Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

How to Prevent the Internet from Tracking You

How to Prevent the Internet from Tracking You

The internet is tracking your every click, every purchase and every "like." Here's how to go dark and prevent the internet from tracking you.

You are in a fishbowl, fully exposed to all the watchful eyes on the internet.

Big Tech has every click, every purchase, every “like” - going back at least a decade - cataloged and replicated across sprawling data centers the size of suburban shopping malls. Your digital history isn’t just for posterity, it’s for sale. And it’s valuable, fueling artificially intelligent systems used by groups such as political consulting firms to predict interests and behavior. It’s a highly lucrative bottom line: Google and Facebook, two companies that sell AI ad-targeting technology to the highest bidder, are valued at over a trillion dollars combined.

Most people don’t even realize they need to protect themselves, and even fewer know how. But it’s time to admit that the precautions you should have taken years ago are now just a start. Exactly how deep you want to go is up to you.


Step One: Protect Yourself

Large tech companies aren’t the only ones out for your data. Organized cybercriminals and rogue hackers trade known vulnerabilities to break into phones and computers for financial gain. On dark-web markets, “fullz” - a full set of personal information, including Social Security number, birth date, address - can sell for a few hundred dollars if the credit score is right.

The good news is that subpar digital security is one of the easiest things to fix. First step: examine every URL. Do you trust the site? Will it infect your computer with a drive-by download? Are you staring at an imposter page designed to steal usernames and passwords? Only install software from sites you absolutely trust, and run downloads through VirusTotal, a free service (owned by a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.) that checks for malware by running files through dozens of antivirus services.

To protect your growing number of logins, use two-factor authentication with every site that supports it, from Amazon to Snapchat to your online bank, and faithfully apply software updates to patch vulnerabilities. Enable full disk encryption – standard on Windows 10 and OS X Yosemite or later – which converts exfiltrated information into mumbo jumbo, making it worthless to prying eyes.

As a final precaution, revisit your passwords. All of them. Repeated names and phrases are a single point of failure; once cybercriminals break into one internet account, they have access to everything – email, social media, banks. Use a password manager like LastPass to generate and store strong, unique passwords. Also consider buying a physical two-factor authenticator, such as Security Key ($20) or YubiKey 5 NFC ($45) from Yubico.


Step Two: Avoid Detection

If you’re wary that Facebook manipulates users with AI to boost engagement, as critics charge, there’s a simple fix: delete your Facebook account. If you can’t quite take that leap, at least reduce your footprint on social media. Unfriend everyone you don’t know. Install Social Fixer to turn off Facebook’s AI-ranked posts and ads; the plug-in lets users choose from ready-made filters that strip newsfeeds of unwanted subjects (like politics) or keywords (“Putin”). If you want to do something similar on Twitter, try Larry Filter.

Even creepier: it’s time to worry about facial recognition. Today’s software can identify objects and people - not just who those people are but what they’re doing and how they feel doing it. Amazon Web Services provides image recognition technology to companies and developers on a pay-per-use model, and use of the tech is widely unregulated. One previous client: the White House.

You can opt out of facial recognition on Facebook, with one catch: the software has to remember you in order not to recognize you. Instagram is no better: photos posted there are stored in Facebook’s data centers, where the company pulls identities and context from the photos and stories. Next time you consider a selfie, ask yourself how much that like is really worth.


Step Three: Close the Blinds

Ditch Chrome for Firefox. Google’s business model depends on collecting and monetizing your data. Firefox is operated by Mozilla, a nonprofit corporation that promotes privacy.

Toggling Firefox’s Do Not Track setting tells websites not to track you, meaning ad networks won’t be able to spam you with ads for products you browsed on other sites. The catch: there’s no legislation or regulation requiring companies to honor this setting, and a website can ignore it with little or no consequence. The fix: a browser extension called Privacy Badger prevents uncooperative websites from using third-party tracking, while another called uBlock Origin uses customizable lists to block ad servers. Install both.

Also, it’s hard to hide from Google when you’re googling. Switch to an anonymous search engine like StartPage, Qwant or DuckDuckGo. The results are generated independently from your identity or geography since these sites don’t store personal information.


Step Four: Cover Your Tracks

It’s time to disassociate from Verizon, Comcast or whatever internet service provider (ISP) gets you onto the web. Most people do this with a virtual private network (VPN), such as NordVPN, which encrypts web traffic and assigns users a virtual IP address. This means no one can pin your internet use to a physical location.

To stay truly anonymous, you’ll want to purchase the VPN service through Tor, a group of volunteer-operated servers that let you surf the web anonymously, using a fake email account. Use a prepaid Visa card and a burner phone — preferably one bought with cash at a garage sale with cash.

You’ll also need your own Wi-Fi router, not the cheap one that your ISP rents to you monthly with your internet service plan. Get a Linksys WRT3200ACM ($179) or ASUS AC5300 ($245) — both are fast and customizable. No matter what you choose, pay for it with cash and bolster its defenses by installing DD-WRT, an open-source, Linux-based firmware that gives you additional security options.


Step Five: Become a Nomad


If you’ve completed steps one through four properly and practice good operational security, only a supremely sophisticated entity, like a nation-state’s security agency, will be able to penetrate your defenses. But there is a deeper level of impermeability.

To become a true nomad, untethered from any fixed position on the internet, you need to boot your computer from a USB stick carrying TAILS, or The Amnesic Incognito Live System. This replaces default operating systems, like Microsoft Windows or macOS, ensuring your browsing activity is both anonymous and immune from forensic discovery. Buy a USB stick with at least eight gigabytes of storage from a reliable manufacturer like SanDisk or Kingston Technology.

Still, a thorough scan of your network activity could identify a Tor browsing session — a way in. The only unassailable defense: make public internet connections in public cafés and libraries, and never return to the same location twice.

Then and only then will you truly be a ghost in the machine.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×