Ways to be Anonymous

### VPN

VPN's or Virtual Private Networks help to encrypt data so that no one outside of the network can access networked individuals' data. VPN's main appeal are that the only information distributed to third parties is the existence of a VPN Connection. VPN's often come through ISPs and require a monthly service fee. It is important when choosing a VPN to examine VPN features as well as price, 2016 Top VPN's.

### HTTP/HTTPS

The first portion of a URL is how you are able to check if a site is Certified Secure with the Transport Layer Security.  HTTPS sites encrypt information and ensure that private and personal information is not accessible by third parties. While some HTTP sites can contain their own encryption and security measures, these are often not known to their users.

### Web/Server Proxies

The point of a Proxy is to act as an intermediary between the user and the server they are contacting. A request is sent from the user to the proxy and then to the end server. A reply is then sent to the proxy which consequently sends it back to the user. Proxies make it so there is no tracing if a user has actually been accessing a site or server. This means that users' information is never sent to the server on which the request is being processed. Web Proxies are easy to access and most are done through Websites (2016 Top Proxies).

### IP Scrambler

IP Scramblers can be found in two different ways: The first way is through hardware and the second way is through software. IP Scramblers change the IP that your device is sending out so it appears that a different device is accessing a network.There are both free and paid software scramblers and each should be researched further before choosing. The hardware ranges from $80-$200 depending on how many ports it comes with as well as the frequency at which it changes the IP.

### TOR

The above title is the namesake for the free Internet browser that prides itself with anonymity mechanisms. The goal of Tor is to keep traffic analysis from happening on a browser as well as prevent information packets from being sent to third parties. While Tor alone does not keep users completely anonymous, it, in conjunction with other products, vastly improves anonymity. TOR is also one of the few ways to access the Deep Web securely.

### Burner Accounts

These accounts create email addresses for the sole purpose of putting the addresses into Websites and requiring a key to remain anonymous. Account creation can be accomplished by making an email that is filled out with erroneous information that has nothing to do with the user. There are also sites such as MailDrop, Guerilla Mail, and Slipper Mail, that create these email accounts that are only live for "X" amount of time after which they are deleted.

### HTTP Cookies

When wanting to be anonymous, ensuring that cookies are turned off is important. Internet cookies are stored information that is sent to Websites in regards to previous activity from the user. If you do not want this information shared, make sure to follow the correct steps to turn them off.

### Search Engines

Part of some search engines such as Google collect lots of information from its users and then either keep the information for their own or sells it off to third parties for analytical purposes. There are search engines that do not collect information; these are often the less known engines. The most popular of the private engines is, DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo does not keep any of the information that other search engines would normally pull from users.

### Incognito And Private Browsing

Most users who are relatively inexperienced use Incognito modes in the hope that this will make them anonymous. The integrated features in Chrome and other browsers make users believe that they are invisible on-line when in reality, not much has changed between Incognito and regular browsing. What these modes actually do is make it as if you were opening the browser for the first time. You have no history or any information brought over from regular browsing, the more you use a private window. Incognito still sends all of the information that it normally would; it just has less previous information to base searches and user web activity.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Grimes, R.A. (2015) *9 steps to make you completely anonymous online*. Available at: http://www.infoworld.com/article/2975193/security/9-steps-completely-anonymous-online.html (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
2. ↑ Microsoft (2009) *What is TLS/SSL?*. Available at: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc784450(v=ws.10).aspx (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
3. ↑ Chacos, B. (2012) *How (and why) to surf the web in secret*. Available at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013534/how-and-why-to-surf-the-web-in-secret.html (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
4. ↑ Greenberg, A. (2014) *With this Tiny Box, you can Anonymize everything you do online*. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/10/tiny-box-can-anonymize-everything-online/ (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
5. ↑ Project, T.T. (no date) *Tor project: Overview*. Available at: https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
6. ↑ Zakas, N. (2009) *HTTP cookies explained*. Available at: https://www.nczonline.net/blog/2009/05/05/http-cookies-explained/ (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
7. ↑ Davies, D., Sentance, R., Owen, M., Charlton, G. and Ratcliff, C. (2016)*Major search engines and directories*. Available at: https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2048976/major-search-engines-directories (Accessed: 5 April 2016).
8. ↑ Pathak, K. (2015) *Is Chrome’s Incognito Mode Really Private? 4 Things to Know About it*. Available at: http://www.guidingtech.com/33828/chromes-incognito-mode-private/ (Accessed: 5 April 2016).