The holidays are here and many are opting to shop online for their holiday gifts, whether it’s to avoid the crowds or because time is running out. Online shopping is a convenient option, everything is almost guaranteed to be in stock, there are no lines and your purchase gets delivered to your doorstep. But, can this season’s holiday shopping come back to haunt you online?

Ad networks, whether via browser extensions or cookies, track your online browsing activities to target ads tailored to your interests. Some see this is as a good thing as you are only shown ads for products or services that would be useful for you, while others may think it’s creepy that the Internet knows about your guilty pleasures. The holidays are about giving and generosity, so your online browsing activities may differ from what they are the other eleven months of the year. You may be researching whether you should purchase a round or square shovel for Uncle Jack, who put gardening tools on his holiday wish list, or which game you should order for your daughter. Now, do you really want to have ads for gardening tools and games for kids following you around the Internet?

How to shop undercover

Whether you want to protect your privacy or simply want to avoid targeted ads that may result from holiday shopping for family and friends, Avast is here to help!

Avast Online Security comes with a Do Not Track feature. Do Not Track identifies tracking software and shows you a list of all tracking and analytics programs that are trying to track your online behavior. You then have the option to choose which tracking software you want to deny or allow to track your online behavior.

By denying tracking software, you eliminate your digital footprint and exclude targeted ads from following you while you browse. Most browsers do come with some form of Do Not Track, but they rely on HTTP Do Not Track headers. Avast on the other hand uses proprietary technology that cannot be overridden by servers.

Avast Browser Cleanup is another tool that will help ward off targeted ads. Browser Cleanup removes unwanted or poorly rated toolbars that could also be keeping an eye on your browsing sessions. Since Avast Browser Cleanup launched in February 2013, it has identified more than 40 million different toolbars, 95 percent of which have been rated as “bad” by Avast users.

Leave the tracking this holiday season to shipping companies and the post office, not online advertising! Avast wishes you and your loved ones safe and happy holidays (and shopping :))!

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