Anonymizer Private Surfing

Hi All,
I'm getting ready to buy ZAPRO and they have a bundle that comes with Anonymizer Private Surfing.
. is this program worth the extra 20 bucks or is there a different or better program to use......

Thanks

T Barb

 

Hi Tiger Barb !
Anonymizer Private Surfing provides "anonymous" web surfing. I believe it provides that service well.
However...their are other alternatives you may use to be "anonymous" on the web.
Luv2bsecure would be one of a few people to give you an "in depth" response.

regards,
bill

 

TBarb - I've pretty much given up on "anonymizer" services altogether - how do you know you can trust them?

If based in the U.S. (or perhaps even in other countries), I sincerely doubt there's a one of them that wouldn't roll over on you if presented with a court order ( if it even took that much).

The ones I've tried have seriously impacted surfing speed when on dial-up - this happened whether it was their own server you were going through, or any number of random, anonymous servers you can go through.

And when using random, anonymous servers provided from a list, you have to keep finding new ones to use. Additionally, you're using those servers without the owners consent.

To me, it's just not worth the effort involved - a computer that's properly protected while on the Internet doesn't have to be anonymous (not to mention the fact that your efforts to be anonymous might serve, contrarily, to bring attention to yourself). Pete

 

Hello TigerBarb!

Pete made some good points. However, there are valid reasons to be anonymous at times. I think I have stated this before, that in my opinion, if I were to use an anonymizing "service" it would, in fact, be ANONYMIZER. The reason is who started it and still manages it today - Lance Cottrell, right here in San Diego.

Other services may be fine - I just don't know them. I know Lance Cottrell. He has been a privacy advocate for years and is committed to privacy on the web. Lance is highly respected and is the author of MixMaster - the mother of anonymous remailers. Here is his biography - and again - as Pete said, it comes down to trust when using a service like Anonymizer:

Lance Cottrell, the president and founder of Anonymizer.com, is one of the world's top experts in the fields of cryptography, security, and online privacy technologies. Cottrell founded Anonymizer.com in 1997 while pursuing his Ph.D. in Astrophysics at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Mixmaster, the world's most secure and widely-used anonymous remailer. He was also part of the DigiCash API design team and has extensive experience with conventional and anonymous online payment systems.

In addition to his technical expertise, Lance Cottrell is a leading champion of privacy rights. Through the Anonymizer he established the Kosovo Privacy Project, which allowed individuals to report on conditions and human rights violations from within the war zone without fear of government retaliation. The project received tremendous media attention and emphatic support from Internet users everywhere.

Cottrell is a frequent speaker at major industry conferences including Comdex; the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference; the OECD; and the upcoming Global Privacy Summit with Vice President Al Gore. In addition, he has provided expert testimony on privacy-related issues for the Department of Justice and the California State Assembly.

Cottrell holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Master's degree in Astrophysics from the University of California, San Diego, where he left the Ph.D. program to focus his efforts on establishing the Anonymizer as the leader among Internet privacy providers.


That is his official biography and it tells a little of why I trust ANONYMIZER. Lance is real.

Best of luck!
John
Luv2BSecure

 

By Pete:

"If based in the U.S. (or perhaps even in other countries), I sincerely doubt there's a one of them that wouldn't roll over on you if presented with a court order ( if it even took that much)."


************************

Pete..

My friend you could not be more true........at this time I wont go into details......
there is also another thought to consider.....how many people even realize that these so called anom proxies are not bulletprooof.....the proper kind of trace will lead directly to the front door of the users......there is more to being truely anom than relieing on just a proxy........

 

Iceman,

Really you understated the concerns if anything.

Any service you use leads right to your front door - that's why trust is important.

Under the USA PATRIOT Act, an FBI agent can walk into Anonymizer's offices and get whatever information He/She needs with a "quickie warrant" from the secret court. He/She need not offer even an explanation. They can also gag the operator with a 120-day "no-talk" order.

Using anonymous proxies is just as risky as the system admin's have your IP when you logged in and when you logged out. Your ISP also shows what IP you went to beginning your "anonymous" session. Of course, it's many thousands to one that law enforcement is paying any attention to you unless you have drawn drastic attention to yourself. BUT, the gross violation of privacy from the PATRIOT act and other "executive directives" cannot stand.

While there is MUCH more to being "anonymous" on the net, these services and anonymous proxies CAN be of benefit. It helps that it is estimated that 40 million people are surfing the Internet at any given moment.

In fact, there are those who argue that if you surf from a fixed location, no matter what, there is no anonymity whatever you try to do. There is always a trail unless you are your own ISP! Actually, the best anonymity when it comes to surfing the web is using - of all things - library computers (some still don't require a library card and ask for no information). Also, Kinkos now uses a credit card system to bill you for your time at the terminal. Buy a VISA gift card with cash (available at many local malls), they require no name, no nothing. You swipe your anonymous VISA "gift card" and surf away. Of course, depending on where you're surfing there are risks to doing it in public.

AOL? Private? Well, yes. Now it can be. They now offer "pre-paid" accounts that you can pay cash for at Target stores. You must be creative about where you dial-in - but it's one of the few options where it's all cash - no name, address, etc. required.
http://www.aol.com/prepaid/

Not to make you even more paranoid, but, what if the library has cameras? All privacy is tied together - computer, financial, consumer, database on and on.
To maintain FREEDOM we must fight and fight for PRIVACY!
Freedom=Privacy
Privacy=Freedom

Did I actually recommend AOL?

John
Luv2BSecure

 

John

its your old friend here.......sorry for the name change...will be using several from now on.

actually its you who taught me so many rewarding things on encryption and anom......all of which has been greatly appreciated. an much of which is either un-realized or not accepted by the average user. Someone really needs to turn the light on regarding this subject.....its so mis-understood by so many.
I wont be around to discuss this....but stress that others should really listen to you....not just read and forget..

 

Thanks for the great replies and info,

I think I'll keep my extra 20 bucks and save up to buy somethings else.....(now if I had John here to keep me out of sight it would be a different story).......

Thanks again

T Barb

P.S. A big HI to Pete

 

Barb, before you spend money on anonymising, just make sure you don't take too much of a speed hit while surfing with it.
I have the utmost respect for John, and generally follow his recommendations, especially in privacy concerns, but I paid for Anonymiser for a year, only to find out I couldn't use it. I'm on 56K and it just slowed me down to a crawl many times. So much so it wasn't worth messing with.
And John, one other thing I did not like was that the button you could download to facilitate use of Anonymiser only works with IE.
There's two things I do not understand in the field of security. Why would ANY program, service, or website that was concerned with security and privacy, exclude using safer browsers and email clients, such as Opera and Poco.
The other is ActiveX. Why do Bank sites insist on using ActiveX?
Maybe with the advent of Opera 7 and soon hopefully, a safe version of Mozilla, coders for security and privacy ware will start writing programs to be used with the safer browsers.

 

Yeah but if it's encrypted they don't know what's happening.

Wow, you guys sure are paranoid. All i can say is, 100% security or annoymity is imposible to achieve. But you already knew that, otherwise, you wouldnt borther with antivirues, that don't catch 100% of everything.

 

yeah but's a whole different story and you can't cover everything in a post or two. i don't think people here are paranoid but are being safe. theres also ways to decrypt urls when surfing if your isp really wanted to. they are not really encrypted anyway but scrambled and thats 2 different things and a big difference. i dont know what your point was about the viruses. do nothing?

 

What about on cabel modem? Does the Anonymiser effect the speed?

You say that Mozilla is not safe? I have tried it. Where would I get Opera or Poco and why would they be safer?

Thanks,