How to Surf the Web Anonymously

The Internet has a way of lulling you into a false sense of anonymity. After all, how can anyone know your true identity in a virtual world? The truth is that simply by connecting to the Internet, you share information about your computer, your geographical location and even about the Web sites you visit.

The goal of anonymous Web surfing is to circumvent the technologies that track your online activity and may potentially expose your personal information to others. By surfing anonymously, no one knows who you are, where you're connecting from or what sites you are visiting.When people think of surfing the Web anonymously, they automatically associate it with extramarital affairs, malicious hacking, illegal downloading and other sordid behaviors. That's not necessarily the case. In fact, there are many legitimate reasons why someone would wish to remain anonymous online:

• Your employer or school has strict Web surfing policies and filters your access to the Internet.
• You're a staunch free speech advocate and don't want the government or anyone else to censor your activities.
• You believe that the Internet is the perfect forum in which to express your opinions freely without fear of being harassed or tracked down by people who don't agree with those opinions.
• You believe the Bill of Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers you to conduct your private business without outside intrusion.

• You live abroad and want to access streaming video content that's only available to people living in your home country.
• You don't like the idea that search engines are collecting information about your queries.
• You don't want online advertisers to know where you live or what products you buy.
• You want to participate anonymously in Internet forums, perhaps to speak to other people about a private medical condition or to discuss

As you'll see in the next section, surfing the Web anonymously isn't as easy as erasing your browser history. Learn more about computer networks and IP addresses and how they can expose your identity.

IP Addresses and Cookies

Every machine connected to the Internet has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address, including your computer. You may have a static IP address or it may change each time you go online. Either way, you are tagged with a unique identifier every time you surf the Web.

An IP address is necessary for the Internet to work. It is literally the address of your personal computer on a vast computer network -- like a single house on a crowded street. The only way a Web server can send the contents of a Web page to your browser is if it has your computer's address on the network.

IP addresses, in and of themselves, do not contain any personally identifiable information about you. However, if you're signed up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) -- which is the way most of us get our Internet service -- then your ISP can easily link your IP address with your name, home address, phone number, e-mail address and even credit card information.

Don't get paranoid just yet: In general, ISPs have fairly strict privacy policies. They won't give out your personal information to any random person who asks for it. However, under laws like the U.S. Patriot Act and through subpoenas from the police and federal agencies, an ISP may have no choice but to supply personal information related to an IP address.

Cookies are another way for an outside source to track your Web surfing habits. Cookies are tiny text files that are saved in your Web browser when you visit a Web site. The file might contain your login information, your user preferences, the contents of your online shopping cart and other identifiers. These cookies make your Web browsing experience more personalized and customizable. They're designed to save you time when you visit your favorite sites. They're also designed to help advertisers tailor their messages to your personal preferences.

First-party cookies are cookies left on your browser from Web sites you visited. Third-party cookies are files stored on your computer from advertisers and other parties that have information-sharing agreements with the site you visited. Many people find third-party cookies to be a particularly egregious breach of privacy, since you have no control over who collects information about you.

In the next section, we'll taker a close look at how scam artists can use an online data trail to piece together your identity.