How to Browse the Web Anonymously for Free

Do you wish to surf the Web anonymously as you want and for free? most of today's web browsers will let you surf anonymously whenever you wish, thanks to something called Private browsing.



Many users believe that their web surfing activities are anonymous, a great deal of identifying information is transmitted to and from websites that you browse. A history of the sites you've visited is stored on your computer even after you close your browser, and most websites keep logs of visitors' IP addresses and other statistical data. It's almost impossible to be truly anonymous online, but most of today's browsers offer secure browsing mode to give users more anonymity as they travel the web called "Private browsing".

Haere's how to enable it in major web browsers.

1. Google Chrome

Chrome's private-browsing mode is called "Incognito>>". On Windows, it can be found under the Tools menu on the browser toolbar, or in the File menu on Macs. Just select "New incognito window". The resulting window will be a darker shade of blue and has a helpful warning screen about scenarios where Incognito may be insufficient for covering your tracks.
You can also use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS) and ⌘-Shift-N (Mac) to open an incognito window.
For Windows 8 users To switch between windows, click the window switcher on the top right corner.

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2. Mozilla Firefox

Firefox refers to its private setting as "Private Browsing>>", which can be found under the Tools menu (can also be activated by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+P shortcut).
Unlike other browsers, enabling Firefox's private browsing will hide all of your currently open tabs and windows and present you with a new, blank window. Once you're done with your private-browsing session, the tabs and windows you opened before you started private browsing will be restored.

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3. Internet Explorer

Microsoft introduced "InPrivate Mode>>" in Internet Explorer 8. To enable it, just head to the InPrivate Browsing item in IE8's Safety menu. You'll then be presented with a new window. To exit InPrivate browsing mode, just close that window.

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4. Safari

Apple's web browser also uses the term "Private Browsing", which you'll find under the Safari menu. Select that option, and Safari will warn you that none of your history will be stored, searches won't be saved, and so on. Just click OK and you'll be in tv shows>> private-browsing mode. To turn private browsing off, just select the menu item again.

Tip: Some versions of Safari for Mac OS X keep a record of pages you visit in the Directory Services cache -- even when you're in private-browsing mode. Here are some clearly written instructions on clearing that data from your Mac>>. Also, to keep plug-ins from storing information about what you're up to, disable them>>.

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5. Opera

Opera offers a private tab within a nonprivate window or, less confusingly, a brand new private-browsing window. Both options can be found under the new Opera menu item under the Tabs and Windows options.

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What to do in older browsers and mobile devices
What if you're using IE7? Or Mobile Safari? Or an Android-based web browser? You can still cover your tracks, but it may take a little more effort.

Mobile Safari
There's really no way to hide what you're doing on the iPhone until after its already done. But since that's better than nothing, here's how you do it.
Click on the Settings icon on the iPhone's home screen and scroll down to Safari. Near the bottom of the Safari page you'll see three options to delete your history, cookies and cache. Touch all three and you'll have gotten rid of most of the evidence.

Android
Android ships with its own web browser that has a lot in common with Chrome, but it sadly lacks the same Incognito mode found in its desktop cousin. However, as with the iPhone, you can cover your tracks after the fact.
Head to your phone's Preferences, then delete history, cookies and caches.

Older Browsers
While it's obviously not as simple as a dedicated menu item, most older browsers allow you to selectively delete cookies, browsing history and caches.
For IE 7 and below, head to Internet Options, and start deleting everything you see there. Be aware this will delete all cookies, so you'll need to log in to sites like Gmail and Facebook all over again.

Warning
Web browsing is often not completely anonymous. Even users who deploy secure plugins and alternate browsers designed for anonymity can sometimes be tracked through the websites they visit or activities they perform online. If you post in chat rooms or on message boards, be aware that your comments may impart revealing information that defeats your efforts to surf the Web anonymously.

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