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Ask Slashdot: Choosing Anonymous Proxies?

Posted by timothy on from the you-will-be-my-avatar dept.

bradley13 writes "There are lots of anonymous proxies out there, and anyone concerned about their privacy probably uses one for at least some of their web browsing. The Megaupload story highlights the fact that having servers in the USA is not a great idea. There are also other countries one may not want to trust. Oddly, very few proxy services mention where their equipment is located. What anonymous proxy services do you use? What criteria do you use to select them? How paranoid are you, and for what types of Internet usage?"

9 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. Botnets and Seven Chains by Christopher+B.+Linn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's the only way to stay truly anonymous and secure on the internet. You cannot trust companies to provide you true anonymity and proxies, especially if money is involved.

    Never trust anyone, and never expose to anyone who you are. That is the only way to stay secure on the internet.

    1. Re:Botnets and Seven Chains by El+Torico · · Score: 5, Funny

      Agent Mulder, is that you?

      --
      In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is usually crucified.
    2. Re:Botnets and Seven Chains by Hatta · · Score: 5, Informative

      Or Tor. Which is the same thing as a bot net proxy, but consensual. Make sure you don't send any personally identifiable traffic through the tunnel, because the exit nodes are monitored.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:Botnets and Seven Chains by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The point he's trying to make is that nobody knows that better than he does - Cisco gear is widely used to facilitate eavesdropping and contains multiple undocumented backdoors for the 3-letter agencies.

      Your proxy could be 100% dedicated to customer privacy, but can be unwittingly monitored and its users exposed as long as the proxy utilizes Cisco gear.

      He did not slip or contradict himself - he is doing you all a favor, and speaks with authority.

  2. I do not trust Anonymous proxies. by Dareth · · Score: 5, Funny

    I do not trust Anonymous proxies. So I always host my own "anonymous" proxies myself. That is what I call secure!

    --

    I only look human.
    My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
    1. Re:I do not trust Anonymous proxies. by kiwimate · · Score: 5, Funny

      Pfft, amateur. I use a WGET to have my web pages e-mailed to me. That way anyone who's watching my activity thinks it's Richard Stallman.

  3. VTunnel has a proven track record by diversiform · · Score: 5, Insightful

    of thwarting FBI requests: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/08/exclusive-how-the-fbi-investigates-the-activities-of-anonymous.ars

  4. Re:The best anonymouse proxy is an open wifi by Crudely_Indecent · · Score: 5, Informative

    Be sure to alter the MAC address of your wireless adapter, or the log files on the open wifi router could be used to identify your computer.

    --


    "Lame" - Galaxar
  5. Never trusted them either by AlienSexist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Being paranoid, I cannot resolve the chain-of-trust for anonymous proxies. For all I know Big Brother, with his infinite budget, owns and operates all of these so called proxies anyway. Honeypots if you will. Not only are they well-positioned to see what you are trying to conceal but even collaborate among other owned nodes to see just how far you're willing to take it. So in the worst case you are drawing even more attention upon yourself. You cannot really know. Is it safer than not using a proxy at all? Possibly.