Many people assume that if they are using a proxy service, they are staying completely anonymous. And that’s not always true, because it can be very easy to expose your identity online. You always want to learn the best and most effective ways to protect your identity, especially in today’s tumultuous online environment. Aside from using the best proxy that you can, it’s a good idea to know what mistakes to avoid, as those could potentially expose your identity.
Assuming the proxy connection makes you anonymous
It won’t prevent browser fingerprinting, cookie tracking, account based identification, device identification and behavioral analysis. In general, if you want to have online privacy, that requires multiple layers of protection. Don’t rely just on a single privacy tool. Use multiple ones and configure them properly. That will help streamline things and it will lead to a much better result.
Opting for a low-quality or free proxy service
The idea of an inexpensive or free proxy service sounds great, at least in the beginning. But the truth is that just because something is free, that doesn’t make it good. There are limits and obvious privacy issues. You have shared IP addresses, lots of downtime, a slow speed, bandwidth limits, not to mention no or minimal customer support, among others. These might be fine for a few minor things, but if you are in need of a reliable proxy service, then free solutions are not the stuff you want to go for.
Using the wrong type of proxy
As you know, there are different types of proxy services. There are residential, data center, ISP and mobile proxies. Always try to use the proxy service that matches your use case the most. Think of your coverage, reliability and connection stability. If you are dismissing these things, then it has the potential to affect you in way more ways than you expect, so keep that in mind.
Logging into the personal accounts
The proxy service will help you hide stuff, but if you log into your personal account, you can still be identified and your identity will be at risk. Services will know who you are no matter what proxy you are using. And that’s the misconception, people believe that the proxy service will protect you against such things. It won’t, if you log into personal accounts, that will be a severe risk you are taking, so use it as an advantage.
The same thing can be said if you are ignoring the browser fingerprinting. Modern websites are able to identify browsers based on their characteristics. Even if you change the IP address, that still doesn’t prevent browser fingerprinting. And it’s a challenge to try and protect you against that. Minimize the unnecessary customizations, as it will make it harder for anyone to figure out who you are, since the settings will be very broad and general. The more specific you get, the easier it is for the browser fingerprinting to identify your identity.
Leaving cookies enabled on your system
The role of cookies is clear, they allow sites to recognize a returning visitor. So if you have them on your device, sites can associate those sessions with a specific browser or account. It doesn’t seem like much, but the problem here is that cookies can make you less anonymous than you want to be. Hence the reason why it makes sense to clear the cookies often, use separate browser profiles and review the site permissions. Simple things like that will help, and it will give you a much better outcome than expected.
It’s also the same when it comes to forgetting about DNS requests. Those can expose information about the sites you visit to the DNS resolver. Verify the application’s proxy settings and use software that offers support for proxy-aware DNS resolution, where you can. And of course, you want to test the configuration after you are making changes, just to be on the safe side.
Ignoring the IPv6 traffic
There are proxy setups that only support IPv4, so if the device uses only IPv6, that could lead to your IP address being exposed. Naturally, you want to avoid that. So yes, you want to confirm that the setup can handle IPv4 and IPv6 traffic. If that’s not the case, then it could end up causing all kinds of identity exposure problems that you would better avoid.
Mixing anonymous and personal browsing
It might seem like an obvious problem, but unfortunately a lot of people end up dealing with this. The best possible approach is to never mix personal email with shopping, anonymous research, social media and so on. Keep these things separate from one another. It lowers the chance of people finding out all your personal information. And in the end, you just want to stay completely safe, which is much easier to manage in such a situation.
Not using HTTPS
HTTPS is important because it encrypts your traffic. So not having such a connection is a bad idea, because it exposes you to potential issues, and it’s better to just avoid that. It’s a great thing to consider visiting only HTTPS websites and pay attention to browser security warnings. Plus, don’t share any sensitive information over the unencrypted connections.
We also recommend not using the same proxy IP for every task. That will end up associating the IP with a single visitor, and naturally it’s going to be a tad problematic. The best approach is to vary IPs, just to be on the same side.
Conclusion
The challenge that comes with using proxies is that a lot of people think proxies automatically protect your identity. They are just a service to mask your traffic. However, a proxy is not going to protect your online identity. You need to use separate tools and learn the right actions to take online. Otherwise, it becomes easier for hackers to access your accounts and personal data. Use these tips above and prevent unnecessary mistakes, then it will be easier to protect your identity!
