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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: Rewind and Reconnoiter: Is Climate Security Out in the Cold in the U.S. Intelligence Community? War on the Rocks Italian police increase security at Tesla dealerships after 17 cars destroyed in Rome fire The Guardian Law Firms Fear Trump Orders Could Affect Security Clearances of Lawyers Who Are Military Reservists Military.com Restaurant owner hires security guards after quadruple shooting; residents wonder if it is enough WBAL-TV DHS arrests man in McKinney accused of making terroristic threats against Homeland Security Secretary, ICE NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Kirtland Security Forces Detective Trains with APD to Strengthen Investigative Skills, Partnerships afgsc.af.mil AWS achieves Cloud Security Assurance Program (CSAP) low-tier certification in AWS Seoul Region Amazon Web Services Netanyahu says Israel will establish a new security corridor across Gaza to pressure Hamas - AP News Milwaukee's Brady Street businesses increase security to improve safety FOX6 News Milwaukee Trump's national security adviser reportedly used his personal Gmail account to do government work TechCrunch DOJ grant supports study of the effects of school security equipment on student outcomes George Mason University Apple Head of Global Security found not guilty in bribery trial tied to concealed gun permits NBC Bay Area Space Security Sentinel Via Satellite Planning for your IAM Roles Anywhere deployment Amazon Web Services Mike Waltz’s team set up at least 20 Signal chats for national security work – report - The Guardian Law firms fear Trump orders could affect security clearances of lawyers who are military reservists ABC News Oracle's masterclass in breach comms: Deny, deflect, repeat theregister.com I sent hundreds of cold emails to find a US VC firm that would hire me as an immigrant. I'm glad I ended up at a small company. Business Insider National Security Space Association's Marc Berkowitz Nominated to Serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense Space Coast Daily Waltz and staff used Gmail for government communications, officials say The Washington Post Opinion: Alaska can increase its food security without an agriculture department Anchorage Daily News Building a cybersecurity strategy that survives disruption Help Net Security NYPD boosts synagogue security ahead of Passover as anti-Jewish crimes 'jump off the page' New York Post Israel's security is America's security. Americans should not ignore that - opinion The Jerusalem Post Apple security chief acquitted, mistrial for ex-undersheriff in Santa Clara County gun permit bribery case The Mercury News Opinion: Trump’s casual response to his administration’s security lapse Chattanooga Times Free Press HPD, Homeland Security bust multiple game rooms FOX 26 Houston Charges Filed Against Former PUSD Security Guard Pasadena Now CyberQP Releases Groundbreaking Zero Trust Helpdesk Security Platform to Eliminate Standing Privileges Yahoo Finance New security system coming to Alaska’s Capitol building Your Alaska Link Glencoe based Security Bank & Trust Co. expands reach in Minnesota McLeod County Chronicle National security implications of tariff announcement LiveNOW from FOX ISC West 2025 Show Floor Spotlight: BOSCH SECURITY AND SAFETY SYSTEMS Security Info Watch Parliament speaker Stefanchuk blocks Poroshenko’s US trip to international security conference, party says The Kyiv Independent Security by Design Requires Organizational Commitment BankInfoSecurity Security forces report 80% drop in Ramadan terror attacks, after West Bank crackdown The Times of Israel Women in Security: Alice DiSanto, VP of Marketing, Autonomous Solutions Inc. Security Sales & Integration ISC West 2025 Show Floor Spotlight: PROMETHEUS Security Info Watch Security firm Brinks Home sells Lancaster city location LancasterOnline Coral Gables commissioner raises concerns for security of elected officials NBC 6 South Florida Pasadena school security officer accused of duct-taping 11-year-old girl's mouth shut for 'talking too much' ABC7 Los Angeles Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NasdaqGS:KTOS) Breaks Ground On New Hypersonic Facility Yahoo Finance When will your Social Security benefits arrive in April? See 2025 payment schedule Democrat and Chronicle Secure Passage and Sunflower Labs take security to the skies with autonomous drone integration Police1 Contrast Security Debuts 'Channel-First' Strategy Channel Futures Why Active Directory’s 25-Year Legacy Is a Security Issue BankInfoSecurity Oracle Cloud security SNAFU latest: IT giant accused of pedantry as evidence scrubbed theregister.com Marlink New Cyber Company to Meet Customer Demand for Security & Compliance - The Maritime Executive Marlink New Cyber Company to Meet Customer Demand for Security & Compliance The Maritime Executive Diversus Health adds new Security-Widefield location FOX21 News Colorado 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 |
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