Thursday, May 28, 2009

Internet Privacy and You

There are many reasons a person might want to have Internet privacy when surfing the next. You might want to hide who you are when making comments, or be uneasy about the whole “Homeland Security” issue and feel like you have a right to protect yourself from spying eyes. Not everyone wants to be a hacker. Still, sometimes Internet Service Providers say they will give information to authorities simply if requested. In the US no warrant is required to acquire this information. So, it makes sense to be concerned about your right to Internet privacy.

The fact is ever since the World Wide Web came into being, there have been ways to surf anonymously, usually by using an online proxy server. Basically, you go to an anonymous proxy website and tell it the web address you want to visit by typing or pasting in the link. The proxy server then pulls up the page and shows it to you through their site. So, any info the visited website receives isn’t from you, but from that website. Any scripts, images, cookies or other tracking ware is blocked from access to your computer.

It sounds good in theory, yet every silver lining has a cloud and the use of anonymous proxy servers for Internet privacy is a double-edged sword. Your information may not go to the website you are visiting, but ALL of your information is made available on the anonymous proxy server logs, so even they aren’t completely secure.

Free proxy servers don’t encrypt data, so it’s there for any prying eyes with access to see and use. In the case of legal issues, your information could be turned over to the courts and consequently, you could be located. Not very good Internet privacy when you think about it. In addition, there’s the info left on your own computer from using the proxy server.

The good thing is there are a large variety of Internet privacy software programs you can install directly on your computer that can help you surf anonymously and get rid of the tracks you leave behind. They can also offer secure tunnel connections and rotate IP addresses to further increase online protection. Having these kinds of options depends entirely on how good the software you purchase really is once installed.

Again, this option for Internet privacy is for the ordinary individual who just wants to protect himself during his daily web browsing from the usual intrusions of scripts, cookies and malware. This is not for those individuals who plan to try to use this technology for any illegal activities. If you take that route, law enforcement will definitely make a concerted effort to find you. So, another good way to ensure your Internet privacy is not to have the government looking for you! Utilize your online time legally.

Take out the time to research the Internet privacy software that’s available. Read reviews and comparisons. The ordinary surfer will find them an invaluable aid to protecting both privacy and peace of mind.

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