FRIHOST • FORUMS • FAQ • TOS • BLOGS • DIRECTORY
You are invited to Log in or Register a Frihost Account!

Tutorial on Anonymous Surfing

   Frihost Forum Index -> Computers -> Software
 


vineeth
GUIDE TO ANONYMOUS SURFING
By Vineeth Mohan


Whoever you are, privacy is your right!

It is your right to keep your identity private but most of the internet users don't aware that a lot of personally identifiable information about them are being send to the web server every time they access a website. The most basic data being send are following

1. IP address of your computer
2. Browser information
3. Operating system details
4. Cookie information

Many of such information are used by web server to send personalized content that matches your browsing environment. But there are times when the best could turn worst! What if your IP address, email address and browsing habits are send to an online marketing company? You will be flooded with tons emails in a few days.

It is possible to browse anonymously on the internet, without sending any of your personally identifiable information using a technology called proxy access. This, when coupled with a good firewall software makes your connection almost perfectly secure.

The proxy technology
Proxies are just like post offices. When you are sending a letter to another person, the post office receives it first. Then it reads the address information and sends it to the correct address. If the other persons responds, the same post office receives his letter and delivers to your address. The same way, proxy server is a post office between your computer and a web server. When you are requesting for a website, say Wikipedia, the request goes to the proxy server instead of going directly to Wikipedia servers. Proxy then reads the site you want to access and receives data from that site on your behalf and sends it to your browser. Thus never accessed Wikipedia directly but this was done by the proxy really. They do not provide anyone with your IP address and effectively hide any information about you and your reading interests. Besides that, they don’t even let anyone know that you are surfing through a proxyserver.

Another sophisticated method that uses multiple proxies are also available. In this, one proxy sends website request to another proxy, instead of directly accessing a web server. The second proxy may send it to another one and so on, making the route more complex. Finally the web server returns the web page through these proxies to the browser. This method has a legal advantage also. In some countries, the law allows any investigating officer to ask for access details from any internet company. If you are using multiple proxies, you are accessing a website through different countries and its hard to trace the route, if at least one proxy is located in a country without such a law.

Types of anonymous access

Anonymous proxy
This is the type of choice for being anonymous on the internet. Such proxies will not send any data received from your browser to the web server instead it makes another request and send content back to your browser. Destination web server cannot read cookies on your computer and your browsing habits cannot be traced. Most anonymous proxies filters scripts like VBScript, Java Script etc which is optional in most of the cases. Some anonymous proxies uses encryption technologies making data transfer even more secure.

Online web based proxy (CGI Proxy)
This types of proxy servies are available as a website with a form to enter the URL of site you want to visit. Then the proxy fetches the page for you and sends to your browser.
Eg: Anonymouse, Proxify

Anonymous Proxy software
Some software can be installed on your local machine which acts as a local proxy to access the internet. These software receives the website request from your browser and sends these request through hundreds of proxies on the internet. Your browser have to be configured to use the port specifications of the software you are using to be anonymous.
Eg: Anonymizer

Proxy List
Some websites hosts a list of proxies (anonymous and open) which you can use to configure your proxy software.

How to browse anonymous from your computer for free
You could use any of the methods described above. The simplest method is to use an online anonymous proxy such as Proxify. The disadvantage of this method is that you have to access Proxify first all the time and enter the site you want to go to. Another easy way is to use a freeware or paid anonymous proxy software client like Zilla free anonymous surfer or Anonymizer. A list of these products are given at the end of this tutorial.

Role of Firewall in anonymity
A firewall is protects a computer from hacking attempts and other unwanted connection requests like port scanning. Installing a personal firewall will act as another layer of security.

How to check whether I am anonymous or not?
It is essential to verify that you are really anonymous before using a proxy method. For this you can visit http://ip-address.domaintools.com/ without using any proxy and save the page produced. Then use your proxy system and visit the site again and save the page. Compare the two. Your IP address, location and browser details should be different in the second page.

Legal implications
Some countries prevents access to websites through anonymous proxies by law. It could be illegal to use these systems in such countries.

