Monday, November 8, 2010

Protecting Your IP Address to Protect Your Privacy

If you want to protect your Internet privacy you want to be familiar with what an IP address is.  It is a series of numbers assigned to you by your Internet Service Provider every time you connect online.

There are certain questions that come up when thinking about an IP address"

Q. Can I be traced because of my IP address?

A. Your IP address reveals merely the locality and name of your Internet service provider. Your ISP itself may own records of your laptop using their system at such and such a time, however an ISP will as a rule not disclose this information without a search warrant / court order.

Q. How long does an ISP store logs of customer IP addresses?

A. No one knows, but it might be somewhere from months to a few years. This is needed to check bandwidth usage.

Q. Someone on the web has threatened they can locate me due to my IP address. Can they do this?

A. Most likely they are bluffing. Unless you administer your personal server or live in the same building as your ISP's headquarters, a stranger can't locate you using just your IP address.

Q. Can someone discover my username or password based in my IP address?

A. No. Your ISP is the single one that is aware these details.

Q. Do my emails show my IP address?

A. Yes. To send email secretly, you will need to make use of an anonymous remailer or an anonymous proxy.

Q. What is a proxy server?

A. A 3rd party server used as a go-between by a customer computer that doesn't want to attach directly to the web.

Q. Can a proxy server offer me on line privacy?

A. Not if it is just a proxy server. A simple proxy server can reveal to our on-line world that it really is acting as a proxy for such and such IP address user (your PC), so you can nonetheless be traced through it.

Q. What kind of proxy server must I use to be able to surf anonymously?

A. You require an anonymous proxy server that is safe, trustworthy and consistent. You will most likely have to pay a price.

Q. How can an anonymous proxy server shield me?

A. Primarily through hiding your actual IP address and blocking malicious scripts and programs from entering your system. You might get a different IP address every instance you use the proxy. Additionally, some anonymous proxies claim they can't disclose your information even if subpoenaed (court ordered) because they don't store user logs.

Q. Are open proxy servers safe to use?

A. Not if you are serious about your safety and privacy. Numerous free proxies are either incorrectly set up, or owned by evil people who plan to use your data for their personal ends. Beware of using open proxies and anonymous proxy servers that will not allow secure connections. Furthermore no matter what server you make use of, always encrypt personal data.

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