data is actually being freely exposed to the world at any given time whenever they decide to visit a website or do a search on GOOGLE, Bing, Yahoo or ASK.
Regretfully, most people these days will take a passive and submissive attitude with all of this and completely dismiss this by saying .. I’m not doing anything wrong and I don’t have anything to hide so who cares? Really?
They say that Ignorance is Bliss but, I say that Ignorance is just ignorance and you are only a victim if you choose to become one and this is no exception!
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. – Benjamin Franklin
“2” Ways to Reduce Your Digital Footprint, Keep You Safe From Hackers and Prying Eyes, All While Enabling You to Reclaim Your Personal Privacy and Independence Online
Before I get going just let me say that not everything going on behind the scenes is working against you. My point is this basically, although there are many times when we want or need the luxury of personalized search results based on our Geo Targeted Location and personalized information we shouldn’t have to sacrifice all of our personal privacy at any given time to afford this luxury. The good news about this situation is that we don’t have to!
If your like me, you should value your personal privacy and the privacy of others. We all need to realize that “we do” have the ability to control the amount of personal data tracking that is being performed on us at any give time it’s simply a matter of knowing what to do and when to do it!
Negotiating this situation will basically come down to a simple balancing act by using the correct tools at the correct times. Here’s the good part.. these Tools are all FREE, very stable and have been actively developed for many years.
1. Encrypt Your Keyboard Key Strokes Using KeyScrambler Anti-Keylogger
Most people take this for granted and don’t even realize this but.. every time that we type a website URL in our web browser or perform a search on the internet, or type our password to log into an account, we become susceptible to hackers and thieves on the internet because everything that we just typed is being passed over the internet in Plain text that anyone can see and read because our key strokes are not encrypted.
Well…there’s an App for that! – For years now I have been using KeyScrambler FREE as part of my online arsenal to assist me and my customers in keeping some of the Internets little nasties at bay and away from our PC’s. KeyScrambler Personal is a Free Browser add on that works in IE as well as FireFox, Opera and Safari for Windows which will encrypt all of your keyboard strokes automatically. Download it here
2. Achieve Anonymous Web Surfing with Proxy Web Servers and VPN Networks
In order to surf the internet with Anonymity you will need to use a Proxy Chain that will mask your TRUE IP Address and replace it with one of the Servers IP Addresses within that Proxy Chain. To fully understand what a Proxy Web Host or Proxy Web Chain is it would need have a dedicated post done just to explain the specifics and the full dynamics involved on Web Proxies, their use and implementations.
So for now, lets just say that all you need to know is that, when you use a Proxy Web Browser it cloaks and hides your true identity because Your specific External IP Address that uniquely identifies you is not being used when you surf the internet and visit websites or perform searches in Google, Bing, Yahoo or any other search engine for that matter.
Hide My Ass: is a FREE Service and is one of the more well know and most respected VPN / Anonymous Web Browsers across the globe when it comes to online Anonymity.
Although Hide My Ass is FREE they do also have a premium subscription option that provides a VPN Network utilizing their faster Proxy Servers and the subscription also comes with a variety of other powerful anonymity tools at your disposal that’s worth looking into. You can find out more about Hide My Ass Web Anonymizer by clicking on this link Hide My Ass: FREE Proxy Web Browser
TorBrowser: – The TOR browser is my all around favorite Web Browser for surfing the NET Anonymously! – Not only is Tor Completely FREE but its also 100% OPEN SOURCE Software. In my experience it’s also faster and more reliable than Hide My Ass is in many instances as well.
You can download and find out more about the Open Source Tor Project by visiting their website here
For the more tech savvy users out there, we ask that you please donate to the Tor Project or … Get Involved!
Here at PC Medics On Call we value our right to privacy and respect the privacy of others! – We also believe that what you do when you’re in the privacy of your own home is your business and that it should stay that way!
On a closing note; I have been using this software for years now and all of these applications integrate seamlessly and harmoniously with the Windows Operating System and all other programs and they DO NOT create any registry conflicts with Windows or any other applications that I have seen over the past seven years of me personally using them or recommending them to my clients. They just work!
Remember……what’s going on with the Internet these days is Only a Problem because We Continue to Allow it To Happen by not standing up and doing anything about it!
If this article has helped or enlightened you any I would love to hear your comments below.
All the best..
Cam
