How to browse the web safe and privately without getting tracked by big companies

What does browsing the web privately without getting tracked means:

Everyone is tracked on the Internet by different entities, some of them are Our ISP, Web browser, Web Sites we visit, Apps we use.

I'm not talking about basic tracking to check or maintain service. It is about big companies following you on every web page you visit and making a virtual profile of yours to make more profit. 

User online behavior Tracking is a matter of concern today, and if you are not bothered about being randomly tracked by big companies then this post is not for you.

If you want to know how they are tracking you, me, and everyone and how to avoid this tracking or commercial surveillance then stick with me. I'll tell you how they do it and how to save yourself from it.

What is User Online Behavior?

It is a very simple thing, let me explain. We have a behavior pattern in real life and behave differently according to our mood, place, and situations. We are different, so is our behavior.

The same thing happens Online too. We search and do various things on the Internet, but have you ever thought about, that someone is keeping virtual notes of what you doing online and making a data profile according to it! Sound scary right?

The more scary thing is Data breach is happening every day, because of system vulnerability or Crackers(Black hat Hackers) finding a way into those systems. So-called privacy, safety, and security by those websites are fake/illusion. Only you can keep yourself safe if you know how?

An interesting thing is, while I was writing this article and went to another website for data breach resources. I found out in a recent data breach my email id has been pwned(stolen), luckily not the password.

To be honest, I actually don't know, what data they(Crackers) got about me and million other users, who were using that site. That site works in the field in AI and they hire individual contractors for their projects.

Now imagine the same thing happening with big companies and all your online profile data collected and stored on their server got leaked. How crackers will use this data! it's up to them, but when an option is available to minimize your online footprint then you should. 

We all heard in the past, even in recent times big companies getting hacked or some of their product, service got hacked. So it is better to give fewer data to these big companies.

How to check whether my data has been leaked or not?

If you read those lines I’m sure you want to check about yourself too. I’ve given the links, check below.

Visit Have I been pwned to check about your email id. Also, you can check from Firefox Monitor

Visit Have I been pwned password to check about your password(s).

What are Trackers?

In simple words, a tracker is a piece of code, stored and executed from the server on your local machine aka web browser. It is one type of cookie placed on your browser but to track you. Whether normal cookies are only used to track the user session and performance, not you.

Some time ago most Web Browsers introduced “Private Browsing” to fool common user, how? Well, in private mode only the web browser doesn’t store your activity at their end but rest work as same.

Many people think that browsing in “Private Mode” makes them anonymous or they are not getting tracked. This is totally misconception due to not knowing how it works, browsing in private mode doesn’t give you anonymity or save you from trackers. Web browsers also show you notice about that.

To prevent third-party cookies from tracking, you have to block third party cookies to stop them. If you don’t know how to block third party cookies then this article on how to block third party cookies on Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge will help you. 

What trackers do?

Trackers collect data about you on every website, how long you been there and what you did on that website. They store data collected from every website and compile them to make a digital database for you.

The main work of tracker is to identify you separately on the Internet and serve you Ads. It is one kind of surveillance too.

As per research, Google has the biggest tracker network, followed by Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft.

How they track me on Internet/Web pages?

It does not matter which web page you visit, they are already there. In most web pages you see google ad or ads served by their partner network. Things like Social media buttons, Sign in with (Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft) option, and many more, by these functions they are on every page and following your online behavior.

How to stop them from tracking me on every web page?

For this, you have to change your browser and search engine from Google to another. So I'm going to tell you which browser and search engine I use for personal use.

I prefer Mozilla Firefox now for their better privacy and security option you can read about their enhanced privacy protection here. Firefox automatically blocks social trackers and other trackers depending on your privacy settings. I use DuckDuckGo in Firefox and Chrome browser.

DuckDuckGo has a browser extension too for both Firefox, Chrome, and for other popular web browsers. You may want to check out DuckDuckGo extension before permanently switching to it. Recently they launched Mobile Web Browser for android with their own search engine.

If you use Firefox and DuckDuckGo together for personal use then definitely they will bring down your tracking from 100 to 10. Plus if you want to hide your activity from your ISP  then use VPN also.

Thanks! Let me know your thoughts, comments in the comment box.