diji1
14th August 2002, 14:01
Hi,
I'm going to tell everyone about some of the programs and practises that i use when i surf the web to be a little more secure and maintain privacy. All of this is pretty common knowledge stuff for the computer and privacy "savvy" out there and thus i imagine that to lots of you out there reading this should stop reading right here. This is pretty simple stuff and i don't claim any expertise in the area of internet security or anything else for that matter. It's all Windows-centric as well. Also I'm paranoid so some people may consider some tips as "going overboard" - fine like i said, im paranoid. I couldn't be bothered providing lots links for any apps or guides. Goooogle it. There's really too much infomation to relate without writing articles so you'll need to do extra reading if your interested.
1/ First up - I use a firewall. Basically a firewall prevents access to your computer via a network ( read internet ... ) without authorisation and should also prevent applications connecting to the network form your computer. In case you didn't know an unprotected ( ie. not firewalled ) computer on the internet is a sitting duck for malicious programs and people. That's not too say that you _will_ be hacked if you don't run a firewall by any means but the thing is you may not know if you were. And there are nasty/idiotic/criminal people out there that just may find your computer a tempting target for ... well, take your pick of activities ranging from amusement to illegal activities where your computer is used and not their own. oooo scary but true. Two firewalls worth mentioning are Zonelabs "Zonealarm" and Tiny "Personal Firewall". Zonealarm is free for personal use, Tiny 3.0 I am not sure about anymore ( it may be). I am using version 2.9 of Tiny Personal Firewall which was free when i got it and i prefer it because it's simple to use and seems effective. Just because you have a firewall doesn't make your machine safe from all malicious either activities btw. You could liken it to locking the door of your house though. Someone can still break in but not without effort
2/ Next i use a cookie blocker. Cookies are a small files that web browsers and programs use to store infomation related to the site on your computer such as passwords and site stats. A blocker enables you to specify whether a site or program is allowed to leave a cookie and/or access the browsers cookies already on the machine. Some cookies are used for advertising purposes but they can be a good thing sometimes. Personally i have a habit of blocking every cookie unless it's completely necessary. There are quite a lot of cookie blockers out there - my favourite is "Cookie Pal" ( not free ).
3/ "The Proxomitron". I love this program. Basically it "sits" in between your web browser ( it's browser independent ) and the internet. The web is produced using a language called html, basically just normal text. The Proxomitron scans and modifies html code as it comes and goes from your web browser accoding to a set of "filters". Basically this program can do many, many things - too many to list here but some are: prevents pop-ups of any type; prevents/fakes the referring website being given; prevents/fakes cookies; prevents ads of any type; selectively filters javascript; prevents meta-cookies, kills sounds, flash , frames, gifs. Be amazed at how much faster your surfing the web without unnecessary crap being loaded - i was. ( yes, i use dialup dammit ). It also prevents a lot of infomation from being given out by your web browser that is used for various things, sometimes advertising. It's free.
4/ Use an anonymous proxy server. One of the nice things about "The Proxomitron" is it makes using and changing proxy servers quite easy. A proxy server sits in between you and the rest of the internet. If your browser makes a request, say for a web page, this is passed to the proxy server which then gets the page details and passes them to you. This means that the website will only have the address of the proxy server and not your real address ( provided it's anonymous). This can prevent some types of malicious behaviour and further adds to your privacy. Lists of proxy servers are quite easy to find ( Google ). I usually enter 4 or 5 proxies into "The Proxomitron" every 24 hours or so and cycle through them. Using proxy servers will slow down your net connection a bit usually - but in ( very ) rare situations you can actually speed up access to websites , depending on the geographic location. Some people may consider them more trouble than they are worth.
4/ Get Lavasoft's "Ad-aware". This program removes spyware from your computer. Spyware keeps tabs on various things about your computer and what you do with it. It is used amongst other things for companies to gain infomation to earn more money though better targetted advertising - for example programs on your computer or which web sites you visit. Maybe that's no problem for some people - you should be ashamed of being drone-like if thats the case ;). Programs containing spyware are sometimes easy to spot ( "Hi, I'm f**king Bonzi Buddy" ) but in other cases other quite sneaky ( "Ghrone" for example ).
6/ Use a virus scanner regularly and update it at least monthly. There's plenty of free ones out there that are just as good if not better than commercial programs. If everybody ran a virus scanner ...
