How long are logfiles kept on Proxy-Servers?

Hi,

I have some questions regarding the logfiles of proxy servers:

1.I would like to know, how long the logfiles are kept on proxy servers. Does that depend on the Proxy's location (laws, etc.) or does it just depend on the admin of the proxy?

2.There are some offers like privacy.li who claim to make no log files at all. Is this true?

3.Is it possile to rent a server and run it as a proxy? If that would be possible you could have your own proxy without any logfiles at all (or does the server-providers create logfiles, too?) Sounds to good to be true ;-)

Greetings
BigH

 

It is totally up to the proxy admin how long they keep logs for - however many countries do now have legislation specifying minimum data retention periods, see Wikipedia: Telecommunications data retention for more details.

Making such a claim is easy, verifying it is not. Ultimately the only truly anonymous services are those where the operators themselves have no means of identifying users (Tor being the best example).

The ISP for the proxy would certainly keep logs and since that proxy would be exclusive to you (not shared by others), it would be easier for them to track your activities. However if you encrypt the traffic from your PC to the proxy, it can provide anonymity from your own ISP (who would simply see encrypted traffic going to the proxy). This can be a useful technique for bypassing their content filtering in countries that require it (e.g. many in the Middle East).