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=Easy=
Everyone should take the steps listed below. These will have very little impact on your browsing habits but will assist in disabling several of the most common methods used to track your behavior online. I do everyone listed below.
==Startpage, DuckDuckGo, or IxQuick==
*Search engines like Google and Bing keep track of everything you've ever searched for. Switch to one of these other browsers which promise to keep no logs of their own and foil Google and the others by aggregating search from millions of people. Startpage provides Google results, DuckDuckGo gets results from Bing & others, IxQuick provides results from everyone BUT Google. Try all 3 and pick your favorite. You can't go wrong!
=Medium=
These steps are a bit more aggressive and require a small change in the way you interact with computers and the web. They may take a little longer to get setup or have a steeper learning curve. However, after implmenting the changes listed below and getting used to the new systems you will find very little has changed regarding your capabilities on and offline. I run all of the suggestions below.
==Linux==
*Windows and OSX are closed source and when you use them you trust your privacy to Microsoft and Apple. Linux is a good alternative because many distributions are completely open source which means 3rd parties can vet the software and give you confidence that it is not gathering information about you and sending it back to Windows or Apple. In addition the culture of Linux is largely one of free as freedom and free as in beer. Therefore many of the tools and programs designed to work on Linux are inherently more privacy-centric (and often free!). Switching from Windows or OSX to Linux can feel a bit daunting. If you are a heavy gamer or you use a particular software package (that doesn't exist on Linux) heavily for your job or hobby this type of switch may not be for you. If you primarily browse the web and generate typical office documents (Word, Excel, Visio, etc) then you will probably find very good Linux alternatives to the software you typically use and a switch to Linux might be easier than you think!
===Distribution===
*''Not Ubuntu'' Ubuntu used to be my goto distribution. It was cutting edge and easy to use. Unfortunatly, Ubuntu has gotten too big for its britches and no longer respects its users as it once did. Ubuntu now comes with a "feature" turned on by default that is a user privacy breach. Using their new "Unity" interface any time you search on your own local machine a string is sent to Amazon to target ads to you. This basically means that Amazon knows everything you are requesting to run and all the files you search for on your own, personal, private machine. Therefore I cannot recommend using or supporting Ubuntu any longer.
=Hard=
These changes are much more aggressive and will manifest themselves as serious lifestyle changes and/or will limit what you can do online. I don't expect many people to execute these options. I personally do not.
[[Category:Privacy]]
