How to Stay Anonymous Online

Some might say the internet was built on anonymity, paving the way for a place where free speech reigns supreme.

But after years of learning about who's snooping into everything we do online, privacy on the web is a more popular topic than ever. But it's not just about government spying; it's also about how much big companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have collected in order to serve up targeted ads.

There are always going to be good reasons for people to go online without being tracked. It may be the only way for a real whistle-blower to get by now, considering how some have been treated.

Is it even possible to take control of your own personal privacy online? Some 28 percent of Americans are "not confident at all" that the federal government can keep their personal information safe from the prying eyes of unauthorized users, and 24 percent lack any confidence that social media sites can either, according to Pew.

Ultimately, the only way to stay truly anonymous online is to not go online at all. Since that's not really an option for most of us, here's a rundown of what you can do to minimize the spying, the targeted advertising, and ID theft as you explore the world online.

Phone Call Confidentiality

If you want to be anonymous, forget the smartphone. The big-name OS makers are control freaks (Apple) and ad servers (Google). If you want to be anonymous on a phone, your choice is a prepaid phone, a.k.a., a burner.

Even with a burner, call records exist, and you could be triangulated via a GPS. The upside of a burner is not having your real name associated with the device. And as you see in the movies, you can always throw the phone into a passing truck and lead whoever might be tracking you on a merry goose chase.

But when you've got an expensive smartphone, getting more hardware is a pain. Thankfully, there are apps aplenty to get you temporary, anonymous numbers you can use with Android or iOS.

Build the Firewall

Is your desktop or laptop computer connected directly to a broadband modem? That's a very bad idea. Hackers are constantly bombarding IP addresses to see if they can get onto a system.

You should always have a router on your home network that can mitigate that with its built-in firewall. A router uses Network Address Translation, or NAT, to assign an IP address to every device on your home network, which are then only visible on that network. Direct attacks can sometimes be stopped dead right there. Plus, you need the router for sharing the internet connection and Wi-Fi .

Some ISPs' modems come with a built-in router, so that should keep you covered. For more, see our roundup of Best Wireless Routers, any of which will help protect your home.

You can also use firewall software installed on your PC. Windows 7, 8, and 10 all come with a pretty decent solution called, you guessed it, Windows Firewall. You can also find firewalls as part of suites like Symantec Norton Security Premium But as PCMag's security expert Neil J. Rubenking explains, you don't really need a firewall if you use the one that ships with Windows.

If you want real anonymity based on your OS, stop using Windows or macOS on the desktop, and go to a Linux distro that specializes in all forms of keeping you secret. Your best bet is Tails: The Amnesic Incognito Live System.

Sleuth Your Own Stealth

What does your computer (or tablet or smartphone for that matter) give away about you when you visit websites? At the very least, the site knows your IP address (and that's necessary, otherwise you'd get no results). In most cases, it also knows your approximate physical location (by checking where your ISP supplies those IP addresses—see it in action at IPLocation, and probably your time zone and what language you speak—all good info for advertisers. Your browser can also report on your operating system, browser type, and what versions of software you run for browser plug-ins. It even reports on the fonts you have installed. All of which can add up to giving your system a unique fingerprint.

Safe Surfing

Make sure your browser isn't storing too much about you. In the settings menu, turn off the ability for the browser to store the passwords you use to access websites and services. That can be a pain, as you should have a different password for every service you use. The best alternative is to use a password manager, like PCMag's 4.5-star Editors' Choice, LastPass.

Browsers also store things like images, surfing history, and what you've downloaded, as well as cookie files, which can remember helpful things like settings and passwords. Obliterate that info occasionally—in Chrome, IE, and Firefox, type Ctrl+Shift+Del to get a pop-up that helps you get rid of them. Use a product like SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner (Windows only) to nuke such files for all the browsers you run.

Major browsers also have anonymous surfing modes. In Google Chrome it's called Incognito (Ctrl+Shift+N to access); in Firefox it's Private Browsingand in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer it's In Private browsing(Ctrl+Shift+P for the latter two). That will prevent the browser from saving info on pages visited, whatever you search for, passwords, cookies, downloads, and cached content like images. You should also turn on the Do Not Track option in your browser's privacy settings if it's offered. It's not used by all sites, but it can't hurt. Better yet, install the Ghostery browser, which blocks all sorts of trackers—it's a lot like Privacy Badger, but gives you a little more control.

There are also a number of browsers that bill themselves as privacy-focused. Of course, they all use the same rendering engines as the big names, especially Google's Chromium engine, but the difference is the browsers don't share any info with Google.

Examples include Epic, Comodo Dragon, Comodo IceDragon (based on Firefox), Dooble, and of course the Tor Browser (see below).

If you're looking for a more mainstream browser with some extra security, consider getting Opera—it has a free VPN built right in. (Note that it only protects the browser traffic, not the other apps that utilize the internet.)

You should also start using a different search engine than Google, Bing, or Yahoo, all of which want to sell, sell, sell you. Instead, try DuckDuckGo—which doesn't track you or sell your info, it says—or these other options.

Keep in mind, using stealth modes and special browsers don't make you completely anonymous on the web, but they do prevent sites from writing info to your computer, including cookies, which can later be read by other sites to figure out your browsing habits.

Proxies and VPNs and Tor, Oh My

The way to ensure outsiders don't gather information about you while you're browsing the web is to appear to be someone else in a different location. This requires a proxy server and/or a virtual private network (VPN) connection. With the right combo, you can not only be anonymous, but surf sites in other countries as if you're a native.