IT Guy

PROXIES

Proxies-Just what are anonymous proxies and what do they do?

Quite simply, a web proxy allows you to surf the internet without revealing your true identity to the sites you visit. OK, what I mean by true identity is your IP address. This is a numerical value assigned by your Internet Service Provider that identifies your computer on the network. When you visit a website, your IP address is clearly visible to the sites logs and can lead directly back to you through your ISP.

An Anonymous Web Proxy acts as a middleman so to speak. This means when you enter a website address in your browser, instead of  your browser going straight to the website, it goes to the proxy with the request. the Proxy then requests the website, fetches it and sends it back to display in your browser thus allowing the website to only see the proxies IP address and NOT your own.

There are many commercial proxy services available. One that I recommend is called Ultimate Anonymity. This service provides its users several proxies to choose from and recently introduced a program that allows you to manage several proxies switching between them at will with a single mouse click.

You can check out all of Ultimate Anonymity's Privacy Software on their website. In addition to  Anonymous Proxies they also offer a cool anonymous email interface and a full array  of PC security software.

Doolittle

Anonymous Web Surfing

Being in the IT field for most of my adult life, mainly in large hospital settings I get asked a LOT of computer and internet questions. Just last week alone I had at least three different people in three different places ask me about anonymous web surfing and internet privacy and if such a thing was possible.

My first question to each one was "Why do you want to surf the web anonymously?", and not surprisingly each gave me a very different response.

There are many reasons one might want to be anonymous on the web. I myself utilize tools to remain anonymous to some websites I visit. Why? Because its a good thing to do. let me start my explaining that every computer connected to the internet has a unique numerical value called an IP address. this IP address is passed around quite freely by your computer. It is passed to each website you visit, it is included within the header of every email you send. Its available to those in web chat rooms and web forums. One first needs to understand that an IP address is a foot print that leads directly back to your computer. yes, its traceable back to YOU. Additionally, your IP address is the door or "gateway" to your computer. Someone with above average computer knowledge armed with your IP address can freely probe your PC looking for weakness without you ever knowing it.

Luckily, there are ways to prevent most attacks. A good firewall is one. this will prevent a hacker in most cases from accessing your PC assuming of course the firewall is properly configured and the right ports are closed.

Going back to online anonymity it seems wise that if a person or website can't "see" you then they can't harm you. There are commercial privacy services available that will provide you with all the tools you need to mask your real identity in literally every online protocol. One such service that I use personally is Ultimate Anonymity ( http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com ). I prefer this service because they have been around for over ten years now and provide nothing but Online Anonymity and privacy services. They cover everything from anonymous web surfing, anonymous email, anonymous web chat and forum tools and even offer a host of PC Security Tools including strong file encryption software, folder hiding, hard drive cleaning and secured anonymous chat programs. You can even purchase anonymous debit Visa cards to anonymously make online purchases from websites where Visa is accepted to save your real cards and eliminate any chance of identity theft (one of my personal favorites).

If you have ever thought about web anonymity or privacy then Ultimate Anonymity would be worth checking out. Have fun and be safe.

Dolittle