The web browser, nowadays, no one can do without it. Whether for entertainment, work, research or shopping, everything goes through him. However, it raises serious questions about the protection of the privacy of its millions of users. Indeed, third parties constantly collect data on Internet users, via web browsers, all over the world.
But what if you don’t want your data collected? First, you can choose the right browser, for example by consulting our selection of the most privacy-friendly browsers. You will notice that the big absentee from all the selections of this type is… Chrome. Google’s browser, even though it is the most used on the planet (with a market share of 65.4%), is also one of the least reliable browsers.
It is possible that the two elements are linked: Chrome being the most popular browser by far, malicious actors primarily attack it. This is the argument that was put forward to explain the frequent attacks on the Windows operating system at one time – the price of glory.
Naturally, you say to yourself that you just need to change your browser. For example, you can abandon Chrome for Brave or Firefox. And now you are at peace. Except… not really. While some browsers are more reliable than others, privacy is a concern for all. Here are some tips to go a little further to protect your browsing and your data.
Discover private browsing
If you don’t yet know about Incognito mode – or private browsing, depending on the name used by your browser – you should be interested in it. By using this mode, you prevent information about your browsing from being recorded and the websites you visit from being shared with your other devices. In fact, by keeping your browsing history hidden, this mode allows you to save nothing.
In theory anyway. Unfortunately, this is not a total solution. Indeed, private browsing does not hide your searches from your service provider, your employer or certain government agencies.
Enable DNS over HTTPS
One of the first things to do is to enable the DNS over HTTPS option (if it exists in your browser). This feature helps encrypt your online searches and web traffic, preventing third parties from seeing your search queries or knowing which sites you have visited.
Most modern browsers (Brave, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Safari) offer this functionality. You can follow our guides to learn how to enable it in Chrome or Firefox. If you can, consider enabling the feature for both private and standard sessions.
Use Tor
If you really want to browse privately, without leaving any traces, the best thing to do is to opt for a browser like Tor, which uses the Onion network to anonymize all of your traffic. In its early days, Tor was complicated software. Today, it is as easy to use as any web browser. It blocks trackers, defends against surveillance, resists fingerprinting and includes multi-layer encryption.
Tor Browser is the web browser based on Mozilla Firefox code which allows you to use the Tor network and browse the internet completely anonymously.
- Downloads: 57
- Release date : 10/25/2023
- Author : The Tor Project
- Licence : Free software
- Categories:
Utilities - Operating system : Android – Linux – Windows 32 bits – XP/Vista/7/8/10/11 – Windows 64 bits – XP/Vista/7/8/10/11 – macOS
What is the difference between private browsing mode and Tor? If you use private browsing, when you close the window the following items are deleted:
- your browsing history;
- the cookies collected;
- your search history.
But your ISP, employer, and some government agencies can still see the sites you visit, as noted above. Private browsing mostly hides your information from people who have physical access to your computer. Like Incognito mode, Tor removes these three elements while guaranteeing you a high level of anonymity. History and cookies are actually deleted as soon as you leave a particular site. So no one can track your browsing.
The downside to Tor (or any other anonymized browser or VPN technology) is that your browsing will be slower. Indeed, Tor uses servers located around the world to randomize your traffic. Considering the speed of today’s internet service providers, however, the impact is not that great. The same could not be said 10 years ago.
If you opt for a browser like Tor, there is no need to use private browsing mode or activate the DNS over HTTPS option. It is the browser itself that protects your browsing.
Which path to take?
If you don’t want to switch browsers, use a private browsing mode as often as possible. If protecting your privacy is a major concern, it might even be better to use it as the default. At the same time, activate the DNS over HTTPS option. By combining these two tips, you will already significantly increase your privacy protection.
If you have saved your usernames and passwords in your browser, the downside of private browsing is that you won’t be able to use this feature: you will have to manually enter your login information each time. In terms of security and confidentiality, however, this is the safest method: do not save your usernames and passwords in your browser, opt instead for a password manager.
Still, if you want to protect your privacy as much as possible, it’s best to change browsers and use Tor. Of course, it is not perfect. But compared to Chrome and other most used web browsers, you will greatly gain in reliability and confidentiality.
Source: ZDNet.com