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So you want to browse the web privately. Be aware that Cookies, browser fingerprints and your IP address (your public one) can give away your privacy online.
This is a video I made showing you how to browse the web privately:
Video description: Using a good VPN, the Firefox web browser or a browser with the DuckDuckGo extension, using a private search engine, and using private browsing, you can be confident that your browsing is very private so you are not targeted by ads and monitored. (See video on YouTube for links.)
For the most privacy on the web it's best to use Firefox (Firefox APK) or Brave (or even Tor Browser), they automatically block tracking cookies and don't have FLoC like Chrome.
Cookies are information web sites store on your computer to track certain information about you, like if you are logged in. Deleting all your cookies or using private browsing mode can work to avoid sites using cookies to gain information about you.
Note that private browsing mode (also called incognito) starts with no cookies, but as you browse in private mode that private mode does accumulate cookies. To remove all the private browsing cookies simply close all the private windows and then open a new private window. This will clear all the private browsing cookies. To clear all your regular browsing cookies you have to go into settings.
Use a private search engine like StartPage.com, DuckDuckGo.com or Brave Search (instead of Google) so your searches are not stored and used for advertisement or to build a profile about you.
This is information your web browser gives out about the web browser and computer you are using. You might be able to adjust this in settings. Using a different browser may also be an option.
Websites you visit and your ISP (Like Verizon or Cox) can see your IP address which can identity where you are connected from. It can give your approximate location. And your IP address is linked to your internet account, your ISP assigns you your IP address so if someone shows your ISP your IP address they will know it belongs to you, and you hope your ISP won't give away your identity. Note that you may have 2 IP addresses, your IPv4 address and your IPv6 address.
Some web browsers have a feature that checks if a web page you visit is safe. If this is done locally by having a list of bad websites on your computer, then that does not compromise your privacy. If however the web address is sent out, then the information on what web site you visited is leaked and your privacy is violated. On the other hand you may not want to turn this feature off because it protects your computer. So start with finding out what the feature is called on your web browser, and look up how it is implemented. On Chrome it's called "Safe Browsing" (Google Safe Browsing - Wikipedia), on Edge it is "SmartScreen" (Microsoft SmartScreen - Wikipedia), and on Firefox they just call it what it is "Phishing and Malware Protection" (more info from Firefox web site). Based on the info on Wikipedia Edge does NOT do this well. They use a whitelist on your computer, if you visit a site not on the list Edge sends out the address to be checked. This is very bad news for privacy.
When you visit a web site who's web address starts with "https:" (sometimes this text is hidden) that means the information is being sent encrypted with SSL/TLS which hides it from eavesdroppers and the encryption is end to end (from your computer to the website or vise versa). The s in https stands for secure. When the webpage uses "https:" your web browser shows a lock icon near your address bar (where you put the web address in).
When you visit a web site who's web address starts "http:" (sometimes this text is hidden) you will not see a lock near your address bar. This means the site is not encrypted so your ISP and those who may be eavesdropping on your connection can see everything. Sites that use "https:" instead are encrypted meaning eavesdroppers and your ISP can not see the information you enter in forms or the content you are viewing. They might be able to see the hostname part of the URL (the part after "https://" and before the first single "/") and they WILL be able to see your IP address.
Using "https:" is a must if you are submitting sensitive information in a form! Even if you use a VPN or Tor you still should use "https:" when entering sensitive information on the web, this is because VPNs and Tor don't encrypt end-to-end. The only exception is when visiting an onion site with Tor, in this case the connection is encrypted end-to-end so you can get away with not using "https:", although maybe you still should because Tor's onion encryption might not be as good as SSL/TLS (what "https:" uses). How do you use "https:" you may ask. Just make sure the web address uses it, if not try changing the "http:" to "https:" and if there is no error your good. Most sites use "https:" including this site (if you use https://www.deltafoxdesign.com/ and the onion site might also use "https:" when it's up). Note: Sometimes sites don't have "https:" for pictures enabled on the web page, just as long as the form it's self uses "https:" your safe. Your web browser may even warn you that the information is not secure if you try to submit a form that does not use "https:". Note it is possible for the page to use "https:" but the form to be submitted with "http:" and vise versa. As stated parts of a page can use "https:" while other parts use "http:", this may seem strange. To clarify if it is using "http:" eavesdroppers can see it (unless another technology is hiding it). So if the form uses "https:" and the pictures use "http:" eavesdroppers can see the pictures but not what you submit in the form.
