We live in a digital age and equally an age where online privacy has never been more important. With sites like Google and Facebook gathering data on their users, hacking stories are common in the news. While it’s easy to check if anyone hacked your data, concerns remain about how uses of personal data. It’s crazy to think that people have access to your online activity at any time right? Wrong.
So how do you mask your online behaviour from those who you would rather didn’t see it? Tin foil hats and burning down Facebook’s HQ? Possibly. That’s one way to go, but for those of us who prefer to just stay at home here are some great privacy products and services.
Blackphone 2
Generally, smartphones are about as insecure as a teenager at a junior disco. SilentCircle’s Blackphone 2 is a different story altogether. Using its own silent OS, Blackphone aims to help users to maintain their privacy. All audio, messaging and video calling is encrypted. It offers the capability to avoid insecure networks and features its own fully secure apps. It’s also a decent phone, offering a full HD resolution, 3GB ram and 32GB of internal storage. You also get an octa-core processor. Now you’re safe in the knowledge you’re not sacrificing any functionality for privacy.
Check out the Blackphone 2
VPN Secure
A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a tool used to keep data private and secure on public or private networks. VPN Secure offers all the basic features of a VPN plus their SmartDNS feature. This enables you to set your own location and ignore bandwidth restrictions. It provides a secure, encrypted connection without saving any personal information. Also, it’s possible to use it on up to five devices. It’s worth mentioning there are many alternatives to this market leader. There are even some free online versions.
Check it out VPN Secure
3M Black Privacy
From the same company that brought us post-it notes and sellotape, comes another interesting innovation. This innovation is a little different from the others on the list. 3M have taken an interesting route on keeping your information private. They created a filter you attach to your laptop screen, preventing prying eyes from looking at your screen. The screen will begin fading to black from a 30-degree angle. As a result, 3M promise you is a crystal clear image while nosey onlookers remain oblivious to what’s on your screen.
Check it out 3M Black Privacy
TOR Browser
TOR may be familiar to some of you. It’s known primarily for allowing users to access the Deepweb and sites such as silk road. It might surprise you to hear is that it’s useful for things other than criminal activity. In fact, it has many practical uses for the everyday web surfer. TOR basically conceals your identity and online activity using onion routeing. This is a method of encrypting your communications and sending them around the globe at random. This was they are untraceable. It’s useful for those who want online privacy without buying the hardware. You’ll also find it used in conjunction with some of the products mentioned here.
Check it out TOR Browser
InvizBox Go
InvizBox is a real Goos3D favourite – we’ve written about it before. Invizbox Go combines the online privacy of a VPN all the while with access to the TOR browser. It’s made for those who want easy privacy on the go. With a simplified user interface and handy add on’s like a WiFi extender and power bank built in, it makes online privacy easy and practical. As another bonus, even with all of this, it’s also seriously compact. As far as privacy products and services go, this really goes above and beyond. Best of all, it’s an Irish start-up.
Check it out Invizbox
Anonabox
This company started as a combination of a Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns from 2014. Anonabox provides a top-level service aimed at protecting all aspects of your online privacy. Furthermore, this product is aimed more at the technologically advanced among us as it’s not as easy to use as Invizbox Go.
With several hardware options available at varying prices Anonabox has many different options to help you stay secure online. Essentially, Anonabox is a Linux-based device that uses the Tor network to scramble and hide all internet activity. There’s also the added bonus of allowing access to censored sites in regions where restrictions apply.
Check it out Anonabox