By Admin (Admin) on Saturday, April 21, 2001 - 01:52 pm: Edit

Here's a basic document that may be helpful as an initial primer for members
concerned about privacy/security issues. Feel free to edit-feedback
appreciated.
changling

Hello fellow privacy seekers. This info is intended for those who seek
anonymity while browsing at little or no cost. It is very basic and intended
primarily for home users of Windows 9.x using Internet Explorer. Info on
Netscape should be contributed at a later date.

An important part of the process includes securing your PC from hackers,
government or otherwise. Let�s start with a few basics that should get you on
the anon path within an hour or so. Later updates will cover issues in more
detail.



1.Secure your machine. If you don�t already use antivirus software, or would
like something less cumbersome than most commercial products, try InoculateIT
Personal Edition. (http://www.antivirus.cai.com). This barebones program is
free for non-commercial users, as is the tech support and updates.



2.Install a firewall. Some are free for personal use. Check out Zonealarm (my
favorite) at http://www.zonelabs.com. This product shows you the IPs of
whoever
may be trying to gain access, and can even stop VBscripts. You can also try
http://www.Sygate.com, or
http://ealaddin.com/esafe/enterprise/personal_firewall.asp.
Be sure to test
your firewall, as they are not all created equal. One excellent online testing
program is �Shields Up� at http://grc.com/default.htm, (might as well pick up
the freeware program �OptOut � while you�re there and read �The Anatomy of File

Download Spyware� too. A couple of other free online testing programs are
http://scan.sygatetech.com, and just for the hell of it
check out HackerTracker
the online port scanner at http://www.lockdown2000.com/. You just might be
surprised to one of those IPs snagged by your firewall ending in .gov, as once

happened to me!



3.Take control of cookies. Cookie Crusher is a a very cool user friendly
program that can be configured to allow cookies you may need for to access
certain websites, like Yahoo mail, and automatically block cookies you never
want. I like to toggle the controls to accept cookies needed for various web
mail sites, and then delete them from my hard drive when I'm finished.

It can also be configured to automatically reject pesky cookies you will never
want to accept. . Many will argue that cookies are harmless and can always be
deleted, but there�s too much we may not know about them for my comfort.
Hippie3 pointed out several years ago that the Shroomery cookie stored members
ISP addresses.

Cookie Crusher is available at http://www.thelimitsoft.com . It is a shareware
program with a 30-day free trial period. There are others that also strip
banners, like AdSubtract (www.adsubtract.com ) which offer freeware versions,
but are more complex to use and will act as servers which might snag your real

ISP.



4. Anonymous proxies. A proxy server downloads web pages to your computer, and
some are faster than your ISP. Proxies substitute their ISP for yours, but many

are transparent and will reveal your real ISP in email and Usenet headers. You
want a proxy that doesn't do this: an anonymous, or non-transparent proxy.

(Note: Some ISPs, like AOL, don't want you to be anon. You will need to
download a different browser, or better yet, get rid of AOL!)

There are some web based anonymous proxies. Some are can be very slow and may
also log your real ISP. (This is one place Cookie Crusher alerts come in
handy.) If you use a web based proxy list, try
http://www.cyberarmy.com/lists/proxy/. To test if a proxy
is anon, open
another window and visit http://www.all-nettools.com/tools1.htm. Go to the
Network Tools Proxy Test page. The �Proxy Test� button is at the bottom of
this page. Switch back to the proxy list; copy a proxy, (Note: do not copy the

port#; if there is a : after the proxy, don't copy that either), then switch to

the Proxy Test page. From the Explorer menu bar click Tools, Internet Options,
Connections, Settings, and check "Use a Proxy Server". Click the
Advanced box,
and paste the proxy you copied in the first box: �HTTP�. Type the Port # (e.g.

8080) in the corresponding Port box. Click �OK� until you�re back to the main
screen. Click the Proxy Test button. If the proxy isn�t open, you�ll get an
error message and the page will not display. Simply switch back to the Proxy
List and make another selection. Then go back to the Proxy Check page, and
click �Refresh� . If the proxy is open but isn�t anon, you should get a message

saying, "proxy server detected", and your real ISP may also be
displayed. If
you found an anon proxy, the message will read "proxy server not
detected", and
will display the address of the proxy you selected. You can save some time by
trying all proxies listed at a specific port, say all the 8080 ones first. When

you find an anon proxy, run the SMARTWHOIS to see where the proxy is located,
and who owns it.. Avoid Proxies that end in �.gov�, just to be safe.

Your goal is to find a reasonably fast proxy that will say, "proxy server
not
detected" (and of course isn't your real ISP). So try testing with the
proxy on
and then off. Also, a proxy that is anon today may not be tomorrow, so check
frequently. Occasionally delete your Temporary Internet Files from your
browser�s cache.

If you are into Instant Messaging or want to share files via FTP, try the
freeware program RAZIUS EXPRESS (http://www.mercuryprime.com/products.htm).

Think this is too much of a hassle? Well, it can be labor intensive to do on
the cheap, but please take a moment to read the short paper, �The IP Address:
Your Internet Identity� at http://consumer.net/IPpaper.asp.



Once you have taken some precautions, you can browse the Web with relative
reassurance of anonymity. There are some hang-ups however. If you need to go to

an HTTPS area, your real ISP will be visible unless you put the anon proxy in
the "Secure" proxy settings box, but then you probably will not be
able to
access that page.

Enough about anon browsing for now. Hippie3 already explained how to set up an

anon email accounts in the �Security� thread. Anon Usenet posting and using
remailers like JACK BE NIMBLE, etc. will be discussed later. For those who
don't care to do all the legwork on the cheap, check out the for pay program at

http: www.zeroknowledge.com. There�s a 30-day free trial offer. This program
pretty much has it all of the above in a neat package, but can sometimes be
incredibly slow or lose its connection while you're in the midst of a situation

where you'd rather it didn't. It�s worth a free trial though, and is generally
more reliable and less labor intensive than any of the programs mentioned in
this paragraph.



For those who just want to surf using free web based software and aren�t all
that concerned about the web site offering the tools knowing your true ISP,
here are a few usable links. Some are free; most offer a free trial basis. You
might want to set use an anon proxy to go to these places if you�re paranoid,
because they will know your ISP. It�s probably be a good idea to set up an anon

email account too, as some services will require it.



http://www.cotse.com/anonimizer.htm (CGI based proxy)



http://www.the-cloak.com/homepage/index.php3 (another
pseudoanonymous proxy)



http://mail2web.com/
(retrieve mail from your POP3 account over the Web
through an SSL connection)



http://www.newzbot.com/search.html (find the newsgroups your
ISP won�t tell you
about. Searches for open public news servers. Not secure.)



http://news.fu-berlin.de
(NNTP server based in Germany.


http://@nonymouse.com
(free anonymous web browsing,
email, and Usenet
tration required; most info may be fabricated. Highly recommended if you like
to use Outlook Express.)



posting. No choice of nyms though. All posts will read from �Anonymous�.)







Good luck in your quest for anonymous web browsing. Please do not email me with

any questions, as I simply won�t have time to respond.

Changling