How to Protect Your Online Privacy with Ghostery Ad Blocker

Protect Your Privacy with the Ghostery Ad Blocker

Privacy is a fundamental human right that is often violated or ignored online. Many websites and advertisers use various techniques to track your online activity, collect your personal data, and target you with ads based on your interests and behavior.

This can expose you to privacy risks, such as identity theft, fraud, or unwanted surveillance.

It’s also why you need a reliable tool to protect your privacy while browsing the web.

In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to Ghostery Ad Blocker, a privacy-focused solution that lets you block ads and trackers and take control of your online privacy.

Understanding Online Privacy Risks

Online privacy risks are everywhere on the internet. Every time you visit a website, you may encounter different types of trackers, such as cookies, pixels, scripts, or beacons.

These trackers can monitor your online activity, such as the pages you visit, the links you click, the products you buy, or the content you consume.

Trackers can also collect your personal data, such as your name, email address, location, device information, or browsing history.

Advertisers or data brokers can use this data to create a profile of you and target you with ads that match your preferences and behavior.

Targeted advertising can have a negative impact on your privacy. It can reveal sensitive information about you to third parties without your consent or knowledge. Advertising can also influence your decisions and choices by showing you ads that may not be relevant or beneficial to you.

Specifically, targeted advertising can also expose you to malicious or deceptive ads that can harm your security or privacy.

Introducing Ghostery Ad Blocker

Ghostery is a privacy suite that gives you the power to block ads and trackers and much more.

It’s available as a browser extension for Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, and other browsers, as well as a private browser for iOS and Android devices.

This free ad blocker is open source, free to use, and supported by thousands of contributors worldwide.

Ghostery’s ad blocker offers several benefits for protecting your online privacy:

• Ghostery blocks all types of ads on the websites you visit, including banners, pop-ups, video ads, and social media ads. This can prevent advertisers from tracking your online activity and collecting your personal data.
• Our extension stops trackers from accessing your personal data and tracking your online behavior. This can enhance your privacy and security while browsing.
• Ghostery gives you full control over what you want to block or allow on each website. You can customize your blocking preferences according to your needs and preferences.
• You can also view detailed information about the trackers and ads on each website and decide whether to block them or not.

Installing and Setting Up Ghostery Ad Blocker

To install Ghostery’s free ad blocker on different devices and browsers, do the following:

1. Go to the Ghostery website and click Get Ghostery.

2. Next, you need to click on the download or install button and follow the prompts to add the extension to your browser.

3. Once the extension is installed, click Enable Ghostery.

4. Follow the on-screen prompt to pin Ghostery to your browser toolbar.

And that’s it! You will see a Ghostery icon on your browser’s toolbar.

You can also click on it to access the extension’s dashboard, where you can see the number of trackers and ads that were blocked on a page.

Blocking Ads and Trackers with Ghostery

Blocking ads and trackers with Ghostery is easy and simple. Ghostery is very convenient because it works as soon as you install it on your browser.

You don’t need to adjust the settings or make any changes to fit your preferences.

Managing Allowlists and Exceptions

Allowlists (or whitelists) and exceptions are concepts that allow you to customize your blocking preferences for specific websites or domains.

Allowlists are lists of websites that you trust or support and want to allow ads and trackers on them. Exceptions are lists of websites that you don’t trust or support and want to block ads and trackers on them.

You can manage your allowlists and exceptions in Ghostery by clicking Trust Site in the Ghostery panel.

Privacy Best Practices

Blocking ads and trackers with Ghostery’s free ad blocker is a great way to protect your online privacy but it’s not enough by itself.

Here are some best practices to maintain your privacy beyond ad blocking. You can use:

• A password manager that generates strong passwords for different accounts and stores them securely.
• A secure browser that respects your privacy and doesn’t collect or share your data with third parties. (You can see a few choices here.)
• Two-factor authentication whenever possible to add an extra layer of security to your accounts.
• Encryption tools to protect your sensitive files and messages from unauthorized access.
• A VPN service that encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address from prying eyes.

You should also remember to:

• Use a privacy-oriented search engine that doesn’t track your queries or show personalized results.
• Be mindful of what you share online and who you share it with.
• Use anonymous communication tools that don’t reveal your identity or location to others.
• Educate yourself and those close to you on privacy rights in different countries.

Online Security: Best Practices

Online privacy and security are similar yet distinct.

Privacy involves shielding personal information and online activity from unauthorized tracking, collection, or sharing.

Security means safeguarding devices, networks, and online accounts from hacking, malware, and compromise by malicious parties.

Safeguarding your digital life necessitates both privacy and security.

Follow these best practices to enhance online safety:

Passwords

Use strong, unique passwords for all accounts. Strong passwords are long, complex, and difficult to guess. Unique passwords differ across accounts. Password managers can generate and store passwords securely.

2FA

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA), as it adds an extra verification step to login, requiring a code or access to your personal device.

Even if hackers have your password, 2FA makes accounts much harder to access.

Limit sharing personal information

Exercise caution when sharing personal details and information online.

Personal details include your name, email, phone number, location, and birthday.

Personal information includes financial accounts, Social Security numbers, medical records and more.

These can facilitate identity theft, account access, and fraud. Only share such details with trusted websites and individuals when necessary. Doing this helps prevent leaking your personal information online.

Antivirus

Use reputable antivirus software and firewalls on all devices.

Antivirus software scans for and removes malware like viruses, spyware, and other threats.

Firewalls block suspicious connections and activity.

Together, they help prevent and detect malicious programs and actions.

Update your devices

Regularly update devices, apps, and browsers. Updates fix bugs, boost performance, and improve features. Critically, they also patch security vulnerabilities that hackers exploit to attack devices and accounts.

Install updates as soon as available, or enable automatic updates when possible. This keeps you maximally protected.

VPNs

Use a VPN (virtual private network) when connecting to the internet. A VPN encrypts all network traffic and hides your IP address, preventing third parties from tracking your online activity or accessing personal data, including your internet service provider.

When selecting a service, ensure it is trustworthy, secure, and aligned with your privacy priorities. An ethical, encryption-focused VPN can powerfully augment online anonymity, data protection, and access.

Best Practices Summary

Adopting these best practices helps shield you against cyberattacks. Remember, security involves more than just devices and accounts — user behavior and habits also play a key role.

Exercise heightened awareness, caution, and judgment in all of your online activities. Be vigilant for threats, judicious in sharing information, and proactive in utilizing security tools.

A combination of prudent habits and protective technology provides the best defense against the growing prevalence of cybercrime.

With a discerning, thoughtful approach, you can maximize both safety and your user experience.

Final Thoughts

Ghostery Ad Blocker is a powerful tool that lets you block ads and trackers and protect your online privacy while browsing the web.

It also helps you improve your browsing speed, save your data usage, reduce your exposure to malware and spyware, and enjoy a cleaner and clutter-free browsing experience without any annoying ads or pop-ups.

By using Ghostery as a free ad blocker, you can take control of your online privacy and decide what information you want to share or not share with others. You can also customize your blocking preferences for each website according to your needs and preferences.

Get in touch if you have any questions. We’re always happy to help.