You may decide to delete the cookies and turn on your private browsing. That still doesn’t make you invincible, and tracking you isn’t as hard as you may want to wish. Not even with the millions of people surfing the internet.
That is simply because you have left digital fingerprints behind. That is the same thing Russians allegedly left behind for Americans to know that they helped Trump win the elections.
But What is Digital Fingerprints right?
Digital fingerprints in the sense we are talking right now, are the indications that copyrighted materials, such as emails, video and audio contents, files, and other online materials have been tampered with. They do not only indicate that these materials have been tampered with, they also suggest who tampered with them.
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Digital fingerprinting can as well mean when websites digitally mine your browser for information to learn about you and your browsing habits as you surf the internet. The information gotten are mostly useful to advertisers, but there are others with unknown aims.
How You leave the Prints Behind
Before we go far let me do you a favor by scaring you a bit. That you are reading this page means you can be tracked right now. It is the same for all the pages and sites you visit. It is not necessary for you to give your passwords before you are being tracked. The CIA boss was tracked too, same as Hillary Clinton.
Each computer has its IP Address through which it can be traced. Although IP addresses change, they can still be used locate your physical location. Other bits and pieces of information you used during browsing, including accounts you logged on to, can be pinned together until your full image is built.
More so, the operating system you are browsing on, the web browser, and even the installed plugins on your computer all tie things together to give clues as to who you are.
Essentially, you leave behind digital fingerprints even by just surfing the net. There is no privacy on the internet even when you are told of privacy.
It is safer to use mobile phone in browsing than computers. Also, you tend to leave less digital fingerprints when you are using iOS devices.
How Not To leave The Prints?
Nevertheless, there are ways that you can to a large extent have a private search and limit your visibility.
To have some privacy, you can disable cookies, Flash plug-in, Java plug-in and most other extensions on your computer. By doing this, you will mostly get hidden, although you may not be able to do some things online, including streaming, since the flash plugin is disabled. You may not be able to access some sites as well, or some materials.
Also, using new and trending windows can to some extent help. This is mostly without the addition of other software or fonts. Clearing your browser cache and cookies after every session is also important.
You can as well make use of a software called Tor, which prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location. The use of this software can not completely erase trace as nothing can. Tor can make you unique in some sites hence easy to track, but it is one of the best bets.
Other Ways To Secure Yourself Online
To secure yourself online, there are things you can as well do. Allowing sites to remember your login details are completely not advisable. This is because you do not know who next will use the same device.
Giving your details to login to sites you do not trust us also not good for your safety. This is as via those sites people may find you easily. Finally, do not always allow third-party applications or sites to use your information on social media. Even if you will, ensure you do not put all your life story and information on social media.
