Protecting one’s privacy and security is far from easy while browsing the internet. After all, every single user on the internet is alone defending these assets against, on one hand, tech giants investing enourmous resources to target and track users, and on the other, increasingly professionalised cyber criminals.
“Privacy is one of the biggest problems in this new electronic age”
(Andy Grove)
Users are increasingly concerned about their privacy online.
According to research, 92% of Americans are concerned about their privacy when they use the Internet, while 46% of consumers feel they’ve lost control over their own data.
While legislation has rather patchily tried to improve protection of users personal information from being tracked, at least when the person’s consent is not explicit, it would be quite far-fetched to state that privacy is protected while browsing online.
Consumers data privacy concernsare rising rapidly (
source)
Why should I care about privacy when I am online?
Your data is valuable.
Personal data is often compared to oil —it powers today’s most profitable corporations, just like fossil fuels energized those of the past. On the internet, the personal data users give away for freeis transformed into a precious commodity. From birthday parties and puppies’photos we post or look at, to Google searches, to the decision of staying homeand watching a movie, everything we do is tracked by businesses whose existenceand motives you are likely to be completely unaware of.
Everything we do is tracked by businesses whose existence and motives you are likely to be completely unaware of.
Online advertising is a 300 billions/year industry and your online behavior is fueling its growth. Traditionally, cookies have been deployed totrack, personalize, and save information about each user’s session. Third-party cookies also track an individual's browsing history across the web on any sites that contain their ads (read more).
But browser profiling can be achieved without the use of cookies as well.
Google is experimenting with new AI algorithms like the Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), a new way to profile yourbrowser activities without the use of third-party cookies. In addition to cookies, as explained above, even information such as the fonts installed on your computer, combined with other data such as location and website visited can be used to draw a fairly specific profile of a user on the web.
Who exactly is spying on me?
Big corporations aren’t the sole actors you need to look out for. Increasingly, the threats come from public institutions and governments who also have learned how tracking us online can be useful to monitor and control their own citizens, and/or to target foreign countries' residents to achieve political goals. Criminal actors, from their end, are increasingly organized as professional entities that are extremely efficient at gathering information and use it to manufacture increasingly sophisticated scams that threaten our personal information and our assets.
Different levels, realms andsources of corporate consumer data collection (source).
Is VPN enough to protect me online?
Traditionally, users have been looking at VPN solutions to protect their anonymity online. A VPN works by using encryption protocols to funnel all your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel — avirtual private network — between your computer and a remote VPN server. This hides your IP address and secures your data, preventing others from intercepting it. However, even VPN solutions do not prevent other types of tracking such as cookies and browser profiling.
Interestingly, EFF has created a website showing how tracking and fingerprinting are possible without the use of cookies.
Should I use a “privacy browser”?
The Web browser you choose can have a dramatic impact on your overall online privacy.
The most privacy oriented browsers can protect you by automatically deleting cookie cache and browsing history when you terminate the session however, by blocking ads but for more advanced functionality, such as encryption or blocking plugins such as JavaScript, they also make navigationslow and end up making many websites practically unusable.
Unfortunately, while providing protection against profiling, privacy browsers might not be enough to prevent some browser-based attacks.
While providing protection against profiling, privacy browsers might not be enough to prevent some browser-based attacks
Can I be hacked when browsing websites?
Browser-based attacks can steal customer data, leverage an organization’s website to attack their customers or even to attack another organization entirely, and they can do so without the user being aware of it.
On average
30,000 new websites are identified every day distributing malicious code to any users passing by. Popular web hosting platforms like WordPress, Joomla and eCommerce websites can be exploited by making them host malicious codes.
Email phishing itself makes use of browser based navigation to induce the user to click on links that land them on unsafe websites in order to perform the attack.
What is a virtual browser?
A virtual browser works in a similar way to remote controlling another computer, but it is used specifically for websurfing. When using a virtual browser, your IP address, browser information and your entire computer are completely segregated. A virtual browser is like a “disposable browser” in the sense that your online activity, cookies, files, local storage, browser history, and extensions stay in the virtual machine. Compared to a browser that's installed on your own machine, a virtual browseris physically separated from your system so that no malicious file can installon your computer if you happen to visit a hacked website.
A virtual browser is physically separated from your system so that no malicious file caninstall on your computer.
How does Remote Browser work?
aims at being the most user friendly privacy and security solution on the market. No software or plug-in installation isrequired, and there is no need to change any system settings. When registering, a link is provided to you through which you can access the virtual browser directly within your own browser of choice.
No software or plug-in installation is required, and there is no need to change any system settings.
Disposable Browser
- A brand new system is created in the cloud every time a session starts, and all information is destroyed once the session ends. As a user, it’s like getting a new browser at the start of each session.
Network Isolation
- Prevents browser-based attacks such as auto-download and cross-site scripting. Unlike most endpoint protection software, such as antivirus, which get activated after the payload is downloaded on the machine, APLens prevents the attack from entering yournetwork at all.