Change Your IP Address

Posts Tagged ‘Anonymous Browsing’

Since its foundation, Australia has been seen as a fairly liberal country, with an easy-going attitude towards just about everything. However, this is all about to change under the current administration, who are trying to push forward the Clean Feed internet filter for Australian internet users.

Private internet filters have been around for the last decade or so, but Clean Feed, if passed by law, would be the first national filter in the world.

We will look at the details of Clean Feed and examine its pros and cons and the potential fall out.

The proposal is a blanket censorship of thousands of websites deemed inappropriate by the Clean Feed body. This would replace the current practise of allowing each household to set their own censorship levels appropriate to the ages of internet users in their house. The kinds of sites being discussed include obviously sensitive material like pornography and drugs, but webpages discussing euthanasia, “inappropriate” political parties and over 18 rated games have also been discussed as being “RC” (refused classification). The idea is still being kicked around the Australian government, but current behind-the-scenes opinion indicates that the legislation is unlikely to get to a vote before the next general election.

The pros of this system are fairly obvious at first viewing. It aims to cut down on the amount of illegal material that is being seen and downloaded in Australia. By restricting offensive websites, younger internet users can be protected from entering sites that they didn’t mean to enter, or shouldn’t be looking at. The blanket ban on these websites removes the responsibility from internet providers and families for installing their own filters. These filters are increasingly easy to get around, and at a basic level can be simply uninstalled by a determined competent computer user, whilst a filter imposed by the internet provider and backed up by the government will be much tougher.

The Australian Labor Party minister who is campaigning for Clean Feed, Stephen Conroy, says that the filter will be carefully monitored, and regular meetings will be set up to discuss the status of controversial pages.

The cons of the Clean Feed filter are also fairly obvious. Campaigners against the programme call it “a kick in the teeth for civil liberties” and the filter has been likened to the 1984 Big Brother society, where the state controls what each individual is able to access. The general consensus amongst anti-Clean Feed protesters is that it should remain the responsibility of each family and each person to monitor their own internet usage, using their own moral compass for guidance as to what they should and shouldn’t be accessing. By allowing a higher organisation to dictate these classified sites, the general public are submitting to the moral standards of a select few non-elected individuals. The argument runs that these people are in no better and no worse position to choose what the nation should be able to access than anyone else in the country.

Another problem is where the line is drawn. In today’s increasingly sensitive society, where political correctness can cause situations to spiral way out of context, it seems unfair for the elected party to decide what counts as racism, or other inappropriate context.

Lastly, and possibly most damagingly, studies are being conducted into whether such a filter would actually provide any sort of protection. Claims that it would help tackle the rise in paedophiles using the internet as a tool for grooming have been rubbished, saying that most illegal communication happens privately, through social network sites and emails. Taking control of these would amount to a gross breach of civil liberties, and would constitute a criminal act by the government.

The potential fall out of a decision in favour of Clean Feed could be quite dramatic. Recent opinion polls have agreed with the notion of internet filters and making the web a safer places, but when asked if the government should be in charge of their internet usage, a large proportion of the interviewees said no. By pushing this legislation through, Stephen Conroy has the potential to kick up a hornet’s nest of angry Australians, which may cause the whole operation to backfire spectacularly.

As ever should Clean Feed ever get the go ahead our old favourite Identity Cloaker will be useful to break through the barrier and deliver a completely unfiltered Internet experience.

Too many people take it for granted that what they do online is private and protected, but the truth is that most people have data that is vulnerable, all too ready for sophisticated people to capture.

Even people who work on private networks are at risk, but for those using public networks the risk is even greater. Keeping data secure is crucial for anyone who wants to avoid the damaging loss of personal or critical business information.

The simple act of hitting “Reply” on an email is task fraught with risk.

There are many safe guards that can be put in place, but one of the most secure ways to protect your online privacy is by using encrypted connections when working through a private proxy server.

Encryption, in terms of moving information, is the process by which data is put through a complex algorithm which makes it unreadable to anyone who does not have the key to decrypt it. Encryption can be used to protect data on computers and storage devices and is the first round of defense for those wanting to keep their personal data private when working online.

Another weapon in the arsenal of those wanting to protect their online privacy is the use of a private proxy server. A proxy server is a computer or application that serves as go-between for information requests between servers. Requests can be for information such as a web page, a file download, or other services and these are made through a proxy server rather than connecting directly to the server that houses the actual data.

The proxy server has two primary purposes, one is to maintain anonymity of the computer behind it for security reasons and the other reason is to speed access to a data resource.

There are numerous types of proxy servers including a caching proxy, a reverse proxy, a tunneling proxy, and a content filer proxy server. All of these different type servers provide different functions and features.

Many public proxy servers will accept unencrypted information and this can create a security risk because the data could be collected and thus make it vulnerable. It is important that those who use proxy servers know the integrity of the proxy servers they connect to, which is why the use of a private proxies with a good reputation is advised.

