Surf in privacy without data logs
Are you wondering how to protect your privacy while surfing online? Know how to protect yourself online, what methods are available to you, and what precautions you can take yourself.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) don't make their primary profits out of the few dollars or euros per month that they charge their users for providing them with internet access. Instead, they make vast income from data - what's known as the new 'digital gold'. Unless you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Chrome proxy, your ISP can see and record everything you do online, from tracking which websites you visit, how long you spent on each one, even the duration you stayed on each page on each site, any streaming content you might watch, the type of device you're using to access the site (and its operating system), and, not least, your geographic location. ISPs sell that data to the highest bidder so that they can send you offers and deals via marketing emails or pop-up ads on websites you visit.
That geographic location facility can be key. It's all down to Internet Protocol addresses (IP addresses) – which are fairly accurate, usually to 'city level' so the website you're visiting can instantly know a region where you live. So what's the big deal about that? Dynamic Pricing – that's what. In short, if you go onto a travel website to book a hotel room or a flight, the first thing that the website does is look at your IP address. If you live in the Hollywood Hills, that flight you're searching for is going to be a lot more expensive than if your IP address indicates that you're a resident of a trailer park on the outskirts of Detroit.
The paralysis of analysis
There's a whole science around search analytics that is so complex, even Google's spokespersons in Silicon Valley have admitted that no one person can ever understand how those algorithms work together. You only need to get yourself a Google Analytics account and paste a snippet of code into your web pages to find out more about your website visitors than they know about themselves!
That's where the VPN Chrome Proxy comes into its own. A browser extension app (in this case working on the Google Chrome browser) acts as an encrypted barrier between you, your ISP and the rest of the entire internet. So when you visit that travel website, it can't tell where you live, and your ISP doesn't know where you are. It also kills a lot of the information that might be displayed about you via Google's Analytics platform.
Keeping the hackers at bay
There are many advantages to using a VPN aside from location anonymity. Another benefit is the detection of any malware or ransomware that might exist in any emails you receive or websites you might visit. Hackers can put trojan keystroke recorders onto your device just by you clicking a link. Many Apple Mac users have for years taken a lofty disdain to virus protection as they say Macs are way better than Windows machines – but they would do well to think again. The world has moved on and hackers have got better at cracking the security protocols of Apple iOS and OSX.
Nowadays there's also the added security risk to the privacy of your device from adverts on social media. Many Facebook users over the years have been complaining that Meta (Facebook's parent company) seem to do little to root out the bad guys on the internet who use Facebook ads as clickbait for ransomware and malware. Most people have probably experienced this – you see an advert on a social media platform for a product that you like at a price which seems too good to be true.
Too good to be true? Trust your instincts!
There's an old saying – if it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is – but nonetheless, intrigued, we click through and we're directed to a website full of pop-up ads, links to download 'useful' software (useful if you want your bank account emptied!) and all other kinds of spammy rubbish. Before you know it, your device security might already have been compromised. But using a Chrome VPN browser extension immediately blocks any suspicious files from downloading – in fact, the VPN extension can even kill your connection to your router in milliseconds if it detects a risk of malware. The bad news is that Meta have recently laid off around ten thousand employees, so you can't imagine they're suddenly going to be hiring any extra security people to detect and wipe out these malicious and fraudulent ads. Stay safe, don't click anything that looks too good to be true and get yourself a Chrome Proxy VPN browser extension.
Shadowy government surveillance
Finally, there's the thorny issue of accessing social media when certain repressive regimes and governments don't want their people uprising in revolution because they can find out what's really going on in other parts of the world. Spare a thought for residents of North Korea- they can't even access the internet at all, but there are places in the world where the local governments block access to Twitter, Facebook and such platforms by imposing location-based IP address restrictions.
Once again, the use of a VPN browser extension easily circumvents those geographical barriers by simply switching to an IP address in another country that can access those platforms. In short, there's absolutely no reason not to use a VPN Chrome proxy and a thousand reasons why you should.