Your ISP knows which websites you visit. Unless you use a VPN or Tor, these both hide your IP address from the websites you visit, and the web addresses you visit from your ISP. In the case of a VPN it better be a good one you trust very much because they can see you IP address, they see what your ISP would normally see. So using a VPN is a good idea if you want to hide your IP.
Tor is used to hide your IP from sites you visit, and to hide what sites you are visiting from eavesdroppers and your ISP. It is also used to allow access to onion sites. onion sites are special web sites with .onion domains which are hidden from the regular internet. Owners of .onion sites don't have to disclose there identity or pay a fee for there domains. Facebook has an .onion site to make the site available to countries that try to block Facebook.
When using Tor the Guard Relay can see your real IP. The Exit Relay can see the IP of the site you visit but not your IP. The site you visit can not see your real IP, and your ISP can not see the websites you visit. Note that there may be ways to find someones real IP even if they use Tor, timing attacks and attempting to trace the IPs backwards are possible methods (See: Is Tor Trustworthy and Safe? )
As stated in the section "https encryption" in some situations you should still use "https:" when using Tor or VPNs.
The Tor browser uses Tor and also does a great job of hiding your browser fingerprint. You can download it free from www.torproject.org. Note that when using Tor your connections may be slow and some websites may block you or require a CAPTCHA.
This section is only referring to VPN use for privacy. The information in this section does not apply to using a VPN to work with a remote computer network (like you might do if you are working from home).
For the purpose of privacy VPNs are used to hide your IP from sites you visit and and to hide what sites you are visiting from eavesdroppers and your ISP. However instead of relaying on a public network to protect you, you are relying on a company that will usually charge a small monthly or yearly fee of about $10 a month.
When using a VPN the VPN's computer can see your real IP and it forwards the connection to the website you visit. So the website you visit see's the VPN's IP address instead of yours. It is important that the VPN provider is trustworthy, because if they log your connections and give that information out, it defeats the purpose of having the VPN. So that's why you should only use a VPN that has been verified from a 3rd party as being a no log VPN.
Also note that VPNs provide an encrypted tunnel between your computer and the VPN computer (but not from the VPN computer to the website). This is necessary to prevent an eavesdropper or your ISP to see what you are accessing on the internet. However cookies such as an email login may be able to trace activity you do on the web back to you.
To find a VPN check out: VPN Toolkit - TechLore.com and 5 Best No Logs VPN Services for 2021, and here is one more Best VPNs with IPv6 Support. OVPN may be one of the best options for privacy as they use RAM only servers, are verified No-log, support IPv6 and are outside the 5 eyes (but not outside the 14 eyes). Check out this guide which explains the "eyes" country alliances 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, & 14 Eyes Countries – What You NEED to Know
Do be aware of potential IP address leaks when using a VPN. One example of an IP leak is if the website can see your real IPv6 IP even though you are using a VPN. You can use ipleak.net to test for IP leaks. An IP leak means the VPN is not doing it's job of hiding your real IP address.
Test for IP leaks in your VPN: Visit ipleak.net with your VPN off. Copy to a text editor the 2 IP addresses under "Your IP addresses" (those are your public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses you are trying to hide.) Then turn on your VPN and visit ipleak.net again, this time those 2 IP addresses that you copied should not show up anywhere on the web-page. (Make sure to also activate torrent detection to test for leaks there.) If they do it means you have a leak and you should contact the VPN provider or change VPN providers.
Again some situations you should still use "https:" even when using VPNs or Tor, see the section on https.
Always use https when entering personal information in a form. Only acceptation is that you don't need https if you are accessing a web page using a .onion domain with the Tor browser. However https will add extra protection when accessing .onion vie Tor browser.
Use a VPN if you want to hide your IP address. Your IP address can trace back to you and your approximate location.
Use a VPN if you want to hide what sites you are visiting from eavesdroppers and your ISP. It is highly recommended that you use a VPN when using public WiFi, however that does not remove all the risk involved in using public WiFi.
Use a new private window, a good VPN and https connection at the same time for very good privacy on the internet. Some people may also want to add Tor to this (just run the Tor browser) as an added protection of privacy.
For more information on browsing privately check out https://techlore.tech/goincognito.html and https://restoreprivacy.com/.
