Are you certain your online activities are private? Think again.
Not only are your surfing sessions tracked by websites, search engines and social networks, but often your Internet provider, Web browser, government and potentially hundreds of online tracking companies.
Whether it's to collect valuable marketing data or prevent criminal activity, everything you think you're doing privately in the comfort of your home is anything but private.
That said, there are a few ways to spend time online anonymously. The following are a few suggestions.
SMART SOFTWARE
How does Facebook know to show you ads for your local gym or supermarket? In part it's because your computer's unique Internet Protocol (IP) address, assigned by your Internet provider, reveals your geographical whereabouts. Even if your computer generates a different IP address every time you boot up or log online, this number (e.g. 220.165.119.12) can still tell your general location.
There are a variety of solutions that can hide your Internet connection, allowing you to remain anonymous while online.
Some are websites, such as free "online proxy servers" that conceal your identity. Simply point the Web address (URL) to the proxy server and surf right from its website (check out proxy.org for a list of great options).
Others prefer to download Virtual Private Network (VPN) software that encrypts your online sessions.
The browser-independent Hotspot Shield from AnchorFree (anchorfree.com), for example — available for Windows, Macs, iPhone and Android — channels all Web activities through a personal VPN and secures Internet communications by turning all HTTP traffic into the safer HTTPS (which is what your bank uses for a safe connection). There's an ad-supported free version and a beefier "elite" option ($29.95/year) with more bells and whistles.
Similarly, Tor is free software that defends you against Internet surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy. Short for "The Onion Router" — which gets its name for its "layered" approach to the encryption process — Tor (torproject.org) provides online anonymity as the software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers to conceal your location or online usage patterns.
USB STICKS
In some cases, software to encrypt your connection is kept on a USB drive — so you can remain safe and secure even when using a public PC.
SurfEasy Private Browser ($69.99 one-time fee; surfeasy.com) is a tiny USB key that fits into a credit card-shaped case to be kept in your wallet. When you plug it into a PC or Mac — be it your own computer or a public one — it instantly launches its own password-protected browser and you're good to go (no proxy or network settings to configure).
Your browsing session is handled through SurfEasy's fast and secure private proxy network. Your IP address will be masked throughout the session.
The company also has a new downloadable product called SurfEasy VPN that can protect computers, smartphones and tablets.
Also consider Tails (tails.boum.org), which can be downloaded and installed onto a USB stick to run independently of the computer's original operating system. Like SurfEasy, it lets you browse the Web anonymously — on virtually any computer — as all connections are channeled through the aforementioned Tor network.
BROWSER TWEAKS
Anonymous proxy software is a great way to mask your IP address online, but there is still plenty of information about your Web-surfing habits stored on your computer — which could also be viewed over a network, say, at the office, by your IT department.
At least it's somewhat easy to control your privacy settings directly in your Web browser, unless your company forbids non-administrators from making changes to your browser settings.
You can disable cookies — tiny text files stored on your computer with information about where you've been online, passwords and other info — and you should also delete your browser history to cover your tracks. All major Web browsers — such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari — allow you to delete your surfing history: Simply go to the Options or Settings in your favorite browser and you'll see how to do this.
You might want to turn off auto-complete or someone on your computer could type in a few letters in a search engine or Web address (URL) bar and any recent places you visited could fill in automatically. And don't click to allow sites to "remember my password" or someone could gain access to your private or financial information.
The easiest thing to do, however, is to see if your Web browser has settings for surfing incognito — most of the major browsers do today. By enabling these privacy settings, your browser won't save any history (and download history), search queries, cookies or passwords.
When it comes to your search engine, you could choose not to save your history. Google, for example, was recently ordered to make this easier for users, to avoid European privacy rules. You could also choose not to log into your Google account when using these services (or not use them at all) or you might want to install one of the free browser plug-ins that tell Google and other advertisers to back off.
Finally, you might have heard Facebook is going to start sharing Web-browsing history it collects with advertisers to display more targeted ads — yes, even on non-Facebook sites you visit. But you can opt out of this within Facebook's Privacy settings.
