Internet Anonymity Archive | Internet Anonymity

Tor – Is it really anonymous?

Question: I have started using Tor to browse Deep Web sites, I’m now anonymous right?
Answer: Unfortunately, it’s not really that simple.

Using Tor to mask the sites you view on the internet is a great step forward on the road to anonymity. However, because of one major player in the internet game, you’re still not completely free from eavesdroppers. That player is your ISP, your internet service provider.

So what does your ISP know about you? I’ll explain with this commonly-used analogy: Think of your ISP as a virtual mailman. They know the addresses of everything that’s both sent and received by your computer. Now what this means is that your ISP can track every site that you view on the internet. Depending on where you live, they may also be required to store this information. For example, in the EU, ISPs must keep all their data logs for two years.

Most importantly however, your ISP knows your IP address. When you use Tor to mask whatever sites you are visiting, your ISP can see that someone is using Tor to browse anonymously, and because they know you IP address, they can tell that it’s you who’s trying to mask what sites they view. Also, if you’re not using a HTTPS connection within Tor, they still know your data usage. This can arouse further suspicion.

There’s nothing technically illegal about using Tor. However, some companies such as Comcast have decided to ban its use under their fair usage policy, due to the strong links between its use and the viewing of illegal sites as published on DeepDotWeb. This shows that peoples Tor usage is being monitored and logged. While I don’t endorse censorship of the internet, and while I believe that everyone has the right to privacy, including not having multinational companies store their personal internet histories, a lot of pressure is being placed on ISPs at the moment to crack down on internet piracy as well the use of illegal Deep Web sites.

So the question remains, can you actually obtain anonymity on the internet? I believe that the answer is yes – you just need to have the right tools at your disposal. A good VPN (Virtual Private Network) is one such tool. A VPN allows computers that are connected over a public network to form a private connection between each other. Many businesses use them so that employees can access sensitive material, even when not on site. The same technology can be used to protect your anonymity online. When using a VPN correctly, all your ISP can see is encrypted data. This approach, coupled with using Tor to mask the sites that you’re viewing, is probably as close as you can get to total anonymity.

In reality, using the Tor browser should be enough to protect your privacy in most cases if you don’t care that your ISP and law enforcement suspects you are using the Darknet Market sites like Agora and BlackBank. However, if you wish to really achieve anonymity so that absolutely no one knows you are using the DeepWeb, the use of a good VPN that keeps no logs is a very wise choice to make.

TopVPNSoftware.com is a pretty good site I found that compares the best VPN’s. It goes into pretty deep detail and it looks like they actually tested them themselves instead of just making it up.

Technology And Internet Anonymity

In recent years, the revelation came out that the United States government was closely monitoring internet usage all across the world. This prompted a massive backlash both in the country and abroad. With the revelations made by Edward Snowden, who is still being hunted for releasing the information, more than a third of Americans are now taking precautions to protect themselves from internet surveillance. Users have taken extra measures to protect their online information as they are now more conscious that their online activities may not be private.

Technology and internet anonymity have now become a huge concern in daily life for the public. People are aware of the dangers they face with regards to surveillance, either by the government or third parties. They know that their webcam can be, and probably is watched. They know that Facebook sends their location on messenger if they don’t turn off the default settings on the device they use. Some online users have changed their privacy settings and others have reduced on their use of social media platforms. They became more cautious of the apps they installed on their computers. Now, even corporations and foreign governments are up in arms regarding the widespread surveillance.

Everyone is worried about their privacy and internet anonymity, and they have good reason. Nobody wants somebody watching them when they are at their computers. With the rise of mobile technology, you can gain as much information as you want from a person. People might find out anything from your personal information to the things you browse online. Technology and internet anonymity is part of a basic human right to privacy. It may be an impossible thing to gain considering the fact that the backbone of the internet itself is based on tracking people whether by the government or corporations.

Internet Anonymity: How To Hide Your IP Address

Each computer that is hooked to the Internet has its own unique IP address. This address provides a means of determining the exact location of the computer using that address. However, there are times when you may want to conceal your IP. If you want to enjoy internet anonymity and you want to learn how to hide your IP, read on.

Hiding an IP address does a few things. First of all, it allows you to visit different sites without disclosing your identity. Secondly, if your IP belongs to a certain region and that region cannot access certain websites, then by concealing it you can visit all the sites that were otherwise unavailable to your location. You can also use internet anonymity to safeguard your identity from possible hackers.

Internet Anonymity: Here is how to hide IP address

• Use a VPN Proxy

By making use of a trusted VPN service, you be able to conceal your identity easily. There are a number of VPN services available to choose from.

• Use a website-based Proxy Server

This is another effective and helpful means of hiding IP address. Since you will be using a website-based service you will not be required to install any software. Some popular websites also offer no-cost services.

• Make use of proxy servers that are configured to your browser

There are plenty of open proxies that you can locate by searching the Internet. These free proxy servers will provide you with an IP address which you be able to use to conceal your real IP. However, since these proxy servers are readily available to everyone, many (if not all) of them are dead or they perform too slowly to be of any use.

If you really wish to maintain your internet anonymity, then you should use one or more of the above-mentioned methods of hiding IP address.

Internet Anonymity VS. Pseudonymity

Most individuals tend to use different names or choose to not to use them on the internet. Any choice can have a negative or positive opinion. Most people conceal their identity for the purpose of online privacy and security. Internet anonymity is a state at which person chooses not to use any name while pseudonymity is a state where one disguises his or her true identity by using a false name. Many people confuse the two thinking they are the same, but there are significant differences in them. Below is the apparent disparity between internet anonymity and pseudonymity.

Internet Anonymity

Internet anonymity pertains to users’ interaction on the internet that protects their identities from being shared with another user.Anonymity is often used to protect the privacy of individuals.It requires an individual to deal with other entity that does not need any personal identification profile. Even at the time of dealing, the entity should not identify the individual at all. The users remain anonymous in their accounts. Anonymity lacks individuality in it. It can be termed as being without a name or with an unknown name. To gain greater protection of anonymity, some online users utilize several methods to make identification more difficult such as using VPN and Tor.

Pseudonymity

Pseudonymity is a state of disguised identity.It is a state where an individual hides his/ her real identity by using a false name or “pseudonym”.Some examples of pseudonyms include pen names, nicknames, screen name, and others. Pseudonyms are widely used in social networks and other virtual communication.Unlike in anonymity, your own information can be assessed even if it might not be having the true information about you in it.Pseudonymity does not guarantee you full concealment of your identity but just a mask to cover yourself.