hiding you IP

You could try reading about wingates, socks and proxies (oh before i forget, turn off java, javascript, cookies, what's related, and smart update ... if you are using IE you're not very smart). Also try installing a firewall, or DHCP or you can learn from me!
There are situations in which you may want to visit a site without leaving a trace of the visit. For instance you want to check what's going on at your competitor's site. Your visit will generate a record in the log file. Frequent visits will generate many records. Do you want to know what kind of records? see in http://proxies.hotmail.ru/proxyck.htm or http://privacy.net/, http://www.leader.ru/cgi-bin/go?who, http://www.anonymizer.com/3.0/snoop.cgi - will tell you some scary info about what can be told about your computer via the internet.
Note that these tests are not very sophisticated. A dedicated "snooper" can often learn much more. Once I came across a server that tried to connect to my computer's disk while I was browsing ... that was an exciting experince. You should also remember about things like cookies (http://www.illuminatus.com/cookie.fcgi), hostile applets and java scripts, browser security holes and so on. So why don't we send someone instead of ourselves? Good idea.
Step #1-Determine your IP address:
To determine your IP address, go to http://megawx.aws.com/support/faq/software/ip.asp
Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique identifier called an IP address. On many networks, the IP address of a computer is always the same. On other networks, a random IP address is assigned each time a computer connects to the network. This is what we are referring to when we ask if you have a static or a dynamic IP address. If a system uses dynamic addressing, the IP can change quite often.
Step #2-Get Anonymous:
Method #1: Anonymizer
One can surf anonymously with the help of a nice service called the Anonymizer x (http://www.anonymizer.com/3.0/index.shtml). Check their site and just type a URL you want to visit -- the Anonymizer does the job for you, securing you from many potential dangers. When you follow a link on a page viewed via the Anonymizer you get there via the Anonymizer again, so you don't have to type a new URL. You can choose between pay or free service, but free service implies certain limitations such as 30 seconds delay before pages are loaded, and only HTTP (pay service allows FTP and HTTPS). There are a few sites that are inaccessible via the Anonymizer, e.g. some of the Web-based free e-mail services.
The Anonymizer has two more nice features. Firstly, there are WWW sites that are inaccessible from one place, but easily accessible from another. Once I was trying to load a page located in Australia for 20 minutes, all in vain. Using the Anonymizer immediately solved the problem. Secondly, there are certain sites that give you information depending on where you are "calling" from. Let's take an example. I was at Encyclopædia Britannica site, trying to check the price for their products. Clicking on Order Information button gave me the list of Britannica's dealers all over the world, no price info. Going to the same place via the Anonymizer led me to a different page, where I found the price list. As it turned out the local dealer's price for Encyclopædia Britannica CD'97 was several times higher than the one at which it's sold in USA. Good savings!
The Anonymizer is probably one of the most popular tools for anonymous surfing, but definitely not the only one. More and more similar services are emerging. A good alternative is JANUS (http://www.rewebber.de/) located in Germany. Janus is free, fast and can also encrypt the URL. Here is a quotation from their FAQ:
JANUS is able to encrypt URLs (uniform resource locator) in a way that these can be used as reference for a server. If a request with an encrypted URL occurs, JANUS is able to decrypt the URL and forward it to the server, without enabling the user to get knowledge about the server address. All references in the servers response are again encrypted before the response is forwarded to the client.
Method #2: Proxy Servers
One can also anonymize one's web surfing by using a proxy server. Proxy servers are similar to the Anonymizer, i.e. web pages are retrieved by the proxy server rather than by the person actually browsing the Web (you). But there are several important distinctions: proxy servers don't help with cookies, hostile applets or code. In most of the cases they do just one thing: they conceal your real geograhic location.
Most of proxy servers restrict access based on the IP address from which a user connects to them. In other words if you have an account with Bluh-Bluh-Com, you can't use La-Di-Da-Net's proxy server, access will be denied. Fortunately you can always find a "kind-hearted" proxy server on the Net the owners of which openly state that the service is publicly available, or a proxy server that doesn't restrict access that due to whatever reason, but the fact is not known to everyone.
How do you find a "kind-hearted" proxy server? Good news for lazy people: there are many lists of available proxy servers: http://tools.rosinstrument.com/cgi-bin/dored/cgi-bin/fp.pl/showlog
For those who are not so lazy: find your own proxy server, it's real easy. Go to Altavista (www.altavista.com) and type something like +proxy +server +configuration +port, and you'll get the list of Web pages where ISPs give complete instructions to their users of how they should configure their browsers. Try every proxy address and after 5 or 7 failures you will surely find a proxy server that works for you. So let's say you have found a proxy, e.g.: some.proxy.com, HTTP port 8080. To make your browser use a proxy server fill out the corresponding fields in Manual Proxy Configuration tab (hope you can find it yourself).
