Useful tips
Content:
You may disappear, but do you need it?
What experts say
Delete old email accounts
No apps
What if you use incognito mode
Use platforms that protect your data
Find all the sites and apps you've signed up for
Delete social media accounts
What about deleting your Vkontakte page?
Set boundaries in your web browser
Beware of SSO
Remove your home address from all public records
Unsubscribe from newsletters
How to become invisible: the TOR network
Does it have any disadvantages?
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Is
it legal to use TOR and VPN in Russia?
Secure online payment
To erase all your data from the history of the Internet, you need to take certain steps, and some of them are far from easy.
It should be noted right away that deleting all your personal data from the Internet is a big problem.
The fact is that there is actually a lot of data, and all of it is located in different places.
Remember: someone (usually several services and/or people) is always watching and even recording any of your online activities. All this data is 100% undetectable.
You may disappear, but do you need to?
The network contains a huge amount of your personal information, which will be extremely difficult or impossible for you to live without in everyday life.
For example, imagine how much information about you is contained in banks, government and medical organizations. When getting rid of all your data on the network, the main thing is not to go too far, that is, to make sure that your actions benefit you, not harm you.
What experts say
According to security specialist Robert Siciliano, a person is quite capable of “disappearing” from the Internet, but in an informative post he warns that for most there will be no steps taken back. Once you delete your emails, for example, you won't be able to get anything back.
The thing is, you might need some data.
For example, the human resources department and admissions offices of colleges and universities often use social media to screen candidates. If you're not on social media, companies will think the person is using a pseudonym, or maybe they're not very tech-savvy. It is very important for universities and employers that people have a social media page where they can learn more about them.
But if you're sure you want to stop search engines and social media from finding out about everything you've been looking for and buying online, or if personal data has been stolen, here are some steps you can take take steps to erase almost your entire digital footprint:
Make sure you're completely erased from media intermediary services.
What is an “information intermediary”?
According to the law:
This means that this category includes hosting providers, ISPs, and administrators of all websites. However, site administrators are not always information intermediaries, but only if:
• operate in social media mode
• allow users to leave comments
• operate in forum mode.
What is the media intermediary responsible for?
The law of the Russian Civil Code states:
This means that he is responsible for the illegal use of others' data (intellectual property) on the same scale as any other responsible person.
These intermediaries never ask us for permission or approval to collect personal information, but they profit from it.
According to experts, there are firms specializing in brand management (Delete Me in particular) that will charge for annual “protection plans” and ensure that your personal data from information intermediaries.
Delete old email accounts
First, you need to remember all passwords and usernames to sign in to your old accounts. However, not everyone remembers this information.
For this reason, you should contact your email service provider to request information for your account. Some email providers automatically delete email accounts when they're not in use for a certain period of time.
But, if your old mail has not been deleted, you will have to log in manually to delete it permanently. If you've forgotten your password, you'll have to reset it.
Delete your old accounts even if you don't want to remove yourself from the Internet.
The information in your old mail can be a tidbit for identity thieves. Hackers could use this data against you.
Read also: Computer addiction: the internet of hell in our lives
No apps
This item is suitable for those who do not want to part with their smartphone.
We love free apps, but remember that downloading these apps is still a transaction where we agree to share our personal data with app developers, such as location information, for example, or contacts.
Once this information is provided, it can't be returned, and in the worst case scenario, it will be sold to other companies. Moreover, thanks to some apps, you can be monitored.
What if you use incognito mode
Even if you're using incognito mode (or private browsing mode) in your browser, this won't prevent your ISP from storing information about the sites you've visited.
To access the Internet, all data must go through your ISP's servers. That is, if you delete history in your browser, your ISP will still have all the information about your activities.
And depending on where you live, your ISP may collect your browsing history and all of your message metadata to share with government agencies.
Use platforms that protect your data
After deleting old accounts, if you want to continue using the Internet, experts recommend using a browser such as Brave Browser, as well as a search engine such as like Duck Duck Go.
These platforms are built with user privacy in mind, says Alexander Kehoe, co-founder and COO of Caveni SEO Solutions.
Find all the sites and apps you've signed up for
Shayne Sherman, CEO of TechLoris, offers the following steps to help you find the many apps and sites you've subscribed to over the past few years:
Look for the username you've used the most. You definitely have one that you've used the most times. Look for it in a search engine. You'll be surprised by the findings.
Look for emails that contain information like “Welcome to [site name].” Many sites want users to verify their email address.
Check your saved logins in different browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer. These browsers offer to store your details to further facilitate login. Check your browser settings to find what you need.
