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The Truth About Hiding Your Tracks on the Internet
Ok, ok, I know you've seen them. All those pop up windows claiming that "You're being watched!" or banner ads saying "Your computer is under surveillance!" And all you need to do is buy their product and your computer's visbility will disappear from the Internet. Well, to state the obvious, that's just not true. We have to give those companies some credit though - they are giving you half of the truth. If they were giving you the whole story, what they'd be saying is that their software will make your surfing tracks disappear from your personal computer. Not from the Internet. Now, with that said, don't just blow off these products saying "if they can't get rid of all my personal surfing records then what good are they?" These products actually address the more important half of the issue. The effective ones really do clean up your personal computer! To me this is very important because it's easier for people to get your computer's Internet records, via hacking, tracking or outright theft, than it is for them to get any other type of Internet records. Want proof? Just ask Gary Glitter, a 1960's pop star who took his personal computer in to have a repair done. The shop found both pictures and other evidence of illegal Internet activity and called the cops! Glitter spent time in jail because he didn't "clean up his act" before he took the computer in for a repair. The other half of this issue and the one that is a bit more complicated to address is made up of all the records established and held by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), Internet routers (computer "traffic cops" that route Internet requests around the web) and website hosting servers. These computers are completely outside your scope of influence. You can't just call up your ISP and tell them to delete all records that pertain to your account! Once they are done laughing, they will let you know that to do that they would have to cull through literally millions of records for any given day to pull out your two or three hundred records. The effort would be enormous and they don't have the resources to do this kind of work. Besides, these logs are used mostly to trouble shoot server / router errors and to help stop hacker abuse and other kinds of DOS (Denial of Service) attacks. But you can affect the information that gets stored in these logs. To understand this you need to know how the process works. Here are the basic steps: -You sign on to your ISP. -Your ISP assigns you an IP (Internet Protocol) address. An IP address is a series of numbers that tell the computer where you are connecting from and who to send information to. -You type in a web address in your browser and send that request to your ISP. -Your ISP logs the request, along with your assigned IP address and then goes out to the Internet to request the web page. -The ISP's request goes through multiple routers, each one logging who made the request and forwarding on the request to the next until it gets to the server hosting the web page. -The host server logs the request and sends the information back out, often through a completely different set of routers, each one again logging the request and passing it on to the next until it gets back to your ISP. -Your ISP looks up in it's log who made the initial request and sends it on to you. -You get the page, a temporary copy is stored on your hard drive. -You click on a link or enter in a new web address and the process starts all over again! So for every request you make to your ISP, not only does that request get stored on your computer, it gets stored on a number of other computers as well! Comforting right? Well there is a way to hide, or mask would be a better term, your web surfing activities. You need to use an anonymous surfing tool. Sites like Anonymizer.com or the-cloak.com offer an online proxy type service that takes advantage of SSL and encryption to keep your surfing tracks to yourself. All requests made to them through SSL are encrypted so even your ISP can't read what you requested. This secure connection is the same type that ecommerce sites use to protect your credit card data. Then all requests they make for you reference their computers as the originator of the request so all the routers and web host servers see is their IP address! Your personal and or browser information is blocked from the Internet. So, if you really want to protect your privacy, give the snoopers a one - two punch. Clean up your act by using one of the history / cookie clean up tools available for download AND surf through one of the anonymous surfing providers out on the net. Michael Ameye has been developing web sites since 1995. He started writing about online privacy issues to answer questions from family, friends and co-workers. Visit http://www.canyourspam.com to see his latest work. He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy, Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit http://www.pssonline.info to subscribe.
