There is no such thing as complete, 100% security, and you can never be truly anonymous, but there are steps you can take to make data breaches less likely.
If you want to make sure your browsing history is virtually impossible to track, us the Tor browser or software. Tor protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world. By connecting to the internet via several layers, it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location.
Every time you search with a regular search engine such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo, your results are recorded into a database. Plus, when you visit any site, your computer automatically sends information about it to that site. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that protects you from this so-called ‘search leakage’, by redirecting search requests in such a way so that it does not send your search terms to other sites.
Another option is to use a virtual private network, or VPN. VPNs secure the otherwise insecure connection between you and remote resources. When you connect to the network through a VPN, the data is kept secured and encrypted. Plus, unlike web proxies, connecting to a VPN service allows you to access both web applications and websites in complete anonymity. Another added bonus of VPNs if that they can be used to bypass certain geolocked services abroad, like BBC iPlayer.
