Anonymous surfing, data protection, and data security are crucial. When we navigate on the internet, we leave a huge amount of personal data. In other words, we leave a unique virtual fingerprint. Even though GDPR is supposed to protect your rights, providers can clearly trace the link that leads to you. As the encryption of e-mails, the deletion of cookies, and anonymous surfing by activating the corresponding function in your search engine are not really enough to shield prying eyes, we explain here how to surf the web in effective anonymity.
Surf the internet anonymously? Why?
Web pages, internet service providers, but also authorities follow your online activities and track down the configuration of your hardware equipment and your IP address too. Thus, you disclose a unique fingerprint online, which allows them to analyze the way you surf. To prevent this, you must surf anonymously. Indeed, deleting the data from the search engine is not enough.
There are many reasons you should surf anonymously – for example, when different services or websites block content so that certain countries cannot access it. We call it geoblocking, or barrier between countries. If, however, you surf anonymously, with a foreign IP address located in another country, you may be able to access content that would not be accessible otherwise.
The advantages of anonymous surfing
Surfing anonymously is not only an advantage when it comes to geo-blocking. It also allows you to protect your personal data and encrypt your activities. This makes sense to make it harder for service providers, service providers, or hackers. If you surf with an encrypted connection, you are also putting a spoke in the wheels of cybercriminals.
We become aware of the dangers that lie ahead of us on the internet when we see the amount of data that we deliver on the world wide web. It’s not just the personal IP address. The operators of internet pages can even go and find out what font you have installed, the configuration of your computer, or what search engine you are using. This unique combination ensures that you are identified without any problem. It is therefore a unique fingerprint.
If we add to that the times you are online, then circles interested in your data can immediately establish a complete profile of your trips. When you are at home, when you go about your work, etc. And if we add more tracking tools and plugins that you use on Facebook, Google, etc., then your IP address is easily identifiable.
Safe surfing: instructions for use!
If you don’t want to become a glass-transparent internet user, you should opt for anonymous surfing right now if possible! In the following paragraphs, we show you several possibilities for doing this.
With a Proxy site, it is easy to encrypt your IP address. Go to this kind of page via your search engine, and your connection is then diverted via a 3rd party internet page.
Anonymous surfing with a proxy server service
The system is roughly similar to the proxy web page. But the overall flow of internet data is diverted by a server. You receive a personal IP address, which is provided by the service provider. This allows you to encrypt your IP. The provider offers paid models but also a free option to surf anonymously. The latter format does not exclude a reduction in performance.
Another possibility to surf anonymously is the TOR browser. TOR is the acronym for The Onion Router. It is easy, fast and above all free to use another browser in this way. The connection is established through several servers one after the other, which almost prevents backtracking so that you surf with a particularly secure connection. The big advantage of this browser is its ease of use and its availability for Windows, but also for Linux and Android.
Anonymous surfing on public wifi:
When you have to surf for a short period of time anonymously, public wifi is an optimal and quick option to implement. You get an IP address that is independent of your corporate network or that of your home, which allows you to surf anonymously. However, local wifi is not all strengths. The problem is, your data is not as well protected on a public network. The regional IP address also cannot be changed via public wifi. The danger is then to come across hackers who are on the same public wifi. Caution is therefore required!
Thevirtual private network (VPN)is considered by experts as the optimal solution for surfing anonymously. VPN providers are growing in popularity every day. These provide you with a VPN connection allowing you to surf the Internet in complete safety. There are paid ones but also others that function on a free subscription model. Finally, there are software VPN solutions, which work directly through your router, or on your computer, smartphone, or another terminal.
The VPN directs all full traffic through other servers. There are servers for this purpose, spread all over the planet. You can change the location as you wish. If you are tech-savvy, you can also set up your own VPN service on a Linux VPS hosting, and this way you can use your own dedicated IP all the time.
The advantage is that if, when you are traveling, you want to use services that are usually blocked where you are, you can still access them thanks to your VPN! The frequent example for this is the access required by the People’s Republic of China to their Google account, or streaming subscriptions for Sky, Netflix, etc.
Bottom line: VPN is the best option for surfing the web in a secure, anonymous, and fast way.
Because a VPN is an optimal combination of flexibility, speed, and performance. If you take out a subscription with an ISP, you can change your virtual location at any time and even use streaming services. Added to this, is a stable, fast, and secure connection that includes the use of an anonymous IP address and data encryption.
