Keep that butt hidden!

I've been online since mid(ish) 1997. I've seen it grow from it's relative infancy to what it is today. And truth be told, I'd rather have the 1997 internet over the 2011 internet!

But this isn't about how the internet used to be or what I don't like about it, it's about internet and your personal security. I'm no IT whiz, so please correct me if you see something wrong. However I felt it important enough to share with you something I've always wanted to do: Protect my online identity towards "big brother" and other prying eyes.

I've used proxies off and on, depending on what I'm doing, which is never anything illegal of course. But I still like to keep certain information away from prying eyes. But I found using a proxy slow and painful. This doesn't have to be the case, like if you use the "TOR" browser. But it's still pretty slow.

I've now been using a service called "proXPN" which is a service (both paid and free) that after you install their VNC program, allows you to browse the net virtually unidentifiable. As I mentioned, it comes in two flavors, free which has a bandwidth cap at around 1mbps and the paid version which has no bandwidth cap. I just sprang for the paid option, which gives me seven days free and costs $5 for each month (or pre-pay $45 for the entire year). It's all through Paypal, so that makes me feel a little safer. No more hassles with proxies and something I can use everyday.

But thought I'd share the link with everyone on ATS as it seems quite a few of us are starting to feel like we need more anonymity.

proXPN.com...

I think most ATS users will find the free option great as it allows you to do the online basics like visit ATS. Hope this helps someone out and if I posted this in the wrong section please move it and forgive me.

P.S.
Before anyone asks, I am not affiliated with proXPN. Just wanted to share something which gave at least me a little piece of mind!

While I am a serious advocate of privacy and online privacy, I've been working the internet since I had to type everything into a dos format - and today's internet is VASTLY superior.

That's like your grandfather saying it was better without electricity cuz no one bothered you. just my 2 cents.

It's not about the tech, but what was found online. Back in the late 90's, I didn't have a ton of offers for free viagra. I didn't have to worry about anyone ripping off my banking details. That's what I miss, but then again this thread isn't about how the net has changed, but rather about proXPN and using it to at least try to cover your posting habits.

I'm not at the point where I'm overly worried about it but when the times come, I'll bookmark the link if I ever need something like that.
Thanks for the info.

Originally posted by pirhanna
While I am a serious advocate of privacy and online privacy, I've been working the internet since I had to type everything into a dos format - and today's internet is VASTLY superior.

That's like your grandfather saying it was better without electricity cuz no one bothered you. just my 2 cents.

I definetly have to agree! Today's internet is WAAAAAAAAAY better. I have access to virtually any album or movie that has come out and can have it listen to it and delete it before I could even go to the store and buy it. Not that I do that or anything...

There is no way to "hide" on the internet. If "they" want to see what you are doing, they can, no matter what safeguards you take, even if they have to resort to Van Eck Phreaking from a utility truck parked outside your house.

Making efforts to hide your tracks probably just ends up making you look like you have something to hide and would just get you more onto their radar.

Sure you can VNC into a remote machine and browse from that, which might make you feel safe. But what happens when they subpoena that company providing you the service for their IP logs? Oh look you also made payments to them. Now they have your financial info and just cause to request all your other info from your bank. So now just because you thought you could be anonymous on a network where every. single. device. your info passes through logs the access, you do something stupid and thanks to your excessive but futile attempts to hide, you now appear 20x more suspicious and much more likely to be investigated.

In short, I would not recommend doing anything online that you would not feel comfortable being revealed to your boss, your wife, your mother, the media, the cops, and the world at large.

Sorry if I came across the wrong way. I just know for a fact that many methods of being "anonymous" just do not work, and I have personally seen the backend logging on systems from cellular networks, to paging networks, to internet networks that all log things that you are not aware of, or that they can even be logged.

Truthfully, if someone is really, really watching you, it's not even safe to whisper something in someones ear. So unless you have information to send or receive that is valuable enough to personally deliver it in an underground bunker or faraday cage, just relax and go with the flow, you stick out less that way

I'm split on this.. been around since the early days, and seen the net grow and expand to the wonder it is today.

But to be honest I prefer the characters from back when I started, which certainly never gave me the feeling that I needed to hide and it certainly did not feel filled with the nastiness that todays net is, or the need to protect oneself from that.

But then again all the net is doing is reflecting our current society..

Originally posted by thoughtsfull
I'm split on this.. been around since the early days, and seen the net grow and expand to the wonder it is today.

But to be honest I prefer the characters from back when I started, which certainly never gave me the feeling that I needed to hide and it certainly did not feel filled with the nastiness that todays net is, or the need to protect oneself from that.

But then again all the net is doing is reflecting our current society..

edit on 19/1/11 by thoughtsfull because: (no reason given)

Yeah but monochrome and dial up BBS on crap-baud modems really seriously sucked.

HEHE!! My husband was reading over my shoulder. and he said he has one thing to say about the so called good ol days.. ascii p0rn.

Yeah, Id say that the new and dangerously improved internet has made it possible for zitty teen boys to not only start out young on every database known to man but they at least an idea of a womans anatomy that doesnt involve ascii and wobbly "animation" in lifelike green or amber monochrome.

OKay, its late, we're slap happy.. carry on with the evils of the new age internet.

Originally posted by Blazer
There is no way to "hide" on the internet. If "they" want to see what you are doing, they can, no matter what safeguards you take, even if they have to resort to Van Eck Phreaking from a utility truck parked outside your house.

Of course there is. Just not from your internet connection.

But I'm not just talking about "the evil government", I'm talking about search engines, companies, deviant websites etc. By using proXPN you hide your real IP. And yes, of course if the government really wanted that IP address, they'd get it. I highly doubt Google will be outside your door phreaking your info... again.