These 6 Browser Extensions Will Protect Your Online Privacy – TechCrunch

The Internet is not a private place. Ads try to learn a lot about you to sell your information to the highest bidder. Emails know when you open them and which links you click. And some of the biggest snoopers on the Internet, like Facebook and Amazon, track you from site to site while you browse the web.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We tried and tested six browser extensions that will instantly improve your privacy by blocking most ads and invisible trackers.

These additions will not prevent all kinds of snooping, but they will greatly reduce your exposure to most efforts to track your internet activity. You may not be interested in advertisers collecting your data to learn your tastes and interests in serving targeted ads. But you might be interested in that These gigantic ads can see it What medical conditions to look for and what private purchases do you make.

By blocking these hidden trackers from downloading, websites are unable to collect much information about you. Plus, by dropping unnecessary size, some websites will load faster. The trade-off is that some websites may not load properly or refuse to let you in if you don’t allow them to track you. You can toggle extensions on and off as needed, or you can ask yourself if the website is good at first and can’t find what you were looking for elsewhere?

HTTPS Everywhere

We are so compelled to look for that little green lock in our browser to tell us that a website loaded over an HTTPS encrypted connection. This means that the websites you open have not been hacked or modified by the attacker before they are loaded and that anything you send to this site cannot be seen by anyone other than the website. HTTPS Everywhere It is a browser extension created by the non-profit Internet group Electronic Frontier Foundation that automatically loads websites via HTTPS as they are displayed, and allows you to block a minority of websites that do not support HTTPS. The extension is It is supported by most browsers, Including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera.

Badger privacy

Another extension developed by EFF, Badger privacy It is one of the best all-in-one plugins to block invisible third-party trackers on websites. This extension searches all components of a web page and learn which ones it tracks you from website to website, then prevents them from loading in the browser. Privacy Badger also learns while you travel the web, so it gets better over time. It requires no effort or configuration to work, just install it and leave it for it. The extension is available in Most of the major browsers.

The origin of uBlock

Ads keep internet freedom, but often at the expense of your personal information. Ads try to learn a lot about you – usually by watching your browsing activity and following you across the web – so they can target you with ads you’re more likely to click on. Ad blockers keep them in their tracks by preventing ads from loading, as well as by preventing the tracking code that comes with them from being downloaded.

The origin of uBlock It is a lightweight, simple but effective and reliable ad blocker widely used by millions of people, but also has lots of detail and customization for the most advanced user. (Be careful with impersonators: There are a lot of untrusted ad blockers that use a similar name.) And if you feel bad about sites that rely on ads for revenue (us included!), Consider signing up for the site instead. After all, the free web that relied on tracking ads to make money was what brought us to this privacy nightmare in the beginning.

UBlock Origin works in ChromeAnd the Fire foxAnd and edge And the The extension is open source So that anyone can look at how it works.

PixelBlock & ClearURLs

If you think that the trackers hidden in the websites are bad, wait until you know what is lurking in your emails. Most brand name emails come with tiny, invisible pixels that often alert the sender when you open them. PixelBlock It is a simple extension for Chrome browsers that simply blocks the downloading and running of the open hidden email trackers. Every time it detects a tracker, it displays a little red eye in your inbox so you know.

Most of the emails themselves also come with tracking links that alerts the sender who clicks on the links. ClearURLs, available for me ChromeAnd the Fire fox And the edge, Sits in your browser and silently removes the junk tracking from every link in your browser and inbox. This means ClearURLs need more access to your browser data than most of these extensions, but their makers Explain why In the documents.

Multi-account Firefox containers

And a proud tribute to Firefox users who can benefit from Multiple account containers, Was created by the browser maker itself to help you isolate your browsing activity. This means that you can have one container full of work tabs in your browser, and another container with all of your personal tabs, which saves you from having to use multiple browsers. Containers also maintain Separate private private browsing Of your browsing activity. It also means that you can put sites like Facebook or Google in a container, which makes it more difficult for them to know which websites you visit and understand your tastes and interests. The containers are easy to use and customizable.