How secure are you?

[Hawgz]

How many of you guy’s and gal’s are running through a proxy server or something to hide or mask your IP address? look here and tell me if you like what you see www.networldmap.com.
I am not computer expert but i have started looking into proxy servers And have found some pretty interesting stuff.. If you are running through a hihgt anon proxy server i guess you already know what you are doing . But for the ones that are not try this...
go to www.networldmap.com write down the info it gives you
then go to www.proxify.com follow the directions and go back to the site and see if the info has changed.
there are ways to set up your browser so that it runs through a proxy server. I will be posting a how to in a few days. just for those that dont already do it

[Sicilian30]

This is an online proxy masking service. However it masks your IP from websites, not from your ISP which still knows your IP number. HOwever some sites will not allow you to access them thru an online proxy service. Hell my proxy at my office does not allow me to access websites such as hushmail due to the java and such that has to load. I have to customize my firewall to allow "certain trusted java" apps to run, then if it will run correctly. FIrewalls and proxies are great, and should be run, however, it is sort of misleading to mask your IP number. There are still even so many ways to find out what your IP number is. But very nice post however, and something to think about.

[CarbonCopy]

Ahh it got pretty close, but not right on the money. Still kind of cool. I don't use a proxy sever usually, but when I do I use anon ones or ones that support ssl.

[CarbonCopy]

Proxies are nice, but misleading to people in the sense that you can still be tracked down.

[Hawgz]

True..... but it takes a little work. just a way to add a speed bump.

[Hawgz]

Like I say I am no expert by any means. I may be way off base here and may be doing it for no reason, but this is what I do..
I use netscape7.1 because it is convenient to add and change proxies. I will go through a proxy in Brazil for a few days then change to one in Mexico for a few days and so on. Now follow me here and tell me what you think....Lets say I set my proxy to 63.178.212.199:8080 hightanon SSL Austria I then go and set up a email account like ziplip or hushmail that ask no questions about you or for a current email addy. Now if someone wanted to know the owner of that email addy they would have to contact the email provider and get the ip of that account which I hope shows the ip from Austria. I do this for my own security not because I am doing anything illegal. I have other concerns that by simply going to a web site they can acquire info about you through your IP address and can monitor your reading habits by the site you visit.
I would like to hear from the experts on the board

[Jack87]

This is good info and I know I want to hear more
about it... Sicilian I know you know your computer
**** as well as anyone on AR, but I would love to
hear what the newbie knows as well...

Break it down bro or PM me...

[Hawgz]

This is intended to be for anyone that is not running through a proxy server. I think most would agree that when you visit a web site certain information could be found out about you. It can exploit security holes in your system using not very complexed ready made, hacking programs (SPYWARE). Besides what if your friend from the gym gets POPPED and the POPO thinks he has a not so legal business he has been running on the Internet so they check all his email ‘s to and from his computer. NOT that you have taken part in any thing illegal but you can be traced down easier just from the IP that your emails provided. And who wants to be tracked down and ask questions about a friend.

I suggest using a proxy to access a hotmail, ziplip, hushmail or yahoo web based mail account to send email you don't want traced back to you. Pick a proxy that supports SSL to access secured pages and in general
"hight anon" proxies offer the ultimate protection.
You can choose a proxy server here. http://www.samair.ru/proxy/ Some of them may not last long so it may take a while to find one that works there are programs out there that check them for you but i would rather spend my money else where.

A proxy entry from this list looks like this line: 66.30.61.73:22788 hight anon. SSL Australia
meaning it's IP address is 66.30.61.73, it accepts page requests on port 22788 and YES it supports SSL (secure pages) requests and it is located in Australia. In general the father it is the slower but not necessarily.
To configure Internet Explorer to use this proxy click TOOLS/INTERNET OPTIONS/CONNECTIONS/LAN SETTINGS then select the checkboxes "Use Proxy servers..." and "Bypass for local addresses.
In the ADDRESS field paste or type in the IP address or name of the proxy from the list (In this case 66.30.61.73) and in the PORT field input the PORT value 22788. Click OK and try browsing. A nice site to test your current IP address is www.networldmap.com
I run both Netscape and Internet explorer. I have Netscape set up through my proxy and left IE alone.
To set up Netscape go to EDIT / PREFERENCES / ADVANCED / PROXIES check MANUAL PROXIES CONFIGURATION add the IP number and port .

WARNING: by doing this you are NOT guaranteed to be untraceable. I would suggest staying away from servers running in countries that the US does not trust (like Canada) hehehe joking. But seriously stay away from any country that the US suspects could house or support terrorism. I'm sure all traffic with theses countries will be monitored in some way
This is NOT intended to be used for any ILLEGAL ACTIVITY only for personal security.

[slamd097]

wow..good information. First off I have to kind of go back to my cisco classes.

