Affiliate links are used in this post.
With last year’s NSA revelations and the Target/Neiman Marcus credit card hacking incident the question of our right to privacy gets brought up again and again. I don’t know what your feelings on privacy are, but I’ve been evaluating my own about it lately.
I know I would not be comfortable if I was selling something on Craig’s List to have them meet me at my own home. Giving out personal information to anyone over the phone is not happening either. And I’m very tight lipped about my comings and goings to anyone I don’t really know but who has my address.
On the other hand I realize that most ad agencies on the internet know exactly what kinds of ads to serve me up and target me precisely on what I’ve been looking for on shopping websites. Oh yeah those cookies have uniquely identified that my latest purchases have been for Tuscan Bronze finish bathroom hardware from faucets to towel rings.
To be honest I realize I’m a bit of a hypocrite. All the details I hold close and don’t share ‘in the real world’ is probably stuff that a good investigator or hacker could get a hold of online, because I don’t mask my IP, I accept internet cookies and I’ve done a fair bit of shopping at Amazon.com and HomeDepot.com lately.
When it comes to protecting our everyday details online, we have to remember that we’re being tracked on our browsing habits. For example, you search for a dinnerware set on Sears.com or look for a hotel on Holiday Inn’s website. Then ads abound on every other site you visit, including Facebook and your best friend’s blog targeting those exact same items or similar ones to get you to buy them. It’s actually a little disconcerting.
Some where out there your web activities are being tracked, monitored and recorded. The websites you visit, the software you download, your online purchases, and everything else are recorded and saved by your internet service provider.
I think it’s of great value to download the free VPN software Hotspot Shield to protect your privacy while you’re online. One of its many features is that it hides your IP address which allows you to enjoy anonymous and private web surfing. Each time you connect to the Internet with Hotspot Shield, you get a new US IP address to mask your actual IP address and surf the Internet anonymously. And Hotspot Shield does not track, monitor or record your web browsing sessions.
You can learn more about Hotspot Shield on their website, connect with them on Twitter and Facebook.
So go ahead get Hotspot Shield Now for Free to Hide Your IP Address & Protect Your Privacy!
Hotspot Shield runs on:
– Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
– Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
– iOS – iPhone/iPad
– Android 2.x and 4.x
While I am compensated by Hotspot Shield to share my experiences with it, the opinions in this post are entirely my own.