In Netscape Communicator do this:
Edit - Preferences - Advanced - Proxies - Manual proxy configuration - View, and for HTTP and FTP type name of your proxy server (example: proxy.siol.net) and port number (example 3128).
In Internet Explorer 4.0 do this:
View - Internet Options - Connection - mark "Access the Internet using a proxy server". At ADDRESS type name of the server (example: proxy.siol.net) and at PORT type port number (example: 3128), click on advanced button and mark "Use the same proxy server for all protocols".
Once you have carried out this simple operation, you can start surfing the Web leaving traces as if you are from Bulgaria, USA, North Korea (that would be fun!) or somewhere else, but ...there is one more very important privacy concern, "Is My Proxy Anonymous?"
Is My Proxy Anonymous?
Not all proxy servers are truly anonymous. Some of them let the system administrator of the site that you visit via a proxy server find out the IP address from which the proxy server is accessed, i.e. your real IP address. You can perform an anonymity check test: http://www.tamos.com/bin/proxy.cgi
If you get the message: Proxy server is detected! - then there is a security hole in your proxy, and information about your real IP address will be listed. If the message is Proxy server is not detected - everything should be OK. In any case, carefully study the list of IP addresses that is returned by this online tool. None of them should belong to you. You can also use alternative tests to check if your browser is anonymous. Such tests can give a complete list of the parametrs your browser passes to a remote server (this is called Environmental Variables). Proxys-4-All (http://proxys4all.cgi.net/tools.html) maintains a long list of environmental checkers.
Final Considerations
In spite of all of the the above said ... use proxies only when it's necessary. Working via proxy servers slows down data transfer rate and is an additional load on the network and the servers. Another important thing that is often forgotten by many people: use proxies for legal purposes. Hiding you identity is ok (at least in the free world) as long as you want to visit a site that offers, say, pornography. But if you use a proxy server for purchasing CDs or software with a bogus credit card number there is a good chance that you'll end up in prison, let alone the moral aspects. Remeber, all the connections are logged, and if you violate the law you can be tracked down. The site administrator can check the logs and contact the proxy's administrator, he can in turn check his own logs and find your real IP address, then they both will contact your ISP, and your ISP keeps logs too ... Anyway, I hope you got it.
Specially for paranoiacs
Look, different tools described above can be chained! For example you set up your browser to use Proxy A, and you know the addresses and port numbers of 2 more servers Proxy B and Proxy C. The URL that you type should look something like that: http://proxyB:port/http://proxyC:port/http://www.whereyougo.com/ As the result you go to the site via 3 servers: A,B and C. One of them can be the Anonymizer. WARNING: Not all the proxy servers allow chains like that. I won't answer your messages asking me why it doesn't work in your particular case!
Using SocksCap for anonymity in non HTTP applications (telnet, ftp, ICQ, RealPlayer, and so on)
What is SocksCap?
What is the current version?
What is the difference between SocksCap, SocksCap16, and SocksCap32?
Do I need to run SocksCap16, SocksCap32, or both?
Where do I get SocksCap?
Is SocksCap free? Is the source code available?
Will it work with all stacks and applications?
How do I know if it works with my stack and application?
What happens if I start SocksCap16 AFTER a WinSock application is already running?
What if I close SocksCap16 before closing a WinSock application?
Will I need to run ftp in PASV mode?
When I close SocksCap16 in Windows 95 or Windows for Workgroups, it tells me "Exiting SocksCap may cause some network connections to become unstable." I have already closed all the client applications.
Is SocksCap Y2K?
Can I use SocksCap32 with RealPlayer 5.0 and 6.0?
Can I use SocksCap32 with Internet Explorer 4.0 in desktop mode or on Windows98? What about Internet Explorer
5.0?What do I enter for SOCKS server and port in SocksCap Setup?
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What is SocksCap?
SocksCap automatically enables Windows-based TCP and UDP networking client applications to traverse a SOCKS firewall. SocksCap intercepts the networking calls from WinSock applications and redirects them through the SOCKS server without any modification to the orginal applications or to the operating system software or drivers.
What is the current version?
