Most advertisers, in a nutshell, are cruel manipulators. However harsh that may sound to someone, that’s a simple reality. Advertising repeatedly hammers your subconscious mind with products that you seldom need. These products assure Success, claim themselves as Smart Choice, and try to pull you Emotionally until you hit the dreaded Buy. It all starts with a casual (Google) search. For instance, you searched Netflix and checked the subscription options. From that instant onwards starts the endless persuasion. Wherever you go, you will see Netflix. You will be swamped with the taglines like Enjoy on YOUR TV, Watch YOUR shows, and how incomplete your life is without that Netflix subscription. This technique of repeated reassurance clouds your judgment, and you end up giving your credit card details more often than you actually need. Similarly, I got this parting mail when I recently unsubscribed from a trial service that was indeed great but rather pricey for my budget. I was sold. It took me back to reconsider using them, a decision I was already done with when I paid for a competitor’s service. So, the point is not to get swayed and purchase what we really need. But we won’t be needing that conviction if we can stop the tracking cookies in the first place. That’s precisely where AntiTrack software comes into the picture.
What is AntiTrack Software?
The main purpose of AntiTrack software is to safeguard your browsing activities. It ensures you don’t fall victim to targeted advertising and your online privacy remains intact. An average web user is tracked throughout the web and often has a unique browser fingerprint. – Dr. Petros Efstathopoulos, Global Head of NortonLifeLock Research Group A browser fingerprint is a unique ID that consists of details like your hardware (display resolution, ram, CPU, etc.), software (OS, browser, plugins, etc.), and a few other things like your timezone. You can check your browser fingerprint at Cover Your Tracks. But don’t mix up AntiTrack with a VPN, ad-blocker, or incognito mode. Here are a few differences: Source: Avast Finally, AntiTrack kills the trackers without breaking up any websites. So, without any ado, let’s check some best (free and paid) AntiTrack tools.
Avast AntiTrack
Avast AntiTrack is a paid software that you can try risk-free for 30-days. This online privacy tool shields you against website tracking. You can also set it to clean your browsing data periodically. Besides, one can whitelist trustworthy websites to function normally. And you can improve your on-device security by restricting the installed applications to collect data about you.
Kamo
Kamo is from the same team of developers managing CCleaner, Recuva, etc. This tackles every aspect of your PC that can dent your privacy. It starts with the most used entities–web browsers. You can enable tracking protection for a specific browser or all. Besides, it can auto-clean cookies with a set schedule. Still, you can safelist trusted websites to handle your personal information. Its Private Connection uses a virtual private network, similar to traditional players like ProtonVPN. Under the hood, the VPN connections are powered by Avast Secureline VPN, which can also be seen with its antivirus and Avast One. Consequently, you can’t use Kamo’s Private Connection if you have any of Avast’s products featuring its VPN tech. However, the most important is randomizing browser fingerprint, which is used to disguise your identity as you hop around the internet. So don’t forget to try this all with the 14-day no-credit card trial.
AVG AntiTrack
AVG AntiTrack is a lookalike of Avast AntiTrack Premium. They have the same parent company, trial period, and features. Considering the degree of similarity, it only makes sense to try anyone.
Norton AntiTrack
Norton AntiTrack comes from the same stable as Avast and AVG. But, it doesn’t have a free trial. Instead, it comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Norton AntiTrack allows you to hide your real browser fingerprint, give tracking alerts and block them. But again, you should expect it to be a close cousin of Avast and AVG AntiTrack, considering their same current heritage and identical subscription plans.
Malwarebytes Guard
Malwarebytes Browser Guard is a free browser extension that you can start using right away. This extension assists you in blocking browser-related ads, malware, trackers and blocks downloading of potentially unwanted programs.
Privacy Badger
Privacy Badger comes from a non-profit organization, EFF: Electronic Frontier Foundation. It starts with sending Do Not Track requests to websites. Besides, it prevents hyperlink auditing, disables prefetching, and blocks tracking in general. You can also make exceptions for any website if you suspect a malfunction.
Ghostery Tracker Blocker
Ghostery Ad & Tracker Blocker is a freemium browser extension that shields you from online tracking. The free version has a browser tracker and ad blocking. The paid subscription adds themes for the extension dashboard, blocking history, and analytics. Finally, you can allow websites to go through normally if need be.
Conclusion
The last three options are free. So there is no good reason to ignore AntiTrack as a prevention measure. Conclusively, it’s about time you start taking your online privacy seriously. While these AntiTrack software can provide a private online experience, none guarantees 100% protection. So, stay abreast of best browsing practices in addition to using such privacy tools. On a side note, check our compilation of proxy browsers for better online privacy.
