Becoming Anonymous Online

Why is being private on the internet necessary?

Because the Internet is an open platform and your privacy is constantly being invaded by the sites you visit, ISP, the government, or services like Google and Facebook. Most of your information has the potential of being sold to data brokers or third party marketers.

The Essentials for Easy and Basic Privacy

To easily secure your privacy online, there are only a few steps one must take. The most essential thing are passwords. Any strong password should include any variation of text, numbers, and symbols, unless a website asks for anything otherwise. You should not use the same password for everything, so multiple passwords should be created. A password manager should also be created to hold your multiple passwords that is protected with its own password. In terms of any security questions you may receive after entering your password, never answer any other them truthfully, so it cannot be easily guessed by potential hackers.

Virtual Privacy Networks, or VPNs, are another essential to being secure online. They are also extremely easy to attain and set up. On any unsecured networks, it is possible for anyone to be watching you. By implementing a VPN, you are able to hide your identity on any website you visit, your internet service provider, and basically anyone trying to track you. Virtual Privacy Networks mask your identity online and fakes your true location, so no one can see your online activity. It is important to remember that as easy as VPNs are to acquire, you must stay away from free VPNs and proxies.

Things to remember:

• Use trusted add ons and extensions in your preferred web browser
• Avoid using your phone number to avoid connections to your personal identity online
• Disable your location and bluetooth as often as possible
• Never store cookies, history, and cache or clear them as often as possible
• Activate VPN

By: Julia-Marie Guinto