Privacy Tools To Prevent Being Tracked
Listen...privacy and security are big deals. The argument that hacking doesn't impact you or that you have nothing to hide is simply false. You are being watched. Private and state-sponsored organizations are monitoring and recording your online activities. Many sites track user behavior using various techniques (including third-party software). This means any time you visit a web page, you're likely sharing data about yourself and your online habits, from clicks to views or social shares, whether you realize it or not.
If you have been following the news, you know that the U.S. Congress has just voted to allow Internet Service Providers to sell your web browsing history and other data to third party entities. Of course the White House has confirmed that the President will sign this into law. This law now makes it easier for organizations to get access to your data without your consent and it allows ISPs who have access to all of your data, to sell this information without your knowledge or consent. This is a huge blow to those concerned about their privacy, and demonstrates the need to implement strategies to protect yourself (and your data) against prying eyes and unsolicited advertisements.
There are steps that you can take to help ensure your privacy. Most of those who have concerns about privacy and security have implemented some, if not all of the following strategies:
HTTPS Everywhere
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s HTTPS Everywhere browser extension is one of the first things that you should install. This extension requires that all website connections to your browser occur using SSL/TLS encryption. That means the content of what you’re viewing will be protected from passive collection by your ISP. The only time the extension won’t force HTTPS is when the site you’re connecting to doesn’t support the protocol.
HTTPS Everywhere starts working as soon as you install it. It does not stop your ISP from viewing the sites that you visit. The software only protects the contents of your communication. For example, your ISP will know that you visited Facebook, but not what you did while you were there, or the specific pages you visited.
The HTTPS Everywhere software is currently available for Chrome, Firefox (desktop and Android), and Opera.
Purchase a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Your next step should be to subscribe to a paid virtual private network service — I must emphasize you do not want a free one. The free VPN services collect your data and sell it to third party entities for "analytics", or they use ads to support the "free service" that they offer. This, of course would be counterproductive to the goal that we are striving for. I recommend utilizing a VPN service that is not U.S. or UK-based, and one that you pay (should cost roughly $40 to $60 per year) to ensure that your data is kept private.
Why is a U.S.-Based Service Not Recommended?
Services based in the United States are not recommended because of the country’s surveillance programs, use of National Security Letters (NSLs) and accompanying gag orders, which forbid the recipient from talking about the request. This combination allows the government to secretly force companies to grant complete access to customer data and transform the service into a tool of mass surveillance.
An example of this is Lavabit – a discontinued secure email service created by Ladar Levison. The FBI requested Snowden’s records after finding out that he used the service. Since Lavabit did not keep logs and email content was stored encrypted, the FBI served a subpoena (with a gag order) for the service’s SSL keys. Having the SSL keys would allow them to access communications (both metadata and unencrypted content) in real time for all of Lavabit’s customers, not just Snowden's.
Ultimately, Levison turned over the SSL keys and shut down the service at the same time. The US government then threatened Levison with arrest, saying that shutting down the service was a violation of the court order.
More On VPN
A VPN essentially creates an encrypted tunnel between you and the Internet. You connect directly to your VPN (a connection your ISP will see) and then all of your Internet browsing goes through the VPN’s servers and blocks third parties from snooping. Once you’ve picked and configured a VPN, set it to start up automatically and funnel all of your Internet traffic through there.
Choosing a VPN can be difficult because you want to ensure that you select a provider that collects and stores a minimum amount of data about your browsing. Some VPN providers offer helpful extra features, such as an Internet kill switch that immediately shuts off your PC’s Internet access when your VPN gets disconnected.
Privacytools.io has an extensive list of VPN options they recommend as well as other extremely useful information. Check it out.
Note: Using a VPN provider will not make you anonymous, but it will give you better privacy. A VPN is not a tool for illegal activities. Don't rely on a "no log" policy.
You also want your VPN to protect against DNS leaks.
DNS Adjustments
The Domain Name System (DNS) is how your computer translates a human readable website name, such as CNN.com, into a machine-friendly numerical Internet Protocol address. It’s like the telephone book of the Internet.
The problem is that your PC is usually configured to use your ISP’s DNS, which means that your ISP is able to view all of your browser requests. VPNs typically configure your PC to use their DNS, and there is usually a DNS leak protection feature that makes sure your PC doesn’t ignore the VPN and use your default DNS settings. This, of course does not always work which I unfortunately found out the hard way using PureVPN.
If you want to ensure that you aren't using your ISP’s DNS, set your PC to use a third-party DNS provider such as OpenDNS. Lifewire has an extensive list of free and public DNS Servers to choose from: Free and Public DNS Servers.
Now What?
You now have a good foundation for protecting your data from the prying eyes of a snooping ISP. Keep in mind that although you have taken some important steps, there is more to be done. You must stay vigilant and maintain the privacy of your data. Once you have completed your set up, check IPLeak.net and DNS Leak Test (use the extended test for the latter) to make sure that DNS isn't leaking and revealing the information that you are trying to protect.
Sources/Links:
PureVPN Review (2017 VPN Review) - https://www.bestvpn.com/purevpn-review/
Privacy? I don't have anything to hide - https://privacytoolsio.github.io/privacytools.io/
All the Privacy Tools You Will Ever Need to Stay Safe and Anonymous Online - https://decentralize.today/all-the-privacy-tools-you-will-ever-need-to-stay-safe-and-anonymous-online-2d68d8291af#.4yw91en19
Speed Up Your Internet Connection by Changing Your Domain Name System Server - http://www.pcworld.com/article/241219/speed_up_your_internet_connection_by_changing_your_domain_name_system_server.html
Free and Public DNS Servers - https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062