Well, almost...

Securing your network is another topic, but becoming virtually invisible to people and other computers online is relatively easy. While you're browsing the web, you leave digital breadcrumbs everywhere you go. But you can use special free software to avoid leaving these breadcrumbs. And by free I mean FREE, not try-for-awhile-then-pay, though you are encouraged to donate.

HTTP Headers

One of the vectors of insecurity while browsing is the HTTP protocol that your web browser uses to communicate. Every time your browser requests a web page from a website, it sends an HTTP header which reveals information about your computer and your browser. Below is an example of what a typical HTTP header looks like:

Accept: text/xml,application/xml,application/xhtml+xml,text/html;q=0.9...
Accept-Language: en-us,en;q=0.5
Connection: keep-alive
Host: www.novaitservices.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.8.1.9)...
Cookie: temp=jmn40sbxj1okd; perm=n2rnzgmy224ba
Content-Length: 31
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.7
Keep-Alive: 300
Cache-Control: max-age=0
FirstParty: https://www.novaitservices.com
ThirdParty: https://www.novaitservices.com
Secure: https://www.novaitservices.com
Nonsecure: http://www.novaitservices.com
Session: pv4qhmfacfbbg

The first step is to download and use the free Mozilla Firefox web browser, if you don't already have it. After you have installed Firefox, you can install free add-ons for the browser. There are several that can manipulate the HTTP headers, but I recommend one called Modify Headers. Catchy name, huh? You may also check out all of the Firefox Add-ons if you like.

Once you have installed the Modify Headers add-on, follow the instructions to set it up. You can't force the browser to not send any headers at all, but you can modify any of the header information to be whatever values you want. One of the most important is the User-Agent setting which reveals your operating system and browser type. Following the instructions for Modify Headers, set user-agent to what ever you like; "I'm invisible!" for example. Now, you can see that the header info for User-Agent is different than the first example:

Accept: text/xml,application/xml,application/xhtml+xml,text/html;q=0.9...
Accept-Language: en-us,en;q=0.5
Connection: keep-alive
Host: www.novaitservices.com
User-Agent: I'm invisible!
Cookie: temp=jmn40sbxj1okd; perm=n2rnzgmy224ba
Content-Length: 31
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.7
Keep-Alive: 300
Cache-Control: max-age=0
FirstParty: https://www.novaitservices.com
ThirdParty: https://www.novaitservices.com
Secure: https://www.novaitservices.com
Nonsecure: http://www.novaitservices.com
Session: pv4qhmfacfbbg

You can change the value for each header value as you see fit, but the most pertinent one is user-agent.

Mask (Anonymize) Your IP Address

Every computer or device connected to the Internet has an IP address that identifies it to other computers. This address can be used to track your location or at the least your region of the world. Through the use of a special network of computers and some software installed on your computer, you can make your computer seem as though it has a different IP address. This can make your computer appear as though it is half way across the world from its real location!

This is accomplished by installing a bundle of software known as TOR. TOR stand for "The Onion Router". You can download it and read more about how it works. Be sure to read the appropriate installation instructions for your type of system.

After it is installed, check your Firefox browser for a bit of text in the status bar near the bottom of the window that says either "Tor Disabled" in red or "Tor Enabled" in green. If you don't see this, download the Tor Button add-on for Firefox. This will enable you to easily and quickly enable or disable your browser's use of TOR.

Two Things:

1. The TOR download contains four pieces of software: Tor, Privoxy, Vidalia, and Torbutton. The install program will install all four items, but be sure to read the instructions to make sure its all working together.

2. While using TOR, you may notice that search engines like Google may display in other languages. This is because Google's servers detect what region of the world your computer is in by its IP address. Since TOR changes your apparent IP address, Google's servers may think that you're in a different part of the world. Thus, it may present you with the Google page for another country.

Disable Java, JavaScript, and Flash

Even with your computer faking its IP address and your browser giving bogus header information, you are still subject to being tracked. These threats come from the supplemental browser technologies like Java, JavaScript, and Flash that give modern web pages their flair and functionality. Therein lies the rub. To completely cover your tracks, you'll need to disable these technologies, but this means that you'll lose some of the flashiness of modern web pages. That's why all of the pieces of software mentioned in this article can be quickly flicked on or off.

Once again, Firefox plug-ins to the rescue. QuickJava is an add-on that enables quick toggling of Java and JavaScript. QuickJava disables and enables scripts globally. Another add-on, NoScript , allows you to either globally disable/enable scripts or the ability to allow scripts on a site-by-site basis. The third add-on, for disabling Flash, is called Flashblock. Flash programs have been in the news recently in connection with wide-scale web-based hacking attempts. High-traffic popular websites have unknowingly been the victims of having their sites hacked. The hacked Flash ads have been hijacking personal computers with trojan horse software. If Flash is disabled using Flashblock, you'll have nothing to worry about!

Conclusions

So, you can truly browse safely if you are willing to do a little work. I truly hope that this article serves to protect your identity from prying eyes. Bear in mind that securing your network is another issue altogether and must addressed separately.

Disclaimer

The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only. Nova IT Services LLC claims no responsibility for the use or abuse of the presented information. By using the information, you agree to exonerate Nova IT Services LLC of any and all responsibility for outcomes that arise from your use of the information and that Nova IT Services LLC is indemnified of personal or professional losses that may occur as a result of using the information.