Anonymous Internet Surfing - The Basics

Surfing on the internet can expose your IP address.  When your IP is exposed, so is your ID.  There's a lot of information attached to your IP - more than you think.  You ISP contains lots of data about where you live and maybe even financial data like credit card numbers and the like.  Especially on shared networks, you're exposed to things like deep packet searching where other users can spy on your data.  Anonymous internet surfing prevents this.On Your PhoneIf you're connecting to a shared network on an iPhone, Nokia, Android, or other type of smartphone you can use a VPN.  A Nokia phone that uses Symbian can use a VPN called mVPN or IKEv2, while an Android or iPhone can use PPTP VPN.  These are available from a variety of VPN services on the internet.On Your LaptopIf you connect to a shared network on your laptop you can use OpenVPN.  Other VPNs like PPTP, L2TP, and SSTP are also available, but they are a bit more for users that specifically need them.  As a general rule, most users can benefit from the anonymity of using OpenVPN.  It is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux systems.  Most VPN services have simplified the download process to that you don't have to have much technical skill to get started.Privacy settingsOnce you get your VPN set up and running, you're not 100% ready to surf anonymously.  You've still got to change the privacy settings of your browser and other software running on your internet device.  Delete cookies and browser cache.  Clear your browser history and auto-complete settings.  Delete temporary internet files and stop the creating of more.Connecting SpeedUnfortunately, this may work against your internet connection speed, and with the combination of adding the VPN connection, you may see some lag in your internet speed.  That's why its also important to stop other programs running at the same time to conserver bandwidth and RAM.ConclusionThough using a VPN is a good step towards anonymous internet surfing, it takes a bit of diligence to truly become invisible on the internet.  Your ISP, your government, and maybe even individuals are very interested in what you do online, despite what others may tell you.  Sure, they might not care about you individually, but as a whole, they would love to have control over what you can and can't do on the internet, and they would love to be able to keep tabs on everyone's browsing habits.