In some cases, malicious proxy servers have been intentionally set-up to record all unencrypted data and this data can later be harvested and used by those that have captured it. The key to protecting your personal data is encryption and this applies whether you are on a private or public network and specifically when accessing data through a proxy server. Using an encrypted connection can provide a great line of defense against internet hackers who employ packet sniffers and other sophisticated means of capturing private data.

Who you are has become a precious commodity to identity thieves. For this reason, many people now shred credit card statements, order items by cheque again, and pay with cash instead of debit card.

However, they often forget that the same hackers who stole personal information from corporate and government databases do not have to go so far to gather all the information of your personal identity online.

Why is it important to protect your identity online?

1. If someone has your account information, researching your personal information can result in finding the answers to your personal questions. Finding your birth certificate can result in knowing the mother’s maiden name, or it could be as simple as asking that information of you at a genealogy chat room. Reading about your favorite sports teams could lead them to your most likely password. Reading your blog could lead them to know where you consider home to be, another common security question. Thus a little online sleuthing can yield the answers to the security questions that were meant to protect your accounts, and it is information we have often already made available if you do not take steps to protect your identity online.
    
2. Your online identity can provide the information necessary to perform identity theft in the real, financial world. Without your current account information but armed with your real information, they may learn enough from your online identity enough to pretend to be you in the real world. Your name, address, and phone number are easily looked up. A social networking site can provide your employer and perhaps even income verification. Information on where you shop, your opinions of credit cards, your online portfolio analysis – all of this information attached to your online identity can give a would-be thief enough information to fill out the necessary forms to get a solid Gold credit card with your name on it.
    
3. If you do not protect your identity online, it is easy for someone to gather all of your personal information and then pretend to be you. A former business partner who wants to discredit you through professional forums, an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend who wants to destroy your life online, all of the information to do can be gleaned unless you have already protected your personal identity online.
    
4. Spear phishing is targeted phishing with the goal of either hacking someone’s computer or eliciting information out of them. This may be done by foreign corporations wanting technical information from a rival firm. It may be done by foreign nationals targeting those with security clearance in the United States. If you have not protected your identity online, you have given these predators the ability to approach you wrapped in a protective cloak. Potentially worse is that you have an insecure online identity, and the phishing attacks of these entities can be done from your online identity, leading law enforcement and searchers to your doorstep
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5. Many companies now do social networking searches of potential employees. If your online identity is either less than perfect or easily made falsely slanderous, you will lose out on employment and consulting opportunities.

Thankfully there are ways to protect your identity online, and the use of anonymous browsing software is the first step we all should take.

The online world is one of two faces, the side where we find what we need, book holidays, save time with online services and generally enjoy ourselves. Then there is the darker side, where individuals and organisations are trying to infiltrate our lives without permission, steal our identities, money and generally destroy everything we worked hard for! So yes while we can say the Internet has given us many things, we must not discount the threats it has produced.

Being safe online these days is much harder than even 12 months ago, the methods deployed by criminals become more taxing and skilful by the day. The speed at which these new hacking techniques are being deployed far outstrips the speed at which patches are released for the software we are all using. Even the most respected browsers from Microsoft and Firefox fall foul to many a threat, despite their respective parent companies spending millions of dollars on development. It is therefore even more vital these days to be proactive in your attempts to thwart online criminals, relying on your free antivirus software alone is only going to lead to disaster these days!

Perhaps the most common, and most dangerous, system infiltrations involve key loggers and hidden P2P applications. A system compromised in this way will be working as a server, distributing pirate software or pornography to other users around the world. This takes place without your knowledge, and often with your anti-virus software still running! This is because the program has altered the way your Virus package works, so it reports it is working but really it is not. At the same time key loggers on your computer will record every thing you type, every login, every email, all your bank details will be recorded and sent back to the criminals.

Always ensure you are running with a software firewall on your computer, and preferably a hardware firewall on your modem or router too. These of course must both be setup correctly, if they are configured to allow all traffic then they are effectively not there!

Further you should ensure you are running a complete Anti-Malware package, this will cover virus, phishing, adware, key-loggers and Trojans at the same time, the better packages will include full firewall capabilities in the same package. Ensure you computer is fully patched, which these days requires you to be running with licensed software. Never use pirate copies of operating systems or Anti-Virus products, it may sound like obvious advice but it is amazing how many people trust their online security to the very people who do most of the hacking in the first place!

Finally install IP changing software with encryption technology so as to hide yourself online, as if they can’t find you they can’t attack you!

The use of anonymous proxy software is these days a well known method of browsing the Internet with some apparent degree of security, however it is perhaps not the safest activity you could do. Indeed under certain circumstances it is more dangerous to use anonymous proxy software than to surf without it.

What must you do to ensure the proxy servers you use are suitable?

There are a few things you must consider:

1. Does the proxy log your data and if they do what happens to those logs? Almost all proxies will log data, however a good proxy server will delete that data almost immediately. Any proxy run by people with criminal intent will not do this, in fact they will keep your data to work with for as long as they need.
2. Is your data encrypted? Most data transmitted over the internet is sent unencrypted; as such anybody who intercepts it can read it and extract information.

