Browser Options

First of all I should perhaps clarify the two major types of privacy software that is available.  The first group protects your local PC and information stored there, this includes the web browsing history, cookies, local images and files associated with your internet surfing. The idea behind this software is that when you delete or remove these traces of your surfing they are not completely destroyed.  With the right technical skills it is possible to recover these details.    You'll mostly find this group of software focussing on evidence removal and destroying local traces of your browsing.

Before you spend lots of money on software like this remember that most of the browsers now have increasingly impressive privacy feature built in.  Read up about things like Chrome's Incognito mode for instance which supposedly doesn't store any data locally on the PC when you browse.

The second group of products in the internet privacy software market is those that protect your connection and privacy online.   You may not be aware but every time you use the internet absolutely everything you do is logged and can be traced back to your computer via it's IP address.  Every web request, every email or message is initially logged at your ISP (Internet Service Provider) - this is by far the most complete record of all your online activities.  Next you leave a record in every web site you visit where your IP address is also recorded, finally the vast majority of your browsing happens in clear text so it can be picked up, logged or intercepted anywhere on it's journey around in the internet.

The internet privacy software products  in this area tend to focus on one or two of these areas but you should really protect against them all.  Here's a summary of points you should look for

1) Encryption - if the product doesn't encrypt your connection then you all your details and browsing will be logged at the ISP (a proxy doesn't help with this)

2) Anonymous Proxies - to protect your IP address being logged by the web servers you visit, you'll need to surf via a proxy server.  Make sure the software doesn't just route your connection via a free anonymous proxy on the internet - these are extremely  unsafe and very often used by identity thieves to steal data.

3) Speed - often overlooked and another reason why you shouldn't use free proxies.  Make sure that there are fast private proxies that you can surf at normal speed. 

Hopefully this has given you an insight into some of the features that you should be aware of when looking to purchase internet privacy software, there are lots of options make sure you buy the one that's right for you.

About the Author:

If you want to see how the most secure browsing solution available on the internet check here - Internet Privacy Software. You can try the trial version of the software I use to protect my identity - Identity Cloaker. Anonymous Surfing protection Jim