Surviving on the Internet: How to hide your IP address and personal data from all-seeing algorithms?

[Lord777]

The Internet gives us a lot of opportunities, but it also carries new risks and threats. One of the most notable is the threat to our privacy. Some users believe that the built-in browser features and antivirus programs provide sufficient protection against surveillance by websites, but this, of course, is not enough.

In this article, we will explain how and why websites track you, and also look at seven ways to protect yourself from surveillance by all-seeing algorithms.

How do websites and apps track users?

• There are four most common methods that websites and apps use to track users:
• Tracking by IP address. By getting information about the user's IP address, websites and hackers can learn your location, detailed information about devices connected to your network, and much more.
• Collecting information using permissions granted by users.
• Email trackers used by marketers, phishers, and spammers. This software lets you know when and by whom an email was opened.
• Collecting information about a user using their search history. From the search history, search engines can find out when users view web pages, where they are located (if the site has geotags), how much time they spend on various sites, and what types of sites they like to visit.

Who collects user data and why?
User data is needed by businesses, websites, and app developers who want more data to help them develop their marketing strategies. If they know more about their target audience, they can select ads that will lead to higher conversions. For companies, this is a legitimate way to conduct market research and gain valuable information for marketing.
One of the main reasons that websites and apps collect your data is for marketing purposes or as a way to earn extra money. By tracking the websites visited by users and purchases made, the company can create targeted marketing strategies that are focused on a specific user.
It is worth remembering that not only companies track users, but also attackers who collect data for their own purposes – stalking, DDoS attacks, identity theft, and even the distribution of extortionate software.

And how to protect yourself from surveillance?
Let's take a look at 7 ways that can help you protect yourself from online surveillance:

1. Use multiple browsers.
2. You can use this method to confuse search engines and prevent them from collecting information about you. Because different browsers have different access to your data via your IP address. By frequently changing browsers, you can hide all the data you collect. Also, make sure that the functions that collect information about you are disabled in your browsers. While this method isn't a panacea, it works great when combined with other anti-surveillance methods.
3. Adopt rotational proxies.
4. Rotating proxies use a huge pool of resident IP addresses that change with each new request, making tracking you much more difficult.
5. Change your user agent.
6. User agents are required for communication between you and the web server. They provide the website with important information, such as the browser you are using, the operating system, and the rendering engine. Based on this information, the web server shows you a site optimized for these specifications. This is why some websites look different if you access them from a different device. To make changes to your user agent, you will need a radio button. As soon as you apply the changes, the site will think that you are using a different browser or operating system. Frequent changes to the user agent make any tracking difficult.
7. Use browser extensions.
8. There are many different add-ons that should help you protect yourself from surveillance. Just choose the most reliable and convenient ones for you, and don't forget to add them to all the browsers you use.
9. Check and configure all your social media privacy settings.
10. Make sure that all your social media accounts are as private as possible. By default, some of them make your profile public, which allows any other user to legally collect data from your profile without your permission.
11. Use different passwords and change them regularly.
12. By securely protecting your accounts, you are guaranteed to hide your personal information from intruders. So don't forget to make complex passwords and update them occasionally. Also, never use the same password for multiple accounts.
13. Use services that remove your data from public access.
14. Select one or more services that delete data collected by information brokers. This will not only protect you from spam calls and annoying ads, but also help you cover your online footprint. From time to time, you will need to re-use such services, as your information will still gradually leak out.

Let's sum up the results
Technology and the Internet are constantly evolving, so it's becoming increasingly difficult to determine how you're being followed. Therefore, you should take as many measures as possible to protect yourself. Hide your IP address, use multiple browsers, and never use Facebook, Google, or similar apps to register new accounts on other sites. By taking a few of the steps described above, you can safely use the Internet without being spied on.