It is a fact that many free proxies are either servers which have been hacked or systems deliberately setup by hacking teams just to log the data of people who use the, as such free proxies are often very unsecure.

One solution is to use TOR, being an open source project these connections are generally more secure than those listed as free on general websites. However TOR is hard to configure for many applications and the speed is often so slow as to make it unusable. You are certainly unlikely to be using it to listen to audio let alone watch videos through!

A much better option is to use a premium proxy service well known in IT security circles, which offers fully anonymous proxy surfing and encodes your data with 256bit US Army grade encryption. The software runs either from your hard disk or even a USB stick, so you can take it with you and enjoy secure anonymous proxy software no matter where you are. There is no other product quite like Identity Cloaker available anywhere.

Every time you use the Internet you are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs which anybody can follow. Sometimes this trail can have a use, for instance Google use it to target local searches to you, or weather sites can automatically give you the weather in your area.

Equally every other activity you are doing online can be tracked, what sites you visited how long you spent there, what you did while there. If you want to enjoy anonymous browsing on the internet and protect your identity you need to find a way to use the internet without leaving this trail all the way back to your computer. You may think that this data is not important, after all so many people are on the Internet and most of them are running without protection.

Why run the risk of Identity theft, and financial problems of having your bank accounts attacked, or even having your Boss knowing what you looked at during the lunch hour!

Let us consider though the world outside of your friends and family you will find even greater reasons to use anonymous browsing, as there are thousands of people monitoring what others are doing. Looking for any information they can use, or weaknesses in security systems. Whether it is the ‘IT Geek’ showing off his skills or organised gangs and criminals looking for their next victim it is going on all around us all the time. In many cases we don’t even see it happening, there are thousands of compromised computers around the world whose owners have no idea.

In most cases basic virus software is not designed to detect such hacks, your best protection is to employ anonymous browsing, to effectively not exist on the Internet. At the very worst level it would be possible to find your physical location through your IP address, while not the easiest task in the world it has happened in the past, and will happen again in the future. Imagine a situation where criminals know who you are, what you have and where you live.

On a higher level governments around the world are slowly eroding peoples freedoms by forcing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to store and provide logs of all activities that take place.

Recent events in Australia have brought the issue up again, with plans to run a nationwide proxy service to keep track and effectively restrict people’s online freedom. In Europe ISPs are obliged to keep their data on you for 2 years, that’s two years of your life on store ready to be accessed as and when needed. The idea is of course to keep track of terrorists and extremists, however as usual it is the ordinary person who is inconvenienced, as no doubt any ‘bad people’ are already hiding their activities.

OK, enough fear how can you enjoy anonymous browsing and protect yourself and your family on the web?   The first thing most people consider is an anonymous proxy server, which is a server you connect through which hides your IP address and replaces it with its own. So while it is possible to find out the IP address of the proxy server if everything is configured properly that is all that can be found out. The information on what you did still exists, but there is no way to link it directly to you.

One of the WORST things you can do is rely on a free anonymous proxy server, have you considered the fact that many of these servers are setup just to collect your data?

If you are using a server run by dishonest people then they are directly collecting everything you do and, for instance, could be storing all your Internet Banking log on details, your Bank Card details, all your usernames and passwords, details of every site you visit and E-Mail you send or receive. In other words EVERYTHING you send and receive over the Internet!

I worked in IT in Russia for several years and know for a fact many of these proxies are setup with the single intent of capturing useful data. Is that what you want when using an anonymous proxy? I would presume not, however that could very well be exactly what you are doing when running an anonymous proxy you found through Google. There truly is no such thing as a free lunch, sure many people are running their proxies with honesty but how can you know for sure which ones?

There is a much better option; you don’t have to just guess which are the safe proxies to use.

A much better option is to subscribe to one of the most respected and unique proxy services available on the Internet today.

A service which not only allows you to change your IP but encrypts your data with the same encryption system used by the US military. Where server logs are deleted almost instantly, so there is no record kept of who you are or what you were doing.

Providing you with the most robust and complete anonymous browsing experiences available. No other anonymous proxy software offers anywhere close to the level of security offered by Identity Cloaker. Software so powerful and unique you can carry it with you on a USB stick and run it wherever you are:

• Visiting a friends house? No problem just plug the USB stick in and run the program

• At the office? No problem, as long as you can access a USB port you can activate the software and enjoy anonymous browsing

• School blocking certain sites? No problem, bypass the restrictions by creating a secure tunnel straight through their security

The uses of anonymous browsing are almost endless.

I highly recommend you try it out, there is a free version with very limited functionality BUT also a trial 10 day version for under 5 Euros which will allow you to fully test the software. After that subscriptions start at less than 7 Euros a month, with NO automatic billing and a 14 day money back guarantee. It is truly the most effective and unique way to enjoy anonymous browsing.