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Managing Your Privacy Online: Search Engines
All major search engines claim that they need to retain personal data, in part, to provide better services and improving results, while also taking countermeasures against web nuisances like click fraud and search poisoning (using elaborate SEO techniques to rank up scam websites on search engine indexes). Even if you trust that search companies will take your business seriously, there are various things you can do to adopt safe browsing habits and help protect your privacy.
Most of the browsing privacy tips we have listed in this piece are straightforward and easy enough to follow without falling into 'paranoid' territory. Others require a bit more knowledge and effort, but will give you near-complete safety. Depending on your particular situation and willingness to accept certain 'risks' in favor of functionality, you'll have to trace your own privacy goals and adopt the ones that won't hinder your browsing experience.
Read the complete article.
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User Comments (10)
Post a comment|
skitzo_zac
on May 28, 2010 3:35 AM |
That Cookie Monster image is hilarious!!! |
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Relic
on May 28, 2010 3:46 AM |
skitzo_zac said: That Cookie Monster image is hilarious!!! Just had to comment on that too, it's awesome. I can totally hear Cookie Monsters voice heh. |
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PanicX
on May 28, 2010 4:43 AM |
Struggling to champion privacy on the internet is a losing battle. Arstechnica has a good article on how the methods here can all be made irrelevant. Disabling logging on your side isn't going to cut it. And I don't think its reasonable to assume that opting out of logging from any companies website that derives profits from targeted advertising is at all effective. |
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Burty117
on May 28, 2010 5:25 AM |
PanicX said: Struggling to champion privacy on the internet is a losing battle. Arstechnica has a good article on how the methods here can all be made irrelevant. Disabling logging on your side isn't going to cut it. And I don't think its reasonable to assume that opting out of logging from any companies website that derives profits from targeted advertising is at all effective. You are right but you are slightly safer with the above mentioned privacy settings switched on. Your Link is spot on actually, maybe we need to stop consentrating on apple forcing companys to create HTML5 websites for their iPhones and more on the fact you have absolutely no privacy while online? |
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Guest
on May 28, 2010 6:23 AM |
Flash cookies are another interesting subject relevant to privacy concerns. Here's the wiki link if anyone is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Shared_Object |
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Guest
on May 28, 2010 10:42 AM |
I use Ghostery, is a Firefox addon that blocks web bugs and trackers http://www.ghostery.com/ https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/9609/ give it a try ^^ and keep your privacy uncompromised |
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Badfinger
on May 28, 2010 10:47 AM |
Try blocking IP's with Hostman or at least use custom hosts file (no extension) from MVP. (find these via search) I use spybot, spyware blaster, malwarebyte's anti-malware, avast! internet suite, parts of avanquest's System Suite Pro 10 (not the firewall it is subpar vs. avast!'s), boostspeed (really a suite of utilities) by auslogics, winpatrol/task catcher, process lasso, and anvir task manager. Give those a look... |
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tipstir
on May 28, 2010 11:55 AM |
Let's keep it simple! I just use IOBIT Advanced System Care Privacy Sweep and system clean-up tools. Cookies are needed just can't blocked them all. Cookie Monster program is opensource you could use that but that's doesn't really stop them so much. Sitting there manging cookies can be a nightmare! |
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elijahbel
on May 29, 2010 12:06 AM |
You have shared very good information on maintaining privacy online. I am gonna install cookies cleaner in my pc reading your article. Keep writing such informative articles |
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Guest
on June 19, 2010 3:32 PM |
Also (for Firefox) check out GoogleSharing. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=googleshar https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60333/ http://www.googlesharing.net/ This add-on not only anonymizes your IP while searching via Google, but also anonymizes other information like your browser, OS, plugins, etc. If a Google service does not require your identity (e.g. Gmail, or Google Docs) then this plugin provides a proxy to anonymize unnecessary information for Google to provide that service, e.g. Google Maps. Technically, GoogleSharing randomizes the information, but this is a good thing. Randomization provide anonymity, but it doesn't look like anonymity, so, if Google is analyzing traffic and recording potential anonymization, then GoogleSharing hides the anonymity by making you look "real". P.S. I am not Moxie of thoughtcrime.org. I am just an enthusiastic user of GoogleSharing. |
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