6 Ways To Increase Your Privacy Online That You Now Really Have To Read And Put Into Practice--If you Haven't Already

We are living in an age of transparency; and if you don't know that yet, a quick glance at the daily newspapers will give you enough material to chew on for the next year. 

The sad thing is, those born in the 70s and even the early 80s have a sense of what it means to live a life of privacy--prior of course to the internet explosion of the 90s and the surge of mobile technology in the first decade of the 21st Century. But now, we're in a new era, and privacy is rapidly fading into oblivion. 

Some of the tips below are more effective than others; and they certainly do not cover off all the various ways to reclaim a sense of privacy (and for every precaution there are dozens more snares). 

So what can you do to maintain a semblance of privacy? 

1. Get off social media: This is an extreme act, but if you're looking to retain an element of privacy, this is a sure-fire way to do it. You've still left a trace behind, for everything you do on social networking sites are recorded and stored, but you can stop the merry-go round and get off.

2. Disposable email addresses (DEAs): These are great to use, they are anonymous and you can dispose of the when you're done using them. One of the biggest ways to maintain privacy is to keep your email address free from spammers. Unfortunately, there are many sites that request an email address to proceed, hence the benefit of a good DEA.

3. Virtual private network (VPN): A VPN hides your IP address--that code that locates where you are while online, and runs all your online data through a secure and encrypted virtual tunnel, which is important for keeping your information private, and prevent websites from tracking you online. Some require a small subscription fee, so it's best to shop around.

4. Remove cookies: This is a simple procedure, and it certainly doesn't prevent your private information from being hacked, but it will prevent websites from following you around tracking how much time you've spent on a website, what you've clicked on, etc. You can remove cookies from your browser's preferences, but you can find other apps to ensure a thorough clean up.

5. Alternative search engines: The big popular browsers are not going to offer a lot of security (such as Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer) you can find alternative browsers that place a premium on privacy.

6. Avoid clouds: Many people put documents, emails, and other important information on the cloud (this will be the default form of memory storage that will in the next few years lead to the phasing out of hard-ware computers as we know it), but it's not safe. Who's reading your information? Where is it being stored? By whom or what? These are questions you need to ask yourself before you engage in any cloud storage systems.

There are many more ways to look into if you're concerned about privacy. The best way is to ditch technology altogether, but we are living in a world in which the ramifications of that outweigh the benefits.