It’s next to impossible to use the Internet without divulging some information about yourself, or your online activities. However, there are some things you can do to limit what companies, and other people, can find out about what you do on the web.
Avoid putting sensitive, or highly personal, information in an e-mail message. E-mail can be accessed and read by more people than you realize. Your internet service provider, employer (if you’re using a work network), or even people logged onto an unsecured wireless network, can intercept and read your e-mails. A good rule of thumb is this: Don’t put anything in an e-mail message you wouldn’t write on a postcard.
Sign out of your personal accounts when you’re finished using them. It’s amazing how many people use a public computer to browse Facebook, read personal e-mail messages and go shopping, then leave the computer logged in when they’re done! Even if you’ve closed the browser, you’re still logged in to the website you were using, unless you sign out of it. This means that the next person who uses the computer has an open door into all of the accounts you’ve just used. Every website that requires you to log in has a link that allows you to log out. Also remember to log out of your accounts when leaving your personal computer for any length of time (this includes dropping it off for repair!).
Don’t install browser toolbars. While they may offer some convenient features, toolbars have one purpose: to gather information about what you do online. Unless you want to give a company access to your browsing activity, don’t click “ok” when asked if you want to install a toolbar. Keep in mind that these are often installed alongside other free software, so you have to read each step carefully to make sure you’re not installing more than what you want.
Limit the information that can be gathered through your use of search and free webmail. Many search providers, such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN (Bing), also offer free e-mail accounts. Web-based e-mail is convenient, but keep in mind that the companies who offer these free accounts can use the information in the messages you send and receive to target advertising for you. If you use the same search provider as you do for e-mail, you’re giving that company a bonanza of personal info! No, it’s not possible to opt-out of this for a free webmail account (something’s got to pay the bills for Google), but it is possible to use different companies for search and e-mail. If you use Yahoo! for email, then use Google for search, or vice versa.
Use a search provider that doesn’t keep track of your IP address. Startpage.com and Duckduckgo.com are two examples of search engines that don’t track all of your online activities. Ever wonder how Google knows to give you results that are close to your location, or similar to what you’ve searched for before? Google can do that because it keeps track of your IP address and search history. Google’s not alone; Yahoo, Bing, and many other search engines have similar practices.
It’s a fine balance between protecting your privacy and still being able to take advantage of all the useful services available on the Internet. Unfortunately, it’s just not possible to stay 100 percent anonymous and use most of the popular web sites and services out there. The companies that offer free e-mail, free web space and social networking accounts pay the bills through advertising revenue, so they do need to collect some information in order to do that. The important part is to not give up more privacy than what’s necessary.
