The latest news about security breaches that affect services and platforms that we use continue to warn about the importance of protecting our personal information well on the Internet. When it comes to the companies we buy from, there’s only so much we can do (like Dell last week), as it’s up to them to keep the information they collect from us safe.
However, there are many practices that we can adopt on our own to at least ensure that we are browsing the Internet in the safest way possible, both from our laptop or PC and from our smartphone.
In this sense, there are some alternative platforms to the services that we usually use the most (email providers, search engines, maps), which protect our privacy a little more. privacy. These are platforms recommended by ESET, the well-known antivirus company. By using them, we can obtain similar results to those we would obtain using the services of big tech firms such as Google, Microsoft or Apple, but adding an extra layer of security. Below we will tell you what they are.
To browse with privacy
The browser you use on your mobile is probably Safari if you have an iPhone, Google Chrome or Firefox. Instead, you could try using these two tools from the Tor project, a browser that makes all Internet activity completely anonymous. By chaining proxies, tracking a user through the Tor network becomes much more difficult. Although at first it may seem that using it is more difficult than the best-known browsers, the truth is that all you have to do is download the app from the Play Store for Android to start using it.
If it still doesn’t convince you or you think it’s too slow (a side effect of how it works), you can use another tool called Orbot Proxy with Tor, also developed by this open source project. This is an application that encrypts the data traffic of the applications you use on your mobile. You can choose which apps to place under the Tor layer, so that you can enjoy the same service as a VPN but without paying anything.
Of course, as a user mentions, we must keep in mind that “for effective and fault-free operation, we must use some app resources such as app accelerators, remove battery saving, etc.”, so that our apps go as fast as possible. However, it is a tool to take into account due to its simplicity and reliability. There are similar apps in the Apple App Store, although they are not official from the Tor Project, and they often require payment of subscriptions to use them.
To search for information
Using the Google search engine will always be the most comfortable option because it is the one we are most accustomed to. However, there are many very effective search engines that treat our data confidentially, without embedding cookies, and without trading information about our tastes to offer us personalized ads. Some examples of alternative search engines are DuckDuckGo, Startpage and YaCy.
DuckDuckGo is a simple-looking search engine, whose operation is the same as that of Google, so it won’t cost us anything to start using it. It allows you to search without tracking, and you can use it in many different ways: as a desktop application, as a web application, as an extension for another browser or as a mobile application for Android or iOS. On the other hand, Startpage is a search engine that blocks price trackers, prevents the creation of profiles based on online activities and encrypts the computer’s IP address, among others.
YaCy, probably less known, is a search engine that requires installation on your computer. Its particularity is that it works in a P2P (peer-to-peer) manner, following a decentralized model that democratizes the control of information for all its users. YaCy may be somewhat outdated, being a project that already has a lot of resources, having been launched in 2003. Although more and more users have been joining its network, it is possible that its resources are somewhat limited compared to other search engines.
In any case, solutions like YaCy allow you to explore the web outside of Google or Bing networks. Its creator, Michael Christen, has developed other independent applications under the same philosophy, such as the anonymous tweet search engine Loklak or the offline personal assistant SUSI.AI.
Alternatives to Google Maps
Neither Google Maps nor Apple Maps. There are other applications that allow us to find directions and, although they do not have all the functionalities that the Google tool has, they can also serve our purpose without collecting data about our routes along the way. Some examples are OpenStreetMap and OsmAnd. OpenStreetMap is an open project, managed by “a large community of mappers who provide and maintain data about roads, trails, cafes, railway stations and much more throughout the world”, as stated on its website.
OsmAnd, for its part, is an offline mapping application, that is, without connection, which is precisely based on OpenStreetMap. This app can be installed on Android or iOS, and its advantage is that it does not collect user data, offering greater decision-making power over the data to which the application will have access.
Neither Gmail nor Outlook: alternative email providers
Developed by the Mozzilla Thunderbird team, another option to consider, K-9 is an open source Android email client, compatible with virtually all email providers. You can use it to gather the different addresses of Microsoft, Google, Yahoo or any other you have. Allows you to encrypt emails with GPG to ensure the privacy of your online communications. In addition, it allows you to use multiple identities and activate dark mode.
For more advanced users, Claws Mail, an open-source email client with a look and interface “designed to be familiar to new users from other popular email clients, as well as experienced users,” would be a considerable option. You can find out how to install it by following the tutorials available on their website.