MORE RESOURCES: Waltz and staff used Gmail for government communications, officials say The Washington Post Blocking 7-Eleven deal on security grounds would hurt Japan's image, head of state-backed fund says Reuters Armenia refuses to finance Russian-led CSTO security alliance budget The Kyiv Independent A week in security (March 24 – March 30) Malwarebytes White House suggests national security adviser Mike Waltz received work-related emails on his personal Gmail account New York Post Fight at maximum security unit precedes tour by state’s prison work group - South Dakota Searchlight Fight at maximum security unit precedes tour by state’s prison work group South Dakota Searchlight EU analysis highlights space capabilities, lists scenarios for space security by 2050 Industrial Cyber Musk Again Misleads on Social Security Fraud The New York Times Alaska Capitol will get airport-style security checkpoint, legislative panel orders Anchorage Daily News Forget Signal. National Security Adviser Waltz now accused of using Gmail for work - theregister.com Fortress Government Solutions receives impact Level 6 security accreditation from US Navy Industrial Cyber Mobile police installing new security cameras at city parks, following shootout at Langan Park fox10tv.com Native Community Protests MPLS Security Company Who Beat, Maced, and Cuffed Indigenous Man Unicorn Riot Mike Waltz Faces Another Embarrassing Data Security Failure The Daily Beast Lawmatics Achieves SOC 2 & HIPAA Compliance, Reinforcing Commitment to Data Security and Privacy LawSites Leaders Describe Host of Threats to Homeland, Steps to Mitigate Them U.S. Department of Defense (.gov) Restaurant owner hires security guards after quadruple shooting; residents wonder if it is enough WBAL-TV MPD: Driver of security truck issued several traffic citations after hitting pedestrian along S. Parkway East Action News 5 Breaking the Cone of Silence: The Jigsaw Puzzle of Operational Security Security Clearance Jobs The urgent reality of machine identity security in 2025 csoonline.com SCOTUS examines court’s role in national security Courthouse News Service Could drones replace school security guards? FOX 7 Austin Women in Security: Tia Eskandari, Senior Director, Allied Universal Security Sales & Integration City to receive $94K in Homeland Security grant funding Oil City News Your smart home may not be as secure as you think Help Net Security Pasadena school security guard fired after allegations she forced student to duct tape mouth Pasadena Star News Security officer made Pasadena middle schooler duct-tape her own mouth shut, father says Los Angeles Times Two new security K-9s join Lehigh Valley Health Network NBC10 Philadelphia LightPath Technologies to Exhibit Advanced Infrared Solutions at 2025 Border Security Expo PR Newswire ReliaQuest Closes $500M Round to Boost Agentic AI Security BankInfoSecurity BitLyft Gives Back to the Information Security Community GlobeNewswire Pasadena school security officer accused of duct-taping 11-year-old girl's mouth shut for 'talking too much' ABC7 Los Angeles "Credible Threat" to 2025 Chincoteague Pony Swim Prompts New Security Policies Chesapeake Bay Magazine Akron-Canton Airport has new security measure: K9 Luna Cleveland 19 News Winnetka hires private security to patrol village NBC 5 Chicago Israel’s National Security Council Warns of Increased Threats to Jews Abroad Ahead of Passover Algemeiner.com South Korea’s acting president urges calm, tighter security ahead of impeachment ruling The Mighty 790 KFGO AI Agent and Copilot Podcast: Microsoft Exec Dorothy Li on Role of AI Agents, Ecosystem in Security Cloud Wars Senate Education Focuses On School Security, Classroom Aides West Virginia Public Broadcasting Hazleton Anesthesia Services warns of security breach Hazleton Standard Speaker Gun-detecting dogs join LVHN security team Times News Online MIT Wins $12.2B Contract to Drive Innovation for National Security at Lincoln Lab Security Clearance Jobs Northwest Dallas security guard fatally shoots man outside motel FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth Oracle Cloud security SNAFU latest: IT giant accused of pedantry as evidence scrubbed theregister.com Secure Passage and Sunflower Labs Take Security to the Skies with Autonomous Drone Integration PR Newswire Security dog bites woman at Mayfair Mall, police describe fight FOX6 News Milwaukee Motel security guard kills man after altercation in Northwest Dallas FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth |
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