Every time your computer communicates with the internet, you leave a trace of what you did and where you came from.  Every time you browse the internet, send an email, transfer files, you are leaving behind electronic fingerprints that can trace your data, location, and possibly your identity.  We are not here to spread paranoia or to scare you from using wireless networks or the internet.  In fact, by simply understanding the limitations, risks, and how to safeguard your data, you can enjoy the internet safely and protect your identity.

When you open your internet browser (be it Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome), you are leaving a host of details on your PC regarding what sites you visited and in some cases usernames and passwords used to log on.  This can be particularly alarming if you are using common-use public computers such as those in an internet cafe, a public school, a hotel business center, or in the office where you may share computers.  Get 25% off Anonymizer Universal . This coupon expires in 7 days, get it now ! 

What can you do about it?

If you are browsing the internet from home, protect your connection to the internet - make sure you secure your wireless network .  Next,  secure your browser.  You can do this by tinkering around with your Internet Explorer security settings.  A safer alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is to download and install the Mozilla Firefox browser or Google Chrome browser - both are secure (and free). 

There are three ways to go about protecting your privacy while online:

Configure your Internet Security Settings

Select Internet Options in your browser.  In the General tab, you have the option to adjust how your Browser History is handled (see image below) - you have the option to manually delete your temporary internet files, browser history, cookies, and saved passwords (click on the Delete button); you can even have select to have these items automatically be deleted every time you shutdown your browser (select the "Delete browsing history on exit" check box).   In the Security Tab, you can adjust the overall level of security of your browser as well as customize these settings.  In the Privacy Tab, you can control individual aspects of your browser as they relate to privacy.

Tell your Browser you want to Browse Anonymously

Both Internet Explorer and Google Chrome internet browsers have native built-in modes that allow you to browse anonymously.  In IE it is called InPrivate Browsing - go to your toolbar and select the "Safety" tab, then from the drop down menu, click on "InPrivate Browsing".  In Google Chrome it is called Incognito Browsing - click on the wrench symbol in the upper right, then from the drop down menu, select "New Incognito Window".

Use an Anonymous Proxy Server

You can hide your true IP Address when browsing the internet by logging on through an anonymous proxy server.  A proxy is basically an intermediary website that opens a secondary window allowing you to browse to any website THROUGH their website.  The benefit here is that your identity (IP Address) is masked and instead of showing your home location, your IP Address mimics the proxy's address - which can be another city or even another country.  Typically, browser speed and connection bandwidth are limited when using a proxy, but your physical location is masked.  Protect your identity & surf anonymously. Try Anonymizer Universal™ now!

Protect your Privacy when using Public Computers

First, unless absolutely necessary, avoid entering any personal information on  a public computer internet browser, to include any user names or passwords, addresses, financial information, or anything else that can distinguished you from other users using that public computer.  If that is not practical, and you must enter such personal information in your course of business, or due to other needs such as the necessity of paying bills, there are still things you can do to protect yourself.

You may find yourself in a hotel room, or at an internet cafe, or a friend's house and have the need to log on to a financial website such as your online bank or other bill pay site.  Fear not, there are still things you can do to protect your personal confidential information when using a public computer. 

The Ultimate Anonymous Browsing Solution
 
If you don't have one already, purchase a USB flash drive.  On that USB flash drive, download and install a portable Internet browsers such as Mozilla's Portable Firefox.  Portable Applications are streamlined applications that can be installed on any media including a memory card or thumb drive, and do not need to run off of the computer's hard drive.  Thus, you're able to use the portable browser installed on your thumb drive to access the Internet.  Any personal information you enter into the browser is contained wholly within that little browser which is on your thumb drive.  No personal information or trace of where you browsed will be left on that public computer.  The minute you "eject" your USB flash drive from that public computer, all your personal information and browsing history is removed as well.

Additionally, having a means to protect your user name and passwords is also a smart way to protect yourself.  Since these are public-use computers, you have no idea what type of software, good or bad, as they installed on that computer.  Although not certain, it is possible that there may be software on that computer designed to steal personal information or passwords.  To protect yourself, store your user names and passwords and a separate encrypted file, located on that same USB flash drive. 

One piece of software we highly recommend is a freeware program called Steganos Locknote .  This is nothing more than an encrypted text file that stores any text that you enter in and save.  The entire file is encrypted and password protected.  Other more complicated pieces of software include password managers.  One such popular and free password manager is KeePass Password Safe .  These programs are designed specifically to store your usernames and passwords.  By using Locknote or a password manager such as KeePass, you can avoid having to manually type in each username and password as you visit sensitive sites such as a banking web sites or anything else where you have to enter your personal data.  Instead of manually entering and your username and password through the keyboard, you can simply copy and paste your username and password right out of Locknote or your password manager software to connect directly to your browser and the website you're trying to visit.  This is a safe way to defeat malware such as keystroke loggers that try to capture information a user types in through his keyboard.

Related Articles: