IS ANY PRIVACY EXIST ON INTERNET? by ROCKY13 2010/02/06 10:23
pRIVACY ON INTERNET.
> Proxy servers provide a false sense of security
Given the very real use of deep-packet inspection by ISPs, what can law-abiding Internet users do to protect themselves against possible snooping of their e-mail and Web-surfing habits?
Many people believe that using a proxy server is enough to keep their activities private. Corporations, schools, and libraries often use proxy servers to filter content and provide security. In reality, proxy servers alone do nothing to prevent ISPs from monitoring your data transmissions.
Proxy servers work by putting an intermediate IP address a "proxy" between you and the sites you visit. If you do all your surfing through a proxy, your URL requests go through the proxy server before being passed to the sites you visit.
This hides your IP address from the target Web site, which sees only the proxy's address. This means sites that record IP addresses won't be able to identify you or pass on your address to others, including government agencies or the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is always on the prowl for what it considers copyright infringement.
Conversely, proxy servers hide the URL of the target site from a governmental, corporate, or school firewall. This lets you surf to sites that the organization may be blocking, such as Facebook.
When you use a proxy server, all the organization's firewall sees is the URL of the proxy. This is why proxy servers are frequently used by file sharers. However, eluding the RIAA is not the same thing as protecting your legitimate need for privacy and unfettered Net access.
Even with a proxy server, all your surfing still has to go through your ISP, which can use packet filtering to log that data. For true privacy, the entire data path needs to be protected, not just the upstream portion.
Most proxies are operated by fleeting and anonymous entities: only 25% of the nearly 32,000 proxy servers listed on the Proxy.org site are actually working, and a mere handful are labeled as "recommended."
pRIVACY ON INTERNET.
> Proxy servers provide a false sense of security
Given the very real use of deep-packet inspection by ISPs, what can law-abiding Internet users do to protect themselves against possible snooping of their e-mail and Web-surfing habits?
Many people believe that using a proxy server is enough to keep their activities private. Corporations, schools, and libraries often use proxy servers to filter content and provide security. In reality, proxy servers alone do nothing to prevent ISPs from monitoring your data transmissions.
Proxy servers work by putting an intermediate IP address a "proxy" between you and the sites you visit. If you do all your surfing through a proxy, your URL requests go through the proxy server before being passed to the sites you visit.
This hides your IP address from the target Web site, which sees only the proxy's address. This means sites that record IP addresses won't be able to identify you or pass on your address to others, including government agencies or the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is always on the prowl for what it considers copyright infringement.
Conversely, proxy servers hide the URL of the target site from a governmental, corporate, or school firewall. This lets you surf to sites that the organization may be blocking, such as Facebook.
When you use a proxy server, all the organization's firewall sees is the URL of the proxy. This is why proxy servers are frequently used by file sharers. However, eluding the RIAA is not the same thing as protecting your legitimate need for privacy and unfettered Net access.
Even with a proxy server, all your surfing still has to go through your ISP, which can use packet filtering to log that data. For true privacy, the entire data path needs to be protected, not just the upstream portion.
Most proxies are operated by fleeting and anonymous entities: only 25% of the nearly 32,000 proxy servers listed on the Proxy.org site are actually working, and a mere handful are labeled as "recommended."
ROCKY13 2010/02/06 10:24
The fleeting nature of proxy sites is partly due to necessity, since proxy servers quickly get put on block lists. But the here-today-gone-tomorrow nature of proxies can make them unreliable and somewhat dangerous to use. (You can check out the ever-changing roster of proxy servers at Proxy.org, but note that your security software may flag this site as unsafe.)
Encrypted proxy servers like Proxify.com and the Tor Project (http://www.torproject.org/) can shield your traffic from your ISP. But they don't encrypt traffic between their servers and your final destination.
Even worse, public proxy servers are attractive fronts for cybercrime. Operators can easily read all traffic passing through their servers, redirect your URL requests to phishing sites, or inject malware into downloads.
The Tor Project itself, which depends on volunteer proxy hosts, warns that "malicious or misconfigured Tor exit nodes can send you the wrong page or even send you embedded Java applets disguised as domains you trust."
Finally, if the proxy or VPN service keeps logs although many claim not to a subpoena or government-agency order could force the service to disclose information about you.
Bottom line: There's just no way to be sure such services are legitimate, or even that they work at all. File sharers likely won't care, but anyone who has a legitimate concern about privacy and safety certainly will.