Check your connected apps. It may be convenient when you can immediately register on different sites (online stores, for example) via Facebook or Google with one button, but there is a big risk that these sites will flaunt yours personal data. Fortunately, if you're connected to these services, your social media profile or Google account has a list of connected apps, which means you can find all the sites you need, which may contain yours personal data.
Delete social media accounts
In addition to your phone, you will also have to completely abandon social media if you want to remain invisible online.
Social media are tools for collecting vast amounts of personal data.
You'll have to sign in to all your social media accounts to delete your accounts once and for all. All major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok claim to delete all your information as soon as your account is deleted.
While we don't know for sure if this is the case, it's actually the best we (users) can do. It may take several weeks to remove social media information before the same information is removed from search engines.
What about deleting a page on Vkontakte?
On the Vkontakte data protection
page, you can find information that states that after your page is deleted, social networks will store your personal data for some time. The storage period is provided for by applicable law.
According to the law (paragraph 3 of Article 10.1 of the Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection”), the social network is obliged to store all data of Russian users for 1 year, and personal correspondence within 6 months.
Set boundaries in your web browser
Start by deleting all cookies and cached information from every web browser you use. In fact, you will reset the browser to factory settings.
Then use your browser's cookie settings to let websites know you don't want to be tracked. This may cause some websites to fail, but at least you'll know you're not being tracked (officially).
Beware of the social media single sign-on feature
For example, Facebook uses this feature and makes it easier to log in to your account and other applications — just set up “Sign in with Facebook” and you're done. If you've ever used this feature instead of creating an account on a particular site, information collected and stored on those sites is shared with Facebook (or Google).
Given that social media sites regularly experience data breaches, this means that your personal data may be on more than one website. It's important to separate these accounts by creating a unique password on each site to make it harder for your personal information to leak.
Remove your home address from all public records
This is harder than it looks. Ideally, you should create your own business address and only use it. At the same time, you should stop using your home address.
This includes any bank accounts, credit card accounts, and even your driver's license. You will also need to inform some services, agencies, services or businesses that you have changed your address.
Unsubscribe from newsletters
Do you subscribe to any newsletters from online stores or news sites? Try not only to close your account on these sites, but also to unsubscribe from all newsletters.
Use ad blockers
This will prevent you from signing up for promotions, newsletters, and phishing schemes that collect your data and could use it against you.
Approach cybersecurity wisely
Be sure to use antivirus software and other software to make sure your laptop, tablet, PC, and smartphone haven't been hacked.
It's also worth changing passwords from time to time (email, financial accounts, and social media). At the same time, use strong passwords with different letters, numbers, and special characters.
How to become invisible: TOR network
This network is a highly effective tool that allows you to remain anonymous online. It is worth noting that TOR, The Onion Network, is a network of servers whose purpose is to route connections, which in turn hides data such as location and IP.
No one can find out anything about you until you share it yourself.
You can also create your own account here (using one of TOR's nodes).
Does it have any drawbacks?
There's one. When you use TOR, you automatically attract the attention of some services and providers. Despite the fact that TOR was designed for those who don't want to be tracked by ISPs, social networks, search engines, and other corporations, it can be used by ill-wishers.
The fact is that information from the Deep Dark Web (the dark side of the Internet) can also be found in TOR. This means that some attackers can use this network to sell illegal items.
Using a virtual private network (VPN)
VPN services fill in the holes TOR can leave. They ensure that no one finds out about your online presence. When a person uses a VPN when connecting to the Internet, the service masks their IP address, thus preserving the user's anonymity.
A VPN encrypts your personal data before you even log in. In addition, as a bonus, this service can add a verification key to the final connection point.
As mentioned earlier, if you're using TOR, at least your ISP will see that you're using that network. Therefore, a VPN closes this gap by ensuring an anonymous connection to the network without being able to track that you are using it.
However, it's worth noting that good VPN services are paid. The cost may vary, but the average is about $10 per month.
Is it legal to use TOR and VPN in Russia?
Since November 1, 2017, according to the law (Federal Law No. 276-FZ dated July 29, 2017), VPN, TOR and other methods of bypassing Internet blocking are prohibited, but with a caveat that the ban applies only to services that are not blocking prohibited content.
In addition, by law, search engines are prohibited from providing links to prohibited resources (the list of these resources is in the Federal State Information System (FSIS).
Secure online payment
If you want to remain anonymous on the Internet and do not want to provide personal information, it is better to pay with a prepaid card or cash on delivery when shopping online of the product. Unfortunately, prepaid cards are not very common at the moment.