Surf Anonymously Online

Surfing the Web Anonymously

It is possible for others to learn information about you online while you are surfing. This can happen even if you think your activities online are low-key and you haven't advertised who you are online. Even if your system is not full of virus or malware software, there are some details that others can gain about you once you point yourself and your computer online.

Easily accessible information that others can pick up when you're online:

* Your IP address
* Your Country (and sometimes more focused details about your location, county/province, and city)
* What computer system you're using
* Which browser you're using to access the web
* Some of your browser history

People may be able to find out your computer's 'Name,' too and then figure out what kind of software and other programs your computer will be compatible with (in case they are trying to send something malicious and want to make sure it will install on your system).

"Cookies" can track your movement throughout websites and even if you change users on your computer, some people can become aware of you 'switching' users.

There are some products kicking around that allow you to move around your computer and the Internet 'Anonymously.' These aren't foolproof, but they make it hard for others to track your activities online.

Some sites sell anonymous proxy servers and there are some free services online, too. These also aren't 100% effective, but they can usually allow an average person to surf general sites safely - without the worry of having real personal information and location stats blatantly showing to internet users elsewhere.

I am testing out 2 free services, but will post these at a later date, once I have had more time to evaluate their effectiveness and ease of use.

I just thought I would put the word out - because a lot of people do not know that there are free or reasonably priced programs that allow users to surf and keep their real, personal information away from those who might exploit these details.

I'll let you know in about a week, how well these programs work.


Feed Shark

Beware of Intelligent Explorer Plug-Ins

Just what is Intelligent Explorer? For your safety, you really need to know!

Know your browser! READ anything that looks like upgrade or update options that might pop up at unusual times or in unusual manners - especially if you have been randomly surfing online.

Most security suites - provide 'scheduling' options for when they'll look for, download and install updates. KNOW WHEN these times are set - and if an upgrade or update occurs beyond the time that you have set in your 'scheduling' - BE SUSPICIOUS and don't just click to update, install, upgrade, or any other thing that a pop-up might ask.

A program called 'Intelligent Explorer' is a suspicious program as such! It is a NIGHTMARE! And it usually gets INTO your system by tricking you with a pop up window that asks you to upgrade, update or add further protection to your computer or browsers.

It will load and install a product called Intelligent Explorer on your computer. Afterward you'll have an extra 'toolbar' connected to your browsers.

According to some 'security tip' forums I visit,

BullGuard, CWShredder and Ad-Aware (normally considered very top-end, excellent protection programs) won't help you to easily remove "Intelligent Explorer" once you're infected. They can 'detect' but not solve your problem - as this malicious-ware re-writes itself and moves itself around!

Spy-bot software also seems to be of no help in removing this menace!

The malware toolbar makes your system allow OTHER and MORE DOWNLOADS that you DO NOT WANT on your computer.

The Intelligent Explorer plug-in is JUST PLAIN NASTY!!!

This plug-in is a PRIME EXAMPLE of why you should be diligent about reading TOS agreements before you load ANYTHING onto your machine.
In this program's terms, you grant the right for other things to be downloaded onto your computer - once you have initially 'clicked okay'!

Here's a small portion of their TOS:

"You grant to us the right, exercisable by us until you uninstall the Software or this agreement is otherwise terminated, to provide to you the Service of downloading and causing to be displayed advertising material on your computer, through ‘pop-up’ or other display while you use your browser. You acknowledge and agree that installation of the Software may automatically modify toolbars and other settings of your browser. By installing the Software you agree to such modifications."

(go to http://www.ieplugin.com/terms.html to read it in its entirety)

The company, IBC incorporated, is incorporated in Belize. This is an example of a really DRASTIC license! One end user found highly objectionable pop-up advertisements generated by this software bundled with Intelligent Explorer. In short, the ads were of the 'extreme pornography' variety!

Intelligent Explorer is a plug-in, which can create a new home page, as well as start up and endless loop of pop-ups. You can remove the view bar, but then starting up Internet Explorer will only cause it to reappear again (it re-writes itself so that it never really 'leaves' - just the first copy goes away when you 'uninstall' by regular methods).

One forum writer/poster who installed this toolbar said,

"I asked some friends to help, and no one could tell me what to do. This is what I did: I bought a copy of a program called XoftSpy and it removed the software. It took two scans and a reboot to do it. This is not an advertisement for this product. They advertised it was free, which it was to run, but then I had to buy it to actually fix anything. It cost me $40 and I am sure that there are freeware products out there as well, but that is what ended the nightmare for me."

So - at a $40 cost, including a huge headache, the above user was finally able to get rid of the problem.

Other spyware products I have seen out there include spybot, NoAdware, Spyware Eliminator, Pal Spyware Remover, and Spyware C.O.P. Let the buyer beware!

These programs often provide the function they claim - but also install other bundled items all during one nice and neat installation.........that YOU INITIATE by clicking 'I Agree' or 'Yes' too quickly. The other items are what will cause you nightmares.

Again - Read all TOS agreements - many spyware applications can be bundled into or attached to ANY SOFTWARE PRODUCT.....and again -

BUYER BEWARE!

Who Fights AntiViruses?

These are 'The Good Guys' in the Anti-virus battle:

Everyone in the United States has heard of the leading antivirus vendors Symantec, Mcafee, Computer Associates, and Trend Micro.

These companies have market-leading presence, particularly in the United States. Microsoft is also becoming a key player in this market.

Microsoft acquired intellectual property and technology from GeCad software in 2003. The GeCad company's home-base is in Bucharest, Romania.

Microsoft also Pelican Software, which had a behavior based security as well as Giant Company Software for spyware and Sybari Software, which manages virus, spam, and phishing filtering.

A lot of discussion has centered on whether or not Microsoft has come into its own as a dominant factor in the antivirus market - by way of simply bundling its security technologies along with operating systems - at no charge.

This 'bundling' technique applied in other markets - such as word processing and Internet browsers.

Of course there are a number of antivirus vendors who also play in this market.

Becoming well known and establishing a firm market presence are companies like:

GriSoft - out of the Czech Republic

Sophos - in the United Kingdom

Panda Software - from Spain

Kaspersky - in Russia

SoftWin - in Romania

F-Secure - in Finland

Norman - in Norway

Arcabit - in Poland

VirusBuster - out of Hungary

and

AhnLab in South Korea.

It is not clear exactly where the industry is heading, but it is not doubted that everyone within this market faces a rapidly changing landscape. The amount of effort to find and provide fixes for viruses is staggering. Malicious programs are getting more complex and the number of them is increasing at an alarming rate. Many companies quickly find themselves without the resources to match efforts of those truly bent on creating havoc.

Some virus companies are getting of hundreds of new samples a day! Moreover, new viruses are getting "smarter" in that they propagate themselves quickly and they often hide themselves and are smart enough to move around in a system by renaming themselves in an effort to make it hard to remove them.