Resources
Proxy software
Zilla free anonymous surfer (FREEWARE)
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/U...us_Surfer.html
Anonymizer
http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/products/
Proxyway
http://www.proxyway.com/

Proxy List
http://www.samair.ru/proxy/
http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html

Online anonymous proxy
Proxify
http://proxify.com/
Anonymouse
http://www.anonymouse.org
jipmerite
Nice that you took time to write this. I myself have wondered how it can be done. Sometimes I just want to visit some (political) blogs and place comments anonymously. As you know, even in a comment on a wordpress blog the IP address is noted down.
Kamo
Well even with those there is always a way to track you down if really needed. But for usual usage it's a good solution if you want to work anonymously on some blogs for example.
Thx for the guide. I'll check this myself now.
lethaltriad
Nice write up. I used to use proxies along time ago when I wanted to surf annonymously. Havent used them in a while though since I hardly have the need and they do slow down surfing speeds quite a bit. Info is always good to have though incase the need arises. I used to use Multiproxy btw, it was a lil program that you can load up a proxy list in it and it randomizes the proxies each time u visit a different website.
ronaldallan.mojica
hello i want to add if you want to create and earn money using proxies try to visit proxybuilder you will have many lots of tips and resources there.
otiscom
Proxies can't work!

Your IP sevice provider allways knows your IP, they have to.

It may take a little longer to trace you, but traced you will (and should) be.

If proxies did work child mollesters would'nt get caught dowloading (or uploading) child porn.
djclue917
You may also use Tor (which basically means "The Onion Router"). It's cross-platform so you can use it in Windows, Linux, etc. I have been maintaining an Arch Linux package of Tork which basically started out as a Tor front-end but gradually became an "anonymity manager" in the process. It is based on KDE3 and you can easily use it in Linux. A Windows version would also be possible if the Tork author has the time to port Tork to KDE4.

On the other hand, one can use JAP (Java Anon Proxy), obviously, a kind of an anonymous proxy server. Currently, the use of JAP is free. But sometime in the future, a payment system would be implemented since the funds have already run out but the server costs are not free.
{name here}
otiscom wrote:
Proxies can't work!

Your IP sevice provider allways knows your IP, they have to.

It may take a little longer to trace you, but traced you will (and should) be.

If proxies did work child mollesters would'nt get caught dowloading (or uploading) child porn.

At this point most service providers don't actually assign you a unique IP address. With the ever shrinking pool of IPv4 addresses, many providers just lump people onto several different dynamic addresses. An IP by itself isn't credible evidence due to this. Add in wireless networking and you can be nearly completely off the hook if it wasn't for some other nasty tricks: MAC Addresses (which are MUCH more solid than IP addresses, though much more easily forgeable), and access logs, but not every ISP keeps permanant access logs or even keeps access logs at all. With a little more evidence such as a username, you can be imprisioned for illegal activity.

As for the issue of child molesters getting caught, that has nothing to do with their IP address. Those people get caught (mostly, and stupidly), by either posting pictures of themselves or trying to visit the child they have had contact with only to arrive in a police ambush. Where they upload, they have no worries of being caught unless doing it in torrents or other higher level activities.

If you want real anonymity, don't use a proxy in which your logs could be stored if at all possible. Use it if you need to bypass your work's firewall. Use freenet if you want to be really anonymous, if at all possible.
Arno v. Lumig
Some people here say that the ISP doens't have to log activity. I am certain that they have to in some countries. Of course this activity includes the DHCP leases... If the ISP logs you the only thing to do is using encryption, but that might also look suspicious...
asim
Lemme start this post with a note to system / network administrators who blocks internet access only because they can and they themselves surf the sites unblocked : Information is free and you cannot block it .. People will find out ways to bypass in time .. Now another note to people who wants to access blocked sites : If your school has blocked Orkut, then they have done it for your own good .. Orkut is addictive and you should find better ways to utilize your energy .. And if you want to access blocked sites from office .. Try completing whatever your boss asked you to before reading on ..

