your privacy on the net

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
for starters, download this zip, get the hosts text file and place it in your systems (details at the html page) even if you use a linux or a MAC box you can use this file replacing the original 'hosts' file of your system. If you run M$ you'd better disable for good DNS client service. That file works. Works good, better than expected. Do it.

The REAL story:
a.You browse the net, happy as a clam, and you click on a page that you shouldnt have. You dont know that, you realize it after its too late.
b.You click happilly around and every click you do, somebody is watching. Actually is google, but I shouldnt say that. Having that hosts file, you actually 'ground' most of the tracking done by your favorite search engine. I would suggest to use BING.com, but I despise their existance so much that I cannot actually accept such a suggestion.

Even the great firefox (that I use on all my OSs - M$,Ubuntu,OSX) has a very close encounter with googly. Well, for the least of all evils, I still use firefox.

Always spoof your mac address. In m$ is simple, under the adapter properties, where you just dont enter the columns of the mac address and in linux ifconfig does the job nicely. Also all modern routers (with web interface, not the useless ones with the IOS programming wonna be language, charge the hell out of end user and take a week for something that can be done in 10 minutes - otherwise cannot justify the charge) have a simple window to leave as default or enter your own mac address. To be neat pick from here http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/oui.txt a manufacturer code, and add your last 8 bytes of any hex combination you like. Just be smart at the way and place you use them.

Dont use closed source or propriatery software and/or operating system. If you do, you'll paying tooooo much, be less productive, more frustrated and never learn how to use computers.
Its like saying that you visited the country side, at the time that you have taken the highway, went through tunnels as to get to VillageView or AltaVista or any name. YOU just drove to a place and actually missed the country side but the village you just arrived to.
If you dont want to know computers, just hire a technician/ help desk to fix/fill your menus. Its still cheaper (short /long run, in any way you see it if you actually count the beans)

live long and keep computing