Before you can enjoy the internet and browse safely, internet security is the very first thing you must think of. Securely surfing the internet gives you total freedom but unknown to many, each time you connect your computer to the internet, every bit of your information is exposed and may be compromised. Starting with your IP address, then to your browsing location, browser, device, pages you visited, your personal data can be accessed even without you knowing it.
Besides, browsing securely give you access to many restricted websites. Maybe your local IP has been restricted or your country is being restricted and you don’t have access to certain sites, securely and anonymous browsing gives you access to such restricted websites.
And to my fellow bloggers and webmasters, secure browsing ensures your data and your information are well secured, encrypted and not accessible to intruders. It will protect your personal data, your login details. This reduces the chance of your site getting hacked to a great extent.
How do I browse Securely??
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The very best way to browse securely and anonymously without anyone tracking you, without being restricted from restricted sites is to change your IP address, you might be wondering why IP changing has got anything to do with internet security. Well, your IP address is the major lead that can give others access to your online privacy and one of the very best methods to prevent your IP being known is to change it with one of these steps I’m going to share with you.
Must Read: 5 Simple Steps to Secure your Personal Computer
1. Virtual Private Network
Abbreviated as VPN, Virtual Private Networks are premium tools that change your IP address automatically as soon as you set it up on your computer. Not all these VPN programs are free, to use most of them you must subscribe to the service with a little amount. For better performance with a VPN provider, a paid service is worth it. I have been using VPN for more than 2 years now and it has been helping a lot Here are the list of VPN you might consider using: PDProxy, HMAProxy, YourFreedom, Sandwich, etc.
2. Manually Change your IP
To be able to browse securely and anonymously, like I suggested you must get your real IP address changed. to search for IP addresses for a specific location go to hidemyass.com, there are lots of sites where you can look for proxies but I always use hidemyass.com. Now I will briefly show you how to change your IP address manually. On Firefox, click on Tools > Options > click on Network tab > Settings > click on manual Proxy Configuration > enter your Proxy and Port in the space provided and click OK
Note: The above steps on how to change IP was taken using Mozilla Firefox, however other browsers too have similar steps but you can check this post for full details on that.
Must Read: How To Access Blocked Sites Via Proxy
3. Web Proxy
There are many sites online where which changing of IP to an anonymous location is their main service or among their services. You can use this free proxy to surf anonymously online, secure your internet connection, hide your internet history, protect your online identity and more importantly, hide your IP address. I’m not giving 100% assurance in using online proxy sites to access restricted site and to change IP as sometimes those free web proxy are usually messed up and don’t give desired results. Here are short list of web proxies I have used so far: hidemysass.com, armyproxy.com.
4. Free Proxy Software
Just like VPN programs, there are also free proxy software you can use to browse securely and anonymously and to hide your identity online. After you have successfully installed one on your computer, connect normally to internet, and connect your free proxy software to change your ip and browse anonymously and securely. You may need to manually change your browser settings before you can get these programs to work though. Here are the lists of Free Proxy I can recommend: Vidalia Tor, Hotspot Shield, Ultrasurf, and lots more.
Must Read: Free Softwares to Lock & Hide Folders on Windows 7 / Vista / XP
5. Browser Addons or Extensions
Internet usage is getting a lot easier and better! Browsers add-ons and extensions can also be used to change your IP address. There are lots of Mozilla and Google Chrome Add-ons & extension to change your IP address, this is a very easy task to do, you just need to install the add-ons or extension on your browser to get your IP address changed. Examples are Anonymox for Mozilla and Hidemyass for Chrome.