How to Surf the Web Anonymously
3. Tunnel with Tor
We’re going to throw more adept stalkers off our trail by traveling on the Tor network. Rather than going directly from point A to point B, page requests made over the Tor network are randomly tunneled through a series of nodes before reaching their final destination, making it difficult to track you. But concealing your trail is only the beginning. Your data packets are encrypted along the way, and each relay point only knows where the packets just came from, not where they originated from. Furthermore, each relay point receives a different encryption key, so your data remains secure up until the exit node. If you’re worried someone might be snooping at the exit node, only use the Tor network for sites with end-to-end encryption, which start with https://.
To travel the Tor network, you must download a preconfigured browser. Formerly known as Torpark, the xB Browser (http://xerobank.com/) is built around Firefox 2.0 and requires no installation, which means you can also run it from your USB key. Just fire up the browser and start surfing. Because you’re hopping from node to node all around the world, traversing the Tor network can be slow, so when you don’t need anonymous access, click the onion icon to toggle it off.
4. Use an Alias
No matter how secure you’ve configured your PC, anonymity goes straight out the window if you slap an identifiable ID badge across your online forehead, nullifying everything you did in the previous steps.
When registering for a message board or an anonymous email address, be more creative than jHall73FL. Right off the bat you’ve broadcast your last name, age, and state of residence and that your first name begins with the letter J. The only thing worse at this point would be to list your home phone and social security number in your profile. Instead, pick a nickname that’s not personally identifiable to you. If you’re a female looking to fly under the radar, make no indication of your sex. Choosing HottieGamerGrl is a surefire way to invite unwanted solicitations and encourage stalkers.
Use different nicks and emails for different sites too, making it difficult for snoops to track your online activity. If you use the same alias everywhere you go, Google will rat you out to anyone willing to listen. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you’re posting on several message boards that would only be of interest to people living in a particular area, you’re essentially giving out your location.
5. Cover Your Tracks
It’s not just online stalkers you need to be worried about, but offline ones too. Now that you’ve secured your surfing habits, it’s time to hone your browser housekeeping habits to keep nosy Nellies from spying on your online activity. Get in the habit of clearing your browser’s cache and cookies. If you’re running IE7, select Delete Browsing History from the Tools menu and click Delete All. In Firefox, click Tools, select Clear Private Data, and check each box. Firefox users can also install the Stealther extension (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1306), giving you the option of disabling browsing history, cookies, and more.
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Tags: alias, Anonymizer, Browser, Firefox, Internet, IP Address, proxy, Tor, Tracks, Tunnel, Web, XeroBank
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January 2008 Popular Tips for PcTipsBox - TOP10 | PCTips Box on 01 Feb 2008 at 5:05 am #
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robert on 16 Oct 2008 at 12:10 am #
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