The fleeting nature of proxy sites is partly due to necessity, since proxy servers quickly get put on block lists. But the here-today-gone-tomorrow nature of proxies can make them unreliable and somewhat dangerous to use. (You can check out the ever-changing roster of proxy servers at Proxy.org, but note that your security software may flag this site as unsafe.)
Encrypted proxy servers like Proxify.com and the Tor Project (http://www.torproject.org/) can shield your traffic from your ISP. But they don't encrypt traffic between their servers and your final destination.
Even worse, public proxy servers are attractive fronts for cybercrime. Operators can easily read all traffic passing through their servers, redirect your URL requests to phishing sites, or inject malware into downloads.
The Tor Project itself, which depends on volunteer proxy hosts, warns that "malicious or misconfigured Tor exit nodes can send you the wrong page or even send you embedded Java applets disguised as domains you trust."
Finally, if the proxy or VPN service keeps logs although many claim not to a subpoena or government-agency order could force the service to disclose information about you.
Bottom line: There's just no way to be sure such services are legitimate, or even that they work at all. File sharers likely won't care, but anyone who has a legitimate concern about privacy and safety certainly will.
ROCKY13 2010/02/06 10:28
> What you can do now to safeguard your online privacy?
Given all these caveats, is there any real solution for protecting your Internet activities from prying eyes? For true online privacy, you need to encrypt all your Internet traffic from end to end, making deep-packet inspection tools fail. DPI tools that can crack strong encryption may become a reality in the future, but it's not going to happen any time soon.
Fortunately, for most people who aren't named Barack Obama, end-to-end encryption is overkill. If you're not hiding from law-enforcement agencies or foreign intelligence services, you can get all the protection you need by combining a reliable VPN service one that prevents ISP data collection and hotspot snooping with an encryption-enabled e-mail client.
Paid VPN services like the well-known Witopia.net, which provides an encrypted tunnel between you and a VPN server, generally cost a few dollars a month. The services work not only for Web browsing but for all your Internet traffic, including e-mail, chat, and automatic software updates. Once turned on, VPN services work transparently, and the paid services are usually pretty fast. Such networks are especially popular with Wi-Fi hotspot users, since they also protect against wireless snooping.
> What you can do now to safeguard your online privacy?
Given all these caveats, is there any real solution for protecting your Internet activities from prying eyes? For true online privacy, you need to encrypt all your Internet traffic from end to end, making deep-packet inspection tools fail. DPI tools that can crack strong encryption may become a reality in the future, but it's not going to happen any time soon.
Fortunately, for most people who aren't named Barack Obama, end-to-end encryption is overkill. If you're not hiding from law-enforcement agencies or foreign intelligence services, you can get all the protection you need by combining a reliable VPN service one that prevents ISP data collection and hotspot snooping with an encryption-enabled e-mail client.
Paid VPN services like the well-known Witopia.net, which provides an encrypted tunnel between you and a VPN server, generally cost a few dollars a month. The services work not only for Web browsing but for all your Internet traffic, including e-mail, chat, and automatic software updates. Once turned on, VPN services work transparently, and the paid services are usually pretty fast. Such networks are especially popular with Wi-Fi hotspot users, since they also protect against wireless snooping.
ROCKY13 2010/02/06 10:29
Gmail and other major webmail services offer encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) access, which is indicated by the URL prefix https. But like a VPN or encrypted proxy, SSL works only between your computer and the mail server. Data leaving your provider's servers is unencrypted.
For most people, this level of protection is sufficient. However, very sensitive e-mails and chat sessions require end-to-end protection, such as PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) and other public-key encryption software. In order to read your messages, however, your correspondent will need to use the same software, which can be a hassle.
For occasional use, an easier encryption method is to send a password-protected Word, PDF, or .zip file as an e-mail attachment, then deliver the password to the recipient by a separate channel, such as a phone call or text message.
Gmail and other major webmail services offer encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) access, which is indicated by the URL prefix https. But like a VPN or encrypted proxy, SSL works only between your computer and the mail server. Data leaving your provider's servers is unencrypted.
For most people, this level of protection is sufficient. However, very sensitive e-mails and chat sessions require end-to-end protection, such as PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) and other public-key encryption software. In order to read your messages, however, your correspondent will need to use the same software, which can be a hassle.
For occasional use, an easier encryption method is to send a password-protected Word, PDF, or .zip file as an e-mail attachment, then deliver the password to the recipient by a separate channel, such as a phone call or text message.
ROCKY13 2010/02/06 10:30
If you want or need more privacy than that well, you probably shouldn't be using the Internet for sensitive communications at all.
If you want or need more privacy than that well, you probably shouldn't be using the Internet for sensitive communications at all.
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