你确定你的上网活动是隐私吗？再想一想。
据《今日美国报》网站报道，不仅是你的浏览过程被网站、搜索引擎和社交网络跟踪，还会被你的网络服务提供者，网页浏览器，政府以及上百家网络追踪公司所追踪。
不论是收集可贵的市场营销数据，或者是防范犯罪活动，所有你认为你在家里私下做的事情绝不是保密的。
即便如此，我们仍有一些方法匿名地畅游网络。以下便是一些建议。
智能软件
你有许多的方法可以隐藏你的网络连接，使得你上网时保持匿名。
其他的就倾向于下载虚拟专用网（VPN）软件——可以将你的网络部分加密。
来自于AnchorFree（anchorfree.com）的独立浏览器热点屏蔽软件，举个例子——对于Windows，Mac，Iphone和Android操作系统均有效。它通过一个个人的VPN疏导所的网页活动，并转变所有HTTP通讯成为一个更安全的HTTPS来使网络交流更为安全（这就是你的银行运用的更为安全的连接）。一个无广告支持的免费版本和一个更结实拥有更多修饰的“精锐”可供选择（$29.95/年）。
相同地，Tor是一个免费的软件——保护你不被威胁个人自由和隐私，免于网络监视。Tor是“The Onion Router" (洋葱路由器）的缩写。这名字的由来是由于它保密途径的”分层的”方式。该软件通过一个世界范围的志愿服务器网络——可以藏匿你的位置或者上网习惯，将网络交流分路，Tor（torproject.org）提供网络的匿名性。
U盘
在一些情况下，软件对于你的连接保密是存储于一个USB储存盘上的——因而当你用一个公共的电脑时，你可确保安全和保密。
SurfEasy Private Browser (方便浏览的保密浏览器，$69.99 一次性缴费；surfeasy.com）是一个小小的USB钥匙——可以放入一个信用卡形状的盒子，并且放进你的钱包。当你将它插入一个电脑或者苹果电脑——随便是你自己的电脑或者一个公共电脑——这钥匙会立刻安装它自己的有密码保护的浏览器，如此一劳永逸（无需设定代理或者网络设置）。
这家公司同时也有个新的可供下载的产品叫做SurfEasy VPN (轻松浏览虚拟专用网）——可以保护电脑，智能手机以及平板电脑。
另外，考虑一下Tails (tails.boum.org)——可以单独下载并且安装于U盘上，并且可独立于电脑原本的操作系统单独运行。例如 SurfEasy，让你匿名地浏览网页——实际上在任何电脑上——因为所有的连接都由上述提及的Tor网络引导。
特殊浏览器
至少这样直接在你的网络浏览器里，控制你的隐私设置比较容易，除非你的电脑禁止非管理员对你的浏览设置做出改变。
你可以使得信息记录程序(cookies)——储存于你的电脑的一点点的关于你上网浏览过什么，密码以及其他信息的文字文档，不工作。你也应当删除你的浏览记录来掩藏你的轨迹。所有主要的网络浏览器——例如Internet Explorer(网络探索者），Firefox（火狐），Chrome（谷歌浏览器）或者Safari（苹果浏览器）——都允许你删除你的浏览历史：简单地找到选项或者设置菜单，你会明白如何删除浏览历史。
不过最简单的方法是，看你的网络浏览器时候有无痕浏览的选项——大多数主要的浏览器确有此项功能。通过启动这些隐私设置，你的浏览器不会保存任何历史（以及下载历史），搜索词条，信息记录(cookies)或者密码。
说到你的搜索引擎，你可以选择不保存你的历史，举个例子，比如谷歌，最近接到命令为客户把此项功能简易化，来防止欧洲的隐私条例。当你运用这些服务的时候（或者根本不用），你也可以选择不登陆你的谷歌账户，否则你或许会想要安装某个免费的浏览器插件，让谷歌以及其他的广告商远离你。
最后，你或许已经听说过脸书将会和广告商分享它收集的网页浏览历史，来呈现更有针对性的广告——是的，甚至你浏览的非脸书的网站上。但你可以在脸书的隐私设置中选择逃离这些。
