Let me tell you, technology leaves digital footprints everywhere. The moment we log on to the ‘net or start our phones, we’ve begun the process of exposing ourselves. There’s no hiding them once they’re out there. They are there for good, and you can’t undo them.

Some of us don’t want that to happen. We want the freedom to surf the ‘net without someone tracking our every move. We don’t want to tell anyone who we are or what we do when we’re doing it. It makes sense. People do it for many reasons, and they shouldn’t have to explain themselves.

Here are my nine basic tips for staying dark on the World Wide Web:

* Turn off photo GEO-location.

* Don’t use cloud services of any kind.

* Don’t use Google Maps.

* Don’t sign into anything.

* Use a private browser that doesn’t require sign-ups.

* Use an incognito browser that blocks advertisements and pop-ups.

* Use a VPN service.

* Buy and use a second, much older cellphone and SIM card (for calls-only).

* Switch off GPS.

I find my victims by employing these techniques (and others I’ve not listed). I stay well hidden by stopping those all-important traceable digital footprints from being left for others to find. But if you’re a garden-variety kind of stalker, what I’ve listed above will do the trick. You’ll stay dark enough that not even your mother would recognize you in cyberspace.

Ironically, these are the techniques that would protect others from us—if they chose to employ them. Fortunately, they are attracted to the romance of cyberspace eutopia. It’s a place where everyone plays nice all the time. Apathy and fairytales matter more to them than the truth, and that’s good. It keeps them distracted so I can do my thing unsupervised. When I get the opportunity to use it to its fullest potential, it’s like taking candy from a baby.

-Angelwanderer