How to boost your browser’s privacy with DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials
Privacy has become an issue for nearly every person on the planet. Given how many people depend on web browsers every day for work, communication, connection, and entertainment, the security of those tools has become tantamount to the privacy of user information.
Unfortunately, not every browser is capable of handling security in a way that can keep our data out of the hands of those who should not see it.
What can you do?
Thanks to DuckDuckGo, there’s an add-on available for every major browser on the market, and it can greatly enhance built-in security measures. That add-on is called DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
What does DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials do? Here’s the shortlist:
- Shows you at-a-glance information on how much a site can be trusted.
- Forces sites to use encrypted connections (when available).
- Blocks nearly all trackers.
- Keeps your search history private.
If you know anything about privacy, you should immediately understand how important that list is. And if you’re not sure if you can trust your desktop web browser of choice, it’s time you give it a much-needed privacy boost.
Also: How to use confidential mode in Gmail to protect sensitive information
So, how do you add the DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials add-on to your web browser of choice? It’s actually much easier than you might think. And given the benefit you gain from the extension, this should be a no-brainer for everyone.
Let’s install DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials.
Installing DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials
First, you must open your web browser of choice. Once the browser is open, you’re ready to install.
Also: What, exactly, is cybersecurity? And why does it matter?
Let’s get this extension installed on Firefox. With Firefox open, point it to the DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials add-on page and click Add to Firefox. You will then be prompted (again) to Add the extension. Once the extension has been added, you’ll see a small green circle added to your toolbar.
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I’m going to demonstrate with Firefox. If you don’t use Firefox, here are the links for the extension for the most common browsers:
Let’s get this extension installed on Firefox. With Firefox open, point it to the DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials add-on page and click Add to Firefox. You will then be prompted (again) to Add the extension. Once the extension has been added, you’ll see a small green circle added to your toolbar.
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I’m going to demonstrate with Firefox. If you don’t use Firefox, here are the links for the extension for the most common browsers:
Let’s get this extension installed on Firefox. With Firefox open, point it to the DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials add-on page and click Add to Firefox. You will then be prompted (again) to Add the extension. Once the extension has been added, you’ll see a small green circle added to your toolbar.