How to Hide My Internet Activities on Public WiFi
By Ben Lingenfelter
Privacy on the web is a legitimate concern. When you do your banking online, send personal information via email, and save documents to web servers, you definitely do not want to share surfing history, site passwords or downloads with everyone else using the Wi-Fi network. There are some steps that you can take to minimize risk, but ultimately, some of your internet history is indelibly etched into your hard drive.
Maximizing Web-Surfing Privacy
Step 1
Use a Web proxy for surfing the Web at a free Wi-Fi location. When using a proxy, all that shows up on the router's history is the proxy site, not the sites the proxy allows you to see. Some popular proxies are go-between.me, cleannsurf.info and vobas.com. Proxy sites open up to resemble a search engine, but the text box in the middle of the Web page is for the URL that you would like to visit from within the proxy site.
Step 2
Surf the Web with Firefox instead of Windows Internet Explorer and use its "Private Browsing" feature. It is located in the "Tools" file menu.
Step 3
Avoid visiting sites that could injure your reputation or sites in which you leave sensitive or private information. Leave online banking for your personal, secure Wi-Fi, and just use the public Wi-Fi for more light browsing.
Warnings
- The sites you visit still exist on your computer, even after you delete your history and make every effort to keep everything private. A skilled computer technician could find your browsing history. Only a complete system install will wipe it away.
Writer Bio
Ben Lingenfelter is a teacher and writer. A graduate of Calvin College, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and has completed graduate work in leadership. Lingenfelter has taught English, computer applications, Web design and graphic design since 1996.