Anonymous Browsing.

[securityseeker]

I don't know a lot about computers or internet security and that is why I joined this forum. But I use an Iphantom,,,partly because it is something that I do not have to know much about to use. It cost about $200 for the first year (I paid for a year up front) and it will be around $100 for the second year.

What I like about it is, it doen't slow me down, and I can take it with me when I travel and use it anywhere. Evidentally everything that leaves my computer is encrypted until it leaves the Iphantom Gateway, and anything that returns is encrypted until it passes back through the Iphantom on my computer.

After reading this thread, I called Iphantom and asked about the logs. He said that they do not keep logs, to protect the client because they undertand the need and desire for privacy and security. I asked about downloading music and he immedialtely jumped in with a disclamier that they do not support or condone any illegal activity. Then he said that if someone did download, no one could tell who it was. I asked if there was a court order would they comply and keep records of an individual. He said that since they are a US company they would have no choice, but so far this has never happened.

I don't understand everything about configuring it. But I think I know what I personally need to know. Here are the options to enable or disable: Secure DNS, Block Local Traffic, IPSec (VPN) Passthrough, SMTP Passthrough, POP3 Passthrough, NNTP Passthrough, IP Fragment Passthrough, Block Incoming Cookies, Block Outgoing Cookies, Block User-Agent, Block Referer URL.

They also have these options which I do not understand: iPhantom Port Forwarding and iPhantom Domain Bypass List

[ottocart]

Hi securityseeker,

I have been using a program called Hide My IP 2007 for several months now, they have very fast IPs and you can hide your IP with any appltication (not just browsers or programs that allow you to configure proxies manually). Their equivilant of the Ipphantom service is their Premium service, costing ~$85 a year.

A word of caution: When using an anonymous browsing/ip hidng service, be sure to use "company owned proxies" if you are trying to protect your online privacy. In other words, proxies that are hosted with the company providing you anonymous browsing. Free/public proxies could be setup by ANYONE (hackers, the government, etc..) and they can log your web activity, passwords, etc...

You can be safe by using services like hide my ip, ipphantom, anonymizer, kaxy.com, and a few others. I just prefer Hide my ip 2007 because its easy and lets me play use my Pary Poker account with a non-US IP. Hehehe

[thanatos_theos]

Just dropping by... Is this arovax smarthide really good? Can it actually hide my ip address and make me invisible while surfing? Is it like Zonealarm's stealth mode? If its that good then I hope it will be a freeware and standalone!

Cheers (^-^),
thanatos_theos

[dagger]

How are you going to use smarthide when they're not even allowing ppl to beta test it anymore?

[Genady Prishnikov]

Originally Posted by ottocart

Hi securityseeker,

I have been using a program called Hide My IP 2007 for several months now, they have very fast IPs and you can hide your IP with any appltication (not just browsers or programs that allow you to configure proxies manually). Their equivilant of the Ipphantom service is their Premium service, costing ~$85 a year.

A word of caution: When using an anonymous browsing/ip hidng service, be sure to use "company owned proxies" if you are trying to protect your online privacy. In other words, proxies that are hosted with the company providing you anonymous browsing. Free/public proxies could be setup by ANYONE (hackers, the government, etc..) and they can log your web activity, passwords, etc...

You can be safe by using services like hide my ip, ipphantom, anonymizer, kaxy.com, and a few others. I just prefer Hide my ip 2007 because its easy and lets me play use my Pary Poker account with a non-US IP. Hehehe

Hi Ottocart,

I generally agree that they are safer than open proxies, but not just ANY "company-owned proxy." They can be set-up as honeypots, operate for a year giving splendid service, all the while collecting all kinds of information and then -- just disappear. Stick with the ones that have been around for years.

[intsecguide]

Originally Posted by Genady Prishnikov

Hi Ottocart,

I generally agree that they are safer than open proxies, but not just ANY "company-owned proxy." They can be set-up as honeypots, operate for a year giving splendid service, all the while collecting all kinds of information and then -- just disappear. Stick with the ones that have been around for years.

This shouldn't be an issue if you're using a paid service and you stick only to the proxies provided by that same company. It may be worth checking whether they use any "third party" proxies or if they have complete control over their own servers, however.

Paul

[dagger]

The problem I have with these type of anonymous proxy services is any company can literally see you're using an anonymous proxy. No actual location is actually shown. Take Ghostsurf for example.

[Genady Prishnikov]

Originally Posted by intsecguide

This shouldn't be an issue if you're using a paid service and you stick only to the proxies provided by that same company. It may be worth checking whether they use any "third party" proxies or if they have complete control over their own servers, however.

Paul

Yes, it IS an issue. Anybody can setup a company like this. Just the fact they put a company name on it doesn't make it above board. That's why I said stick with the ones that have been around for years. I could start a company like this - run all traffic through my servers and keep everything. Shut down and disappear with a treasure trove of financial information collected from people thinking they could trust a "company."

[Perman]

Hi, folks: It all depends upon where these proxy servers are located. Some countries may have strict regulations to safeguard users' privileged information. I used to enlist this type of service, but not any more, why to take risks just to mask your own IP? IP may reveal a bit info, but hackers can not do any harm to you if you have solid defense lineups. Besides, proxy does slowdown your surfing speed. It is not a win win situation at all, IMO.

[Genady Prishnikov]

I'll say this - I was skeptical about Torrify's new service. (Makers of TorPark). But, I really think the guys over there are building a premium service that may be worth a trial run. Their privacy policy is airtight, servers offshore, and respected quality people. They will still have TorPark as the portable app to TOR, but also offer the premium VPN service. I like their communication and their openness about what they're doing.
http://www.torrify.com/

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