If you don’t intervene, your privacy will be in jeopardy on the internet. For hackers, companies and everyone else who want to know as much as possible about you. With these tips you are well protected.
Tip 1 Use VPN
When you go on the internet, you are assigned a unique number via the internet provider. That is your IP address. Your IP address ensures that information that is intended for you ends up on your computer and not on someone else’s computer. It is therefore necessary, but has the disadvantage that all kinds of data can be collected from you on the basis of your IP address. For example, the websites you visit and products you are interested in. This information is used, among other things, for targeted advertising. But your data is also often sold on: and not just to well-meaning people.
A VPN (short for Virtual Private Network) ensures that your IP address is no longer visible to others on the internet. Your data traffic runs through a special VPN provider that replaces your IP address with your own address. You can still surf as usual, but no one can see that it is you anymore. A VPN subscription of €3 to €10 per month is therefore indispensable for truly anonymous surfing. You can read more about VPN on Plus Online by searching for ‘internet with VPN’.
Tip 2 Watch out for tracking cookies
Cookies are small files that are placed on your computer when you visit a website. Some are useful to you as they help the website to work properly. For example, when shopping in a webshop. Others are more useful to the company behind a website, as they anonymously track visitor numbers. In general, these cookies do little harm. However, tracking cookies are a different story. These keep track of which websites you visit with the internet browser. After some surfing on the internet, there will soon be dozens of these types of cookies on your computer. Enough reason to put a stop to it.
Every internet browser has an option to block tracking cookies. You can read exactly how to set this up on Plus Online by searching for ‘stop the online chasers’. Another option is to install a separate tracking cookie blocker in addition to the internet browser. Ghostery is a good example of this. Look for the operation of this extension on Plus Online in part 2 of ‘Stop the online chasers’.
Tip 3 Use a good search engine
If you use a search engine such as Google or Bing, you can assume that your data will be stored to create a consumer profile of you. What you search for and which websites you click on is interesting and lucrative information for the companies behind these search engines. This information is mainly used for offering personally targeted advertisements. So if you’re wondering why you’re seeing advertisements for products and services you’ve searched for before, you know why.
Searching while maintaining your privacy is therefore a gap in the market, in which various search engines have jumped. The best known and most popular is DuckDuckGo: www.duckduckgo.com. DuckDuckGo does not save your search data and does not create any personal profiles. Money is earned through non-personalized advertising, among other things. Search Plus Online for “duckduckgo” to learn more about this search engine.
Tip 4 Surf in private mode
It is important not only to protect your privacy on the internet but also on your own computer. When you use an internet browser, all kinds of information is stored on your PC. For example, the websites you visit and information you enter on forms. If this information is kept on a computer that only you have access to, that’s not much of a problem. In all other cases it is wise to pay close attention to your privacy. Especially if you surf with a hotel PC or internet cafe on holiday.
Internet browsers have a separate mode for privacy when surfing. In Mozilla Firefox this mode is called Private Browsing, in Edge InPrivate and in Google Chrome Incognito Window. They ensure that your browsing data is not saved. To use this option, open the main menu via the three dots or dashes at the top right of the window and click on the private mode option. You can then continue surfing in a separate window.
Tip 5 Set your other privacy options right
You can choose to be logged in or not when surfing with the internet browser. If you are logged in, the internet data in your user account is kept. It is not necessary to be logged in for normal surfing, so feel free to log out so that you can access the internet without an account. To do this, click on your photo or on the icon of the figure in the top right and choose to log out or log out, if necessary.
Windows 10 has a separate section with many privacy options. Some of it has to do with the internet. Check regularly that these options are correct. You can read about this on PlusOnline.
