If you want to surf anonymously on the internet and protect your identity then you'll need to find some system to surf by proxy. Currently if you just open your web browser and start searching on the web you'll leave a huge trail behind you leading right back to your home to someone with the right resources. Now it might not sound a big deal to some people - 'so what' they say, 'what's the problem unless you have something to hide' but it actually represents a huge risk to my identity which I would rather keep private online.
Lets get one thing clear the internet is a great place but there are some huge security issues with it, for instance the majority of information that it sent and received for your computer is completely insecure and visible, it is transmitted in clear text and is visible to anyone with a mind to intercept. In fact a recent European directive has stated that all logs of your web browsing, emails and communication should be kept by the ISPs for two years. The UK Government actually want to store this data on a central database, of course it is all done in the causes of catching criminals, terrorists and the like. We sacrifice our freedom and privacy for the small chance of catching a terrorist who has been surfing extremist websites - personally I'm not overly keen on this.
If we move on from Governments and Agencies spying on us there is another incentive to surf anonymously - their is a another huge sector out to monitor our web browsing habits. The spammers, hackers and data and identity thieves are also just as interested and keen to intercept our information and it is not that hard to do in many cases as each and every web site you visit will leave your IP address on it's server logs. The IP address can actually be tied down to your physical location quite easily.
So how can you surf anonymously and protect your identity on the internet. Well the often touted solution is to use surf by proxy, that is to use an anonymous proxy to hide your IP address from the web sites you visit. The proxy is simply a server that forwards your requests to a website thereby keeping yours private - the only address left in the logs is that of the proxy server there is no connection to you.
Hereby lies another problem with the thousands of people who have searched the internet for anonymous proxy lists and used one of them. This can actually be an even greater threat to your privacy - many of these anonymous proxies are actually traps set up by hackers or identity thieves. A server is compromised and a proxy service is installed and advertised on lists and forums - then all the information can easily be logged, that is your information passing through that proxy server.
How do you fancy using an ISP run by a bunch of Russian hackers and Identity thieves ? Probably not but that could be what you are doing unless you are 100% certain of the integrity of the proxy server. Remember if something is free and the owners have gone to the trouble and expense of advertising it somewhere there is probably a big catch.
Personally I pay a small fee for a secure encrypted service where I surf the net anonymously and all my communication is encrypted to US military levels. The software provides me with as near total anonymous browsing as is possible - I also use it on my work PC as it prevents all my web traffic being monitored by sites I visit, wireless hotspots I use etc. It even sits on my USB keyring so I can use it on any PC I care to use.
If you want to read about some of my thoughts on using anonymous proxy surf and how you can surf without being spied on, try the link below.
Anonymous Surfing Proxies
