No Name Online

Some folks think that if they hide their IP address that I’ll be completely anonymous on the internet, unfortunately it’s just not true. It’s true that an IP address can give away your location, in fact it can be used to track down your exact location but, and it’s a big but, most hide my IP address applications and anonymous proxies only mask this information from the server you are visiting.

Any web browsing is primarily an act of faith, it happens in clear text and can be spotted whizzing across the ether at a myriad points. How about this line which appears along with my IP address exactly as printed in my ISP logs.

192.168.1.55 DNS Standard query A http://www.your-company-name.com

That happens when I type in my home page into a browser window – you see the exact request in clear text.

Even if I use an anonymous proxy or any of the many hide my IP address type programs on the internet the following information flies out from my computer -

192.168.1.55 DNS Standard query A http://www.example-website.com

Yes it’s exactly the same, that’s what appears in your ISP Logs with your IP address along with every other single thing you do on the internet. It also appears on every router, server you traverse across the web, in fact using an ordinary anonymous proxy means that the only place that won’t have a record of your visit is the web page you visit. Now ok it’s a little bit of privacy but it’s hardly anonymity is it, the only person who you are shielded from is the owner of the web site you are visiting..

The internet is completely open for the most part and the most used transport protocol is HTTP which you need know nothing more than is clear text. That’s it your identity, IP address, account numbers, password travel across the web in clear readable text (apart from a brief period when you use SSL), really anyone with the inclination can see most of your data if they intercept it, or work for an ISP, or a Government etc, etc.

{Anonymous Proxy address} Continuation Data

So what’s the above, well it’s what my web browsing leaves behind, of course there’s also data but that is encrypted by the the same encryption algorithm used by the US military to send their orders out in Iraq, saying it’s extremely secure is an understatement. To be honest it really does put the whole ‘hide my IP address’ thing into context – good luck if you just hide your IP address.