Every day, different users open search pages in Browsers to find necessary information for the work, prepare for the lesson, and choose what movie to watch in the cozy living room. Naturally, if the request is transparent and does not contain personal information, the users do not want to hide the requests. But some users prefer to hide all details of their presence on the Internet. The reasons for that could be different: desire not to receive context advertisement, usage of the public computer or computer at work, location of the Internet connection where some topics are prohibited, some illegal topics for research, etc. In this post, we will discuss what gives anonymous surfing the Internet is.

To search openly, it is clear and accessible for each user; without additional settings, each Browser has a search box where all requests can be typed in. For a more sophisticated search without a user’s identity, there are several options:

Incognito mode in the Browser (each Browser has a special mode with different features)

Visiting different websites, each browser saves traces of your actions in the cookies, history searching requests, passwords, user’s statistics, automatically inserted information is stored there. The mode can be easily turned on in each Browser. 

Of course, this mode is not safe, as the Internet provider, the Internet administrator, can still check what websites were visited, and spy programs can still attack the user’s computer. But at least from silly research work regarding user’s identity, it may save; nevertheless, your IP address can still be checked.

So, better solutions for hiding identity are technologies, programs masking IP-address - VPN, TOR, proxy, etc. 

Cleaning cache and cookies

Not only do cookies store information regarding the user, but the history is also stored in a cache. A cache is an intermediate file stored on the user's PC hard disc; the information about visited websites, including images, is there. After visiting the first time, the cache creates a corresponding file for the site, updated with new information only with new visits.

Cache allows increasing speed of web resources downloading and to reduce the offloading of the internet connection. Meanwhile, cookies are stored on the user's PC hard disc as well, but in the folder related to the Browser, to store cookies there, each website typically asks permission. 

The main difference from cache related to the specific website cookies is being sent each time automatically to the web server as part of the user's HTTP request entering the website (information stored in cookies was described in the incognito mode section). 

Cache and cookies occupy a lot of space on a hard disc, slow down the computer, and of course, include too much information about the user. In some cases, incognito mode is not convenient, especially on public computers. After the session, it is better to clean the cache and cookies, which can be quickly done in the Browser's history and on the C drive on the hard drive disc with special commands.

Hide IP address using VPN – server

VPN is safe encrypted connection technology between the user and the Internet. VPN is masking IP-address so that the surfing will be anonymous for both Internet providers and the government.

VPN also can be used inside companies to protect the local network from hackers. However, VPN is not easy to use due to the different features of each one; it is always better to use the paid ones.

Hide IP address using Proxy-server

Proxy is an intermediate sever located between the user and the final server. A proxy server can even change the requests which may be helpful to keep anonymity to protect from harmful attacks. 

Proxy servers can also be used for access from the local network to the Internet, for cache storage, and to reduce user traffic, to pass over different company restrictions.  

Hide IP address with TOR

TOR is one of the most complicated technology to hide the user identity on the Internet. All users' data is going through several computers, encrypted; meanwhile, IP addresses will be changed. 

This channel will have several layers (typically three – inlet, intermediate, outlet) like onion encryption, but the chain can be easily broken as the technology is based on enthusiasts. Each layer is encrypted separately with a unique code.

Nevertheless, even such protection can lead to blockage for some resources, and tracking is still possible.

- Anonymous browsers

Installation of special programs and using a proxy can be too much, and not complete anonymity can be obtained. One of the new solutions – anti-detect browsers. Such browsers change a user's digital fingerprint to work with several accounts without tracking.

The digital fingerprint is all information stored regarding the user in cookies and cache (even in incognito mode) and in the assets of Internet providers and website owners (data regarding hardware, software, time zone, etc.). 

It is always better to use anonymous browsers that mask the identity and change it to the actual digital data of everyone and none at the same time; this will not allow the web resource to understand that the user has such a Browser. Some such browsers have integrations with proxies and TOR that increase safety to almost the top level. 

The most famous anti-detect browsers are Indigo, GoLogin, Linken Sphere, Ghost Browser, etc. The only minus of these browsers is that they cost some money, but some have free trial periods; for example, GOLogin (one of the best solutions regarding money/quality/safety) has seven days of trial time. 

As described, there are many solutions for anonymous surfing on the Internet. Depending on the necessary anonymity level, the user can choose between the free solutions – cleaning cache and cookies / incognito mode. If the user wants to have several active accounts simultaneously, anti-detect browsers are the best with complete anonymity. 

Proxy, TOR, VPN are intermediate solutions. For all paid solutions, it is better to read the corresponding description and use the trial version to understand if the Internet speed is still sufficient and the digital fingerprint is making correctly. The combination of all methods leads to ultimate Internet anonymity.

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