Everywhere you go online you leave bits of data. Hence, complete anonymity would mean staying off the web and technology altogether. Luckily, to be private and secure you don’t have to start a new life in the woods.
That’s why you should start using a VPN. It may not guarantee complete anonymity, but it guards your privacy like no other tool.
Private and Secure, Not Anonymous
If a nearby shop asked you what you’d been doing online for the past, say, 6 months, would you spill out everything? I wouldn’t. Personally, don’t like the feeling as if someone’s watching me over the shoulder, tracking my every move.
We live in a data-driven marketing world where the main product is your information. ISPs, companies track what websites you visit, what you buy, what you read, where you go, etc. to craft deals especially for you. Your data is sold and used over and over again by different companies for different purposes.
So the question is if online anonymity is possible? The short answer is no, it’s the price we pay if we want to stay connected. Regardless of how careful you are, every time you connect to the internet, you leave traces that have the potential to expose you. But there are precautions you can take to prevent someone exploiting your privacy.
And to take action now is more relevant than ever. According to The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) annual report, in 2017 in the U. S. alone there were 1,579 data breaches, exposing nearly 179 million records. In comparison to 2016, the number of data breaches increased by 44 %. Identity theft is one of the most common outcomes from data breaches: 31.7% of victims later experienced identity fraud.
How Does a VPN Help?
VPN (Virtual Private Network), such as Surfshark, enhances privacy and makes it incredibly difficult to track or identify your online activities. It creates a virtual tunnel, encrypts your data and replaces your device’s originating IP address.
At Surfshark we gathered a team of technologists who can implement the latest security standards and reinvent the way we understand privacy.
Underneath the skin, we use top-notch security features (AES 256 encryption, OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols, zero-knowledge DNS, IP masking, etc.), but for you, it’s as easy to use as turning on WiFi!
While most of the VPN providers allow 3-6 simultaneous connections, Surfshark doesn’t limit your privacy – with one account you can secure all of your devices.
On top of that, Surfshark is based in the British Virgin Islands, where the laws don’t require to log your connections, meaning even if we get a legal search warrant, we won’t be able to show anything.
However, while using a VPN, you must follow the first rule of a privacy-conscious internet user: don’t share online what you wouldn’t want strangers to know. Meaning, if you wouldn’t shout that in the street full of people, don’t post it on Facebook.
Of course, changing your browsing habits takes patience and getting used to, but privacy and security are worth the effort.
Do you often notice VPN providers using the words “anonymous” or “anonymity”? Share your experience with us in comments.
