Recognizing the Problem
The first step in surfing the net anonymously is admitting you have a problem. To do that, you need to take a look at just how much information about your system websites can collect.
AltaVista provides a simple demonstration of how much information about your system can be collected by a single webpage.
BrowserSpy can tell you all kinds of detailed information about you and your browser, such as the version of your browser and which formats it supports and doesn’t. Furthermore it can provide you detailed information about JavaScript, Java, Plug-ins, Components, Bandwidth, Language, Screen, Hardware, IP, Cookies, Web Server, and much more….
Privacy Analysis of Your Internet Connection gathers and displays basic information about your system, what operating system you’re running, your screen resolution, what sites you’ve visited, your general system setup, etc
Use Proxies
There are a lot of sites out there that list pages and pages of free public proxy servers. Here are a few of them:
Anonymity Checker
Check your Proxy
Once you’ve chosen a proxy, your first stop should be at a Proxy checker, double checking that your connection really is anonymous. There are three types of proxies: Transparent proxies, from which the host is able to figure out your IP-address through the internet, Anonymous proxies, which do not send the HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR-variable to the host, thereby greatly increasing your anonymity, and High anonymity, which do not send HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, HTTP_VIA, or HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION variable to a host. Transparent proxies are by far the most prevalent of free proxies available. They are very useful for circumventing firewalls, but practically useless for hiding your real identity.
It should be noted that there are additional dangers that come with using proxies. The foremost of those dangers is that a hacker might be set up expressly for the purpose of harvesting the passwords you use on the sites you visit. Before using a proxy server, you might also want Google its name and address to see if there are any reports of hackers using it. It’s also a good idea to only use a server that’s been around awhile, because hackers are not likely to keep a server long without being caught or shut down.
Other Software
The Cloak – The Cloak is an advanced proxy that allows you to store your cookies remotely, so that you don’t loose any site functionality.
Hide IP Platinum – If you’re willing to pay (or download via bittorrent) for software, Hide IP is a convenient tool of automatically finding and rotating IP addresses as you surf.
Tor – Is not software to be used lightly. While it is free, it has been designed and maintained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to address serious social issues, such as maintaining the anonymity of rape victims in peer chat rooms. It isn’t simple proxy software, either, but rather, a robust solution for maintaining your anonymity in all internet communications.
Don’t log into search engines
If you log into a search engine, you make it easy for that search engine to compile a comprehensive profile about you. Make certain that you aren’t logged into any Google or Yahoo software, including IM’s or toolbars while you’re searching.
Block Search Engine Cookies
Even if you’re not logged in, most search engines can still track your search history and associate it with your IP address. You can prevent his by simply blocking cookies from the major search engines, such as (and especially) Google. Do this in Internet Explorer 7 by choosing Tools, then Internet Options, clicking the Privacy tab, clicking on the Sites button, entering Google’s address in the box, and clicking Block. In Firefox, you block cookies by choosing Tools, then Options, clicking on the Privacy tab, clicking on the Exceptions button, entering Google’s address, and clicking Block.
Change your IP address regularly
Search engines can correlate all your searches simply by keeping an internal log of your IP address. This can be prevented by simply disconnecting your cable modem for a few moments before re-connecting to the Internet. Your ISP will automatically re-assign your address.
Use Search Engines that don’t keep Logs
The easiest way to prevent Search engines from compiling a log of your wanderings is to use search engines that doesn’t retain a history of your searches. The idea here is that if the government subpoenas your data, there’s nothing left for them to get at.
Send E-mail through Temporary Accounts
See my enormous list of free disposable e-mail accounts.
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