And now that the sermon is over, lemme write some tricks to bypass evil administrator’s evil policies to access what they think is bad for you .. Very Happy :

1: The domain that you want to access is blocked ..? No problem .. most administrators block the domains by their domain names and they forget there is something called IP Address … Very Happy .. Find out the IP address of the site that you want to visit and put it in the address bar and viola .. You can access it .. How to find out IP address of a website ..?? Just Whois it .. Very Happy . .. You can use services like DomainTools or NetworkSolutions , Robtex… This works for websites which are on a dedicated server .. So sites like ICICIDirect can be accessed like this ..

2: First trick not working for you ..?? Try WorkFriendly .. It will let you surf the website you want in a Microsoft Word like interface to save you from your boss’s peering eyes .. Or try these language tools :

BabelFish

Google Language Tools

FreeTranslation

One more site that I may recommend is Google Mobile Search .. This one is useful when you are dying to find out the score and all cricket sites are blocked ..

3: Second tip is useful for static pages but if you want to dynamic websites like Orkut, you need to use a proxy site… : These are proxy sites that I’ve used and liked :

KProxy : This is the most famous and most used proxy website .. Very Happy.. Goto KProxy and type in the address that you want to surf and click on Surf .. Very Happy ..
It wont be long before KProxy will be blocked .. So afterwards try their secure connection.. Most cocky administrators do not block secure sites as they do not know how to block them.. ..

Y11: Y11 is another secure proxy which isnt blocked by many filters .. Use it while it lasts .. Very Happy

Fumo2 : Fumo2 is a nice and fast proxy .. And as its url doesnt contain word “proxy” it has less chance of getting blocked .. Fumo2 has some more aliases like BakaAdmin and IpSite.net which you can find on their home page itself ..

IceKeeper : IceKeeper is another great proxy that used to help me surfing Blogspot when it was blocked in my office .. Very fast too ..

LuckyCRM : Found this one searching for proxies online .. Turned out to be a nice one ….

Melap : Recommended by one of my friend .. Nice and fast too ..

CountryCodes : Another proxy that has a deceptive name so less prone to be blocked ..

There are many more .. Believe me, I’ll tell you how to find a new proxy .. Very Happy .. First check the next tip :

4: Most of these proxy sites have aliases so you can use the alias in case the main domain is blocked.Here are the aliases to KProxy .. So if KProxy is blocked, try any of their aliases such as wpc1964.amenworld.com … To find alias of proxy sites, goto Robtex , type in the web site that you want to search alias for, click on Go .. In the results page, the address that are listed as ‘a’ are aliases to this domain .. So use these aliases ..

5: Actually this is combination of first and third trick .. Find out the IP address of the proxy website and then use it for surfing .. Simple .. Razz

Now the last one .. How did I get all these proxy websites ..?? Very Happy .. I used a simple query on Google which does not include any keywords that will make your system administrator think that you are searching for proxy sites .. Very Happy .. But you will get a list of proxy sites that are using PHProxy which is the most common proxy software used on web servers .. and do not worry .. this list is huge .. and will keep on increasing .. Very Happy ..

.. .. . . ..

Now that I’ve found a way to vent my anger on evil system administrators I feel relaxed .. I dont see logic behind blocking Hotmail or Gmail or Yahoo which are default email address for most people .. To my readers, I’ll like to request .. : If you are benefited by this write up and / or you know some more proxies or tricks that you use, please leave your comment so that others can benefit .. And book mark this page so that you can find out more updated content .. .. And if you are one of those evil administrators whose job I just made a bit more difficult, how about sharing some tips on how you are going to stop users from accessing blocked sites ..? This will improve both of us .. …

Over and all .. !
DarkPhoenix
Wow, this tutto is cool.
Now I know how do this

Exclamation Laughing Surprised
Reply to topic    Frihost Forum Index -> Computers -> Software

FRIHOST HOME | FAQ | TOS | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
© 2005-2007 Frihost, forums powered by phpBB.