The current version of SocksCap16 (16-bit) is 1.02. The current release version of SocksCap32 (32-bit) is 1.03. A beta version of SocksCap32 (Version 2, Beta 3) is also available.
What is the difference between SocksCap, SocksCap16, and SocksCap32?
SocksCap refers to the 16- and 32-bit versions. SocksCap16 is the 16-bit version. SocksCap32 is the 32-bit
version.Do I need to run SocksCap16, SocksCap32, or both?
For Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11, run SocksCap16.
For Windows 95 and Windows 98, you need SocksCap32 for the 32-bit applications. If you are running 16-bit applications under Windows 95 or Windows 98, you need SocksCap16 for those applications. You can run SocksCap16 and SocksCap32 simultaneously under Windows 95 and Windows 98 to handle both 16- and 32-bit applications.
Under Windows NT, use SocksCap32 for 32-bit applications. SocksCap16 does not run under Windows NT.
Where do I get SocksCap?
SocksCap is available for download through the SOCKS Web site at: http://www.socks.nec.com/.
Is SocksCap free? Is the source code available?
The software is available freely through the SOCKS web site. It is NOT in the public domain. Use and distribution is restricted and subject to certain agreements. Please read the full copyright, license terms, and restrictions in the file named "LICENSE.TXT" or "COPYRIGH.TXT" in the distribution. Source code is not available.
Will it work with all stacks and applications?
SocksCap functions independently from the applications and the stack. It needs to make some assumptions about the application and the stack implementations. Therefore, it will not work with every application and every stack. NEC USA has only tested SocksCap32 with m*cro$oft's 32-bit stack.
How do I know if it works with my stack and application?
The best way to find out is to try it. You may refer to the scorecard of applications and stacks with which SocksCap users have reported success or failure. Download the list from the SocksCap section at http://www.socks.nec.com/. Volunteers provide the information in the scorecard. The list is not complete and quickly becomes outdated. We greatly appreciate your additions and updates to the scorecard.
What happens if I start SocksCap16 AFTER a WinSock application is already running?
Start SocksCap16 before other WinSock applications. If SocksCap16 sees a request come from an application run prior to starting SocksCap16, it attempts to make all connections directly for that application. Beware that the application may become unstable.
What if I close SocksCap16 before closing a WinSock application?
SocksCap16 must remain running until after you close all network applications. When you attempt to close SocksCap16 and there are still active connections, SocksCap16 displays a warning and gives you a chance to cancel the exit. This does not apply to SocksCap32.
Will I need to run ftp in PASV mode?
FTP may experience problems, depending on the application and stack. Try running without PASV. If that does not work, try PASV.
When I close SocksCap16 in Windows 95 or Windows for Workgroups, it tells me "Exiting SocksCap may cause some network connections to become unstable." I have already closed all the client applications.
SocksCap16 notices that the "WSASRV" process is still running. Add "WSASRV" to the Direct Applications list in the SocksCap16 setup dialog.
Is SocksCap Y2K?
All dates and times in SocksCap16 and SocksCap32 are manipulated using structures from the operating system. As long as the OS and libraries are Y2K (year 2000 compliant), SocksCap should not have any problems.
Can I use SocksCap32 with RealPlayer 5.0 and 6.0?
Yes, but you need to configure RealPlayer so that it does not start up in the system tray. To do this in RealPlayer 5.0, select Preferences in the View menu. Click on the Advanced tab. Clear the check box for "Allow RealPlayer to run in the system tray." In RealPlayer 6.0, select Preferences in the Options menu. Under the General tab, clear the check box for "Allow SmartStart to run in the system tray."
Can I use SocksCap32 with Internet Explorer 4.0 in desktop mode or on Windows 98? What about Internet Explorer
5.0?Although SocksCap32 will not socksify your entire desktop, it is possible to browse with Internet Explorer 4.0 in desktop mode or on Windows 98 with SocksCap32. Select Internet Options in Internet Explorer's View menu. Under the Advanced tab, check the "Browse in a new process" box. Then open an individual Internet Explorer process by starting it from SocksCap32.
For Internet Explorer 5.0, select Internet Options in Internet Explorer's Tools menu. Under the Advanced tab, check the "Launch browser windows in a separate process" box. Under the Connections tab, click the LAN Settings button. Clear check box for "Automatically detect settings."
What do I enter for SOCKS server and port in SocksCap Setup?
Enter the address and port of the SOCKS server you need to traverse. If you are not sure what those are, contact your ISP, network administrator, or firewall administrator for your site or consult a list 1080.htm.
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