Dont forget about MIT OpenCourseWare. It’s comming this fall!
Ever wonder how to surf anonymously? I’ve got some tips….
“Browse with a secure anonymous connection…it can’t hurt.”
-unknown
I’ve always had these concerns and have put alot of research into staying
secure and private for free. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
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SECURITY TESTS:
You should use the following links to test your connection before you
use any of the services below. Pay attention and write down your IP adress,
it will be a set of numbers and look something like “11.22.11.113″.
Once you know have written down your IP adress you will be able to tell
when you have covered your tracks because the test sites will see a different
address.
Your IP Address
Shields UP!
privacy.net/analyze
PROXY SURFING:
Proxy surfing or proxy browsing is when you connect to a site through another
computer on the internet. Look at this like using someone elses car so that
no one catches your license plate. This causes the website you are viewing to
see an IP address that is not actually yours. IP adresses are unique numbers
linked to nearly every internet connection, they usually look something like
“111.22.111.1″.
A few free proxy browsing services:
www.megaproxy.com
www.guardster.com
@nonymouse.com
www.silenter.com
I Like Megaproxy becuase it uses e-commerce grade SSL Encryption…this means
that the data you transfer is unreadable to anyone between you and the site.
Try connecting from one to the other for an even more secure experiece.
MANUAL PROXIES:You may have seen the proxy settings in your internet options….this
is where you could put in the adress of a proxy server if you wanted to
go this route. There are lists of anonymous proxy servers all over the
net, but I dont reccomend them and here is why: You have no idea who owns
these servers or what activity they track. It is sometimes Illegal to
use these servers when they have been accessed without the owners authority.
OTHER SERVICES AND SOFTWARE:
JAP
Anonymity Tool – It’s a little complicated to set up, and their services
are down sometimes. Offers an extremely anonymous connection…definately
worth the trouble.
FREE
ZoneAlarm – This program is easy to install and will let you verify
each connection your computer makes to the internet and set up premissions
for programs to access the internet.
Cookie
Cooker- Use this software to prevent sites from tracking you by leaving
cookies (small files store information) on your computer.
– A utility to remove any programs that might be spying on your computer usage.
Spyware is embeded into many freeware and even some of the larger commercial
software packages.> Internet_Sweeper
- Use this to erase information that is stored in Windows and your browser
that refers to your computer or internet usage.
My Setup For sufing safely:
ZoneAlarm to monitor connections
Opera Browser with all java and history turned off
Opera set to delete the cache files every time it quits
Opera set to ask me before accepting ANY cookies…i usually DONT accept
them
JAP set up as a manual proxy for Opera
Proxy Surfing through Megaproxy and At LEAST one other http proxy site
Ad-Aware runs everytime my computer starts up to prevent spyware