Infographic: How to Stay Anonymous Online
Today’s digital generation has made it nearly impossible to keep your identity hidden online. Social networking and sharing has created a culture of transparency, which can be beneficial when used for good, but extremely dangerous in the hands of cyber criminals. In the spirit of celebrating National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), we wanted to share an infographic from WhoIsHostingThis that includes a few ways you can keep your identity private online.
- Use proxy servers. This is an easy way to hide your IP address and circumvent firewalls. Beware of using bait proxies set up by cyber criminals to mine your data.
- Set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs encrypt your data through a “point-to-point” tunnel. This allows you to hide the route of your data from other Internet users. Make sure to use an up-to-date VPN service and be prepared to possibly deal with slower download speeds.
- TOR is an option for identity privacy, but not security. TOR encrypts your data and sends it through a random route of computer around the world. The downside to using TOR is that while your identity remains protected, your data is not safe. We recommend using the first two options before choosing TOR.
What are some other ways you can protect your identity online? Share your ideas with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, and be sure to participate in the NCSAM conversations happening this month all over the world. Learn more about NCSAM and how you can get involved.