Limit your ability to be tracked on the web

As you surf the web, people are spying on you all the time. How would you like to make it more difficult for them?

There’s been real surprise about how much tracking goes on online without your knowledge or consent. My fifth grade daughter was sent home with a booklet that every parent is being asked to review over the summer about the dangers for kids on the Internet. But so much of what it’s talking about also applies to adults.

Ignore the online trail that you leave behind at your own risk.  I was amazed to learn recently that the No. 1 weapon of divorce lawyers in particularly contentious cases is requesting disclosure of who and what you e-mail or who you “friend” on social media.

There’s no way to cover your tracks completely.  But Ann Friedman at the online magazine GOOD.is compiled this list of browser tips that will greatly reduce your footprints. The important information is reprinted here :

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How To Stop Websites from Tracking You

If you use Firefox:
To see which version of Firefox you’re using, go to Firefox, then About Firefox. If you’re not using Firefox 4, you need to update. (Download it here.) Once you’re using Firefox 4, in the Menu, click “Options.”.  Click the “Advanced” tab, and then “General.” Then check the box that says “Tell web sites I do not want to be tracked.” All done.

If you use Chrome:
Install this plugin. Restart Chrome, and you’re good to go.

If you use Internet Explorer:
First, you’ll need to upgrade to Internet Explorer 9–which is only available if you currently run Windows 7.  Run IE9, then go to this Microsoft page. Scroll down and click the link that says “Click here to add an empty Tracking Protection list.” Then hit “add to list.”  That’s it!

If you use Safari:
There’s actually no option to turn off browser tracking in the current version of Safari. You’ll have to wait for Safari 5.1.

For more information and options, check out this Wall Street Journal article , “How To Avoid the Prying Eyes”  

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This is not comprehensive or foolproof. But it can slow down the tracking. If you want more privacy on the web than you have to this point, this is a way to hopefully get it.

Some people say, “Well, I don’t do anything on the web that would be of interest to anybody, so why do I care if I’m being tracked?” To that I say the dossiers being compiled on people have a real creep-out factor to them. So now you have some tools to limit the tracking.