So, what exactly do you reveal when surfing the Web? You’d be surprised by how much you give away. Some things like browser settings are pretty mundane.

Making your browsing completely private isn’t easy. Your surfing is tracked for a number of reasons. But most often third parties are tracking you for advertising purposes.

Tracking is normally done through cookies stored on your computer. These little files are fairly misunderstood. Most are completely harmless. But there are some bad apples in the bunch. These are called third-party tracking cookies. This tip will tell you why they’re a privacy threat.  

Your own computer also tracks your surfing. No, it isn’t selling your data while you sleep. It uses this information to help you return to pages you’ve previously visited. But anyone who sits at your computer can see where you surf. This can be a privacy concern as well.

Pretty much every browser has a privacy mode. This blocks private data and cookies from being recorded in the first place. When you shut the browser, Web and search history is erased. IE8, Safari, Chrome and Firefox all include a privacy mode. Learn how to use it in this tip.