Getting your personal ip is still pretty easy, but what actually makes it pretty hard is if you work in an office. I have a huge network that I manage. just on my floor I have 50 computers that connect to a t-3 line. The t-3 line has a set ip. But your network computer will not have that address. Not the switch and router that every one goes through knows your personal ip address. But the outside world dosen't. What they do see is your line you are coming in on. But what I did helpo set up is a secured line. Still trackable, but harder to do. And if some one does commit a crime or has illegal activity going on, It could be one of those 50 computers. the only one who would know is the router. And the router wouldn't dosen't keep track of where you went. only your computer. So if any one saw something illegal go on, they would have to size all 50 of those computers.

so how does one go about disapearing? Proxy, firewall (a very good one like zonealarm pro) do not use explorer. opera, mozilla, would be great runners. And make sure you go through all of the settings and discard all of the cookies and turn off auto complete. And then use a router and give it a proxy as well. Turn off your router so it forgets all of the tables...there are a few more things but this is about as secure as you can get...

[Hawgz]

Hey bro thanks for the reply.. I work for a major defense contractor and we also have a net work with hundreds of computers but i have nothing to do with the network. I do have access to a computer. If i have to log in with a username and password they can tell if i change the proxy settings..... right?
But for basic security on my home computer will what i posted provide any help From the average joe blow?
I realized and as i posted this is only a SPEED BUMP.hehehe

[Sicilian30]

Okay fellas first off, this is not a bad idea, however there is an ole saying in the IT business, "You leave a footprint where ever you go on the Internet". So let's say that you do use a proxy that goes thru Brazil, but that proxy server knows the original IP you came in on or have currently, even though you "mask" your IP number behind their proxy. Yes harder to find you but not impossible.
I know of one ISP company that keeps track of users, where they go, what sites the visit and so forth. I even know of one ISP company that actually watches search engines for "certain words" typed into a search, words such as "child porn", illegal drugs, and so forth. These are then logged by your ISP company, and sent to FBI or DEA. How can I prove that this does happen? Well a friend of mine who happens to be a female was searching on teh Internet about how to talk to her kids about sex. She was honestly trying to get advice. She accidently clicked on a site, and it brought up some sort of pornography, not sure if it was child porn, but it was porn anyway. The next day HER ISP COMPANY sent an email to her stating that they logged her site and that this particular site was in so many words "being watched by Feds or something like that" and that her IP and information was being sent over to the "appropriate authorities". Now this is a married woman mother of two, who does not surf for porn. But how did her ISP company know about that info? How would they have known she hadn't visited that site?
I also read about a FBI sting operation to where the fBI setup this bogus porn child website to get child pornographers (Sick mother f*ckers anyway), to download child porn stuff. They used the website to track down these guys by loggin their IP numbers and so forth. They brought down a huge ring that was based not only here in the US but in other countries as well. A major bust for the FBI, which in this case was a very good thing in my opinion.
Believe me, when it comes to the Internet it gives one a false sense of security, it is very private, but more and more crimes are being commited on the Internet, which has prompted the FBI and DEA to start hiring experts and people that know how to "get around" the systems, because normally they are the ones who designed and programmed them.
I guess to make a long story short, you just have to have an understanding how networks and the Internet works. The Internet is full of routers, switches, DNS servers, mail servers, proxy servers and so forth. All information has to bounce off many of these servers. I have heard theroies of these "special US Servers" to where everything has to route thru, ever piece of data has to route thru a "particular server", therefore that is the Gov's way of keeping tabs on you just in case anything needs to be dug up on you. I watched an FBI special on Internet Crimes, and one guy made a statement saying, "If it happened on the Internet, we can find it, there is nothing we can't find if we wanted to". He then talked about a top secret devices such as these servers I mentioned above. He didn't give any specifics, but he suggested that there are tools and things out there such as this. After what I know in the IT business, I'd say anything I mean anything is true at this point!
ONe last thought not to make you paranoid or anything:
HOw do you know that this secure proxy server you are using is not something derived up by the US Government to catch criminals? How do you know it is not a site that they can actually put on the web in which they can now have a legitimate and lawful way to track where and what you are doing on the Internet. Something to think about eh?

Oh and by the way Buff, thanks for the compliment, but I don't claim to know everything and by far am no expert on many subjects. I don't claim to be nor will I ever.
I do know one thing someone said here. They were talking about if they were behing a computer on their network and "hit a site". That site has your IP number for sure, not the computer itself, but the router IP what we call your "Wan" Ip. If you don't believe me go to www.grc.com and use their "probe my ports" section. Do it and see what IP number comes up. Your router IP. REally that is all one needs to know. Even if you are on a computer with a 200 node network. You can simply look at the packet info to see how the router directed the request made from you computer from behind the router. FOr example on my proxy server at my office, I can see where and what ever computer on my network visited for that day. I even get the report emailed to me everyday. so that is another what I call another "false sense of security". There is nothing secure on the Internet anymore guys, that is just the way it is. Yes you can make it harder for someone to catch you, but think about this, with computers there is literally nothing that is impossible.

[arthurb999]

Think about it. With the GPS on cell phones, cameras everywhere, etc., the gov can track you if they want. It would be better to just stay out of trouble.

[newone]

Every proxy I have ever tried has killed my speed...... Think about it your adding more and more hops to your route.