I can't be bothered writing any more on this thread atm, i may come back and add some more. Maybe even a few links. Comments and ideas, even flames are welcome. :)
I'm going to tell everyone about some of the programs and practises that i use when i surf the web to be a little more secure and maintain privacy. All of this is pretty common knowledge stuff for the computer and privacy "savvy" out there and thus i imagine that to lots of you out there reading this should stop reading right here. This is pretty simple stuff and i don't claim any expertise in the area of internet security or anything else for that matter. It's all Windows-centric as well. Also I'm paranoid so some people may consider some tips as "going overboard" - fine like i said, im paranoid. I couldn't be bothered providing lots links for any apps or guides. Goooogle it. There's really too much infomation to relate without writing articles so you'll need to do extra reading if your interested.
1/ First up - I use a firewall. Basically a firewall prevents access to your computer via a network ( read internet ... ) without authorisation and should also prevent applications connecting to the network form your computer. In case you didn't know an unprotected ( ie. not firewalled ) computer on the internet is a sitting duck for malicious programs and people. That's not too say that you _will_ be hacked if you don't run a firewall by any means but the thing is you may not know if you were. And there are nasty/idiotic/criminal people out there that just may find your computer a tempting target for ... well, take your pick of activities ranging from amusement to illegal activities where your computer is used and not their own. oooo scary but true. Two firewalls worth mentioning are Zonelabs "Zonealarm" and Tiny "Personal Firewall". Zonealarm is free for personal use, Tiny 3.0 I am not sure about anymore ( it may be). I am using version 2.9 of Tiny Personal Firewall which was free when i got it and i prefer it because it's simple to use and seems effective. Just because you have a firewall doesn't make your machine safe from all malicious either activities btw. You could liken it to locking the door of your house though. Someone can still break in but not without effort
2/ Next i use a cookie blocker. Cookies are a small files that web browsers and programs use to store infomation related to the site on your computer such as passwords and site stats. A blocker enables you to specify whether a site or program is allowed to leave a cookie and/or access the browsers cookies already on the machine. Some cookies are used for advertising purposes but they can be a good thing sometimes. Personally i have a habit of blocking every cookie unless it's completely necessary. There are quite a lot of cookie blockers out there - my favourite is "Cookie Pal" ( not free ).
3/ "The Proxomitron". I love this program. Basically it "sits" in between your web browser ( it's browser independent ) and the internet. The web is produced using a language called html, basically just normal text. The Proxomitron scans and modifies html code as it comes and goes from your web browser accoding to a set of "filters". Basically this program can do many, many things - too many to list here but some are: prevents pop-ups of any type; prevents/fakes the referring website being given; prevents/fakes cookies; prevents ads of any type; selectively filters javascript; prevents meta-cookies, kills sounds, flash , frames, gifs. Be amazed at how much faster your surfing the web without unnecessary crap being loaded - i was. ( yes, i use dialup dammit ). It also prevents a lot of infomation from being given out by your web browser that is used for various things, sometimes advertising. It's free.
4/ Use an anonymous proxy server. One of the nice things about "The Proxomitron" is it makes using and changing proxy servers quite easy. A proxy server sits in between you and the rest of the internet. If your browser makes a request, say for a web page, this is passed to the proxy server which then gets the page details and passes them to you. This means that the website will only have the address of the proxy server and not your real address ( provided it's anonymous). This can prevent some types of malicious behaviour and further adds to your privacy. Lists of proxy servers are quite easy to find ( Google ). I usually enter 4 or 5 proxies into "The Proxomitron" every 24 hours or so and cycle through them. Using proxy servers will slow down your net connection a bit usually - but in ( very ) rare situations you can actually speed up access to websites , depending on the geographic location. Some people may consider them more trouble than they are worth.
4/ Get Lavasoft's "Ad-aware". This program removes spyware from your computer. Spyware keeps tabs on various things about your computer and what you do with it. It is used amongst other things for companies to gain infomation to earn more money though better targetted advertising - for example programs on your computer or which web sites you visit. Maybe that's no problem for some people - you should be ashamed of being drone-like if thats the case ;). Programs containing spyware are sometimes easy to spot ( "Hi, I'm f**king Bonzi Buddy" ) but in other cases other quite sneaky ( "Ghrone" for example ).
6/ Use a virus scanner regularly and update it at least monthly. There's plenty of free ones out there that are just as good if not better than commercial programs. If everybody ran a virus scanner ...
I can't be bothered writing any more on this thread atm, i may come back and add some more. Maybe even a few links. Comments and ideas, even flames are welcome. :)