The incognito mode is available in the majority of popular Internet browsers and many people are using this function on a daily basis. While some of the internet users turn on the incognito mode for entering several mail accounts simultaneously which can be done with such a function, others believe this mode can make them almost invisible on the net. For instance, many people believe they can surf the Internet at work and their employer will never be able to notice it as they are doing it with the incognito mode. Let’s look what kind of protection the incognito mode can really provide you with.
What are the features of the incognito mode?
The incognito mode definitely provide its users with better anonymity than one can count on while using the browser in a regular way. The incognito mode does not save a lot of information which is otherwise stored in your browser.
Turn the incognito mode and the history of usage the websites will not be saved. No cookies, search engine entries, passwords, cash, temporarily files or any kind of data inserted into the forms on the websites are saved. All of this information is normally collected by browsers in a regular mode. Yet, there is still a large amount of information which is collected by your browser even if it is switched to the incognito mode.
Actually, the majority of browsers inform their users about the possibility of other people being able to check their activity on the web although it is supposed to be anonymous. Such disclaimers are shown to the users of Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Still, some of the browsers will not inform you about this fact. Note that the browsers developed by Microsoft and Apple are among such programmes.
What is wrong with the anonymous mode?
Some Internet users claim the anonymous mod is useless which is definitely not true. There is nothing wrong with this mode. The problem is only related to the fact many users are simply not aware of its real capacities and they somehow tend to exaggerate the power of using this function.
Among popular misbeliefs about this mode of browsers is the being sure that even if one logs into the Google account, no browsing history is saved with the incognito mode. Many users are also sure, their employers and Internet providers will not be able to see the browsing history whereas websites will not be able to keep a track of your geolocation. There is even a quite sufficient group of Internet users who are sure the incognito mode can protect them from viruses.
Unfortunately, the incognito mode is not thus powerful as many people would like it to be. A lot of data can be tracked with your IP address in the first place which is still visible through the incognito mode. Anyone who can track your IP address will be able to see the information you are searching for on the web. This can be your employer, your Internet provider, an owner of the public place offering its WiFi to clients and many other people.
Another crucial thing is that using social media through the incognito mode will not protect you from them saving the information you are observing there. This information is saved separately by these services. On top of that, Chrome will start saving your data right after you inserting your logging information to one of its extensions.
Note that some of the browsers are creating a portrait of their users. Actually, such companies as Google have special methods for identifying each and every copy of their browser used. You do not have to allow your browser to save your browsing history or even log into your Google account in order to provide the company with information. The browser has special titles which can be used for identification which includes User Agent, ACCEPT, HTTP, Do Not Track. The parameters of the browser you are using, its extensions, the time zone of your operating system, the version and language of the OS are only a part of the information available to the Google team on the basis of which they are creating your profile.
Is it possible to make surfing safe?
If you are not doing anything illegal online, the major problems coming with tracking you on the web are connected with the fact you will be overloaded with targeted advertisements. Not only are they annoying, but sometimes they can even give some concerns about you to the other people with whom you are sharing your computer. If you want to avoid such situations, it will be better to use one of the options available to individuals which will protect your privacy more efficiently.
VPN which is a virtual network is useful for hiding the IP address by covering it with an IP address of a remote VPN server.
You can also try using an anonymous network such as Tor which will take your traffic through several layers of hosts before connecting you to the server of your destination.
Finally, you can try one of the extensions for blocking the identification of browsers if you want to escape from targeted advertising.