Anonymous browsing and online security

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This is possibly an internet/connectivity question, but Security seems closer to the mark.

I have Win 7 Ultimate which has its own security features, which I am not using at present, as well as Truecrypt, and I need a crash course in anonymous browsing and online security. I have the Kaspersky suite and assorted malware programs, so am not overly worried about incoming threats, but I have to at least go through the motions of preserving my browsing privacy. Not much of it matters, but suddenly it might. A quick look at anonymizer programs appeared to be non-Win 7 compatible. I would welcome advice and recommendations.

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Privacy has multiple dimensions. For example, which of these are of interest or concern to you?

[*]Browsing history cleared after your session (“private browsing” feature built into the browser);
[*]Browser cookies, Flash cookies, and other tracking tokens are cleared after your session (or blocked altogether for some hosts);
[*]Browser cannot be fingerprinted through a unique combination of user agent and plugins; and/or
[*]Connection is proxied through an intermediary so that your IP address is not recorded by the host.

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Hi peterg, use Firefox.

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I am indeed using Firefox, and welcome Roderunner’s advice on using the features in that. (Edited to add that in Firefox 3.6.10 there is a separate tool called Start Private Browsing.)

As for the suggestions of jscher2000, I would have to say any or all, in that I don’t know the territory in terms of threats. My impression is that a number of those risks can be reduced or eliminated by frequent use of CCleaner, with selected options.

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As for the suggestions of jscher2000, I would have to say any or all, in that I don’t know the territory in terms of threats. My impression is that a number of those risks can be reduced or eliminated by frequent use of CCleaner, with selected options.

CCleaner and other approaches definitely tackle the first point, and at least partially the second:

[*]Browsing history cleared after your session (“private browsing” feature built into the browser);
[*]Browser cookies, Flash cookies, and other tracking tokens are cleared after your session (or blocked altogether for some hosts);
[*]Browser cannot be fingerprinted through a unique combination of user agent and plugins; and/or
[*]Connection is proxied through an intermediary so that your IP address is not recorded by the host.

The third is a method of identification and tracking that combines information from your browser to (nearly) uniquely identify you without having to set a cookie. This may or may not bother you. It’s mostly used to target ads to your interests and behaviors, so if you are blocking ads or ad script, this may have no effect on your day-to-day experience.

The fourth is trackability back to your internet connection using your IP address. Since you presumably are not a political dissident attempting to avoid persecution by an oppressive regime, this higher level of anonymity may not be important to you. (But if you are curious, check out Tor[/url] and Anonymizer[/url].)

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I am indeed using Firefox, and welcome Roderunner’s advice on using the features in that. (Edited to add that in Firefox 3.6.10 there is a separate tool called Start Private Browsing.)

peterg, what addons are you using in FF ( its been my default browser for yonks) I don’t like IE, tried Chrome, which may be safer but featureless. My FF addons are Betterprivacy, Trackmenot and Noscript.

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I have switched back to IE 9 (yes it’s available in beta) and Chrome 6. FF has gotten long in the tooth recently. I still have it available but seem to always choose IE 9, and occ. choosing Chrome. Each version of all the major browsers seem to include more security features than it’s predesesor. IE both v8 and v9 include private browsing options as well plus include the ability to clear out browsing history, cookies, etc upon closing. Both IE 9 and Chrome are faster than FF.

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Hi Peter – Chrome Incognito mode may be of interest to you.
Incognito mode (private browsing)

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Tim, hello.

to Peter, you said : Chrome Incognito mode may be of interest to you.

I am using the “inprivate” mode for security and no surfing history. But it brings a question : is there a way to start this mode without first opening a browser ? So far, I have needed to open IE 8, hit Ctrl-> shift + P to be presented with the “inprivate” mode. I am then left with a redundant screen, under the “inprivate” one, of the first IE 8 request. I can easily get rid of it but there ought to be a more sophisticated way to get in this secure mode without having to first open a screen of IE 8. To my mind, just invoquing the hot keys should bring it up, no ?

Thanks for you attention. Jean.

Edit : a typo.

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Tim, hello.

to Peter, you said : Chrome Incognito mode may be of interest to you.

Hello Jean – Chrome is a different browser, it is very clean/fast and takes up much less resources.
New to Google Chrome?

Chrome and IE are two very different browsers.

Tim

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is there a way to start this mode without first opening a browser ?

If you search around the web for “start up in private browsing” you will find the suggestion to add a startup switch to your Internet Explorer shortcut. The Target would read:

Code:

"C:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe" -private

This should work for clicking/double-clicking, but if you want a Windows hotkey or to launch in this mode for links, more research will be required.

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IE setting in yellow.

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Hello js2000, up yet ?

>>> “C:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe” -private

This is a fine reply from you, mega thanks. I will see if this works now. I will tell you. St-by one.

Jean.

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Me again, js2000

While trying to set up this -private, I was looking at the shortcut on the Taskbar and saw that I could right click on it and a small menu would popup and it has the option to open IE in private, from the start. I will not have to fool around with the -private switch. This way, there is no double screen opened.

Thanks nevertheless for your attention.

There ia a drawback from going to IE in private, I have to enter all User Name and Password but the feeling is cuddling.

Have a nice day. , , , Jean.

Edit: terminology.

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js2000, me still.

I see the qualifying “moderator” close to your name. Can you look up a post from me about asking to merge my lost “user-name” that got lost last week in August ?

Thanks again and sorry for the OT post. Jean.

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Can you look up a post from me about asking to merge my lost “user-name” that got lost last week in August ?

Hi Jean, a fellow moderator already raised this issue for you. An administrator probably will be contacting you in the next day or so.

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Toadrunner, good morning.

I just had a look at my Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Security, and the settings that you showed are the ones that I had set. It did not have anything to do with this double IE screens.

A great day to you. I know you are up and around by 6 hours now. .Jean.

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Hello Tim.

>>> Chrome and IE are two very different browsers.

Yeap ! I am still happy with IE 8, I trial now and then, some FireFox but I always come back to MS brain-wave. Be good.

.Jean.

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I am delighted to have started such a lively thread. It really was something I wanted to know, and now I have numerous ideas. I’m afraid I neglected to mention that my modem is wireless and the neighborhood is tuning in along with me, and doubtless have my computer hacked so as to watch me on-screen as I write, and hear the very bad words I say as well.

Thank you all for the very welcome ideas.

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Peter, hello.

Let me get back to your original question.

What you want to do, nobody listening to your wireless interface, is done in the router itself. You can encrypt all your outgoing data and receiving too. On top of this, you can restrict access to your router, ( not a modem ). Normally, one can access his router by opening up a browser, any one, and typing into the address line the following : 192.168.0.1 or a variant of .1.1. Try it and let me know, we, the whole bunch here will see you through. Promise !

What I do too is “allow” only the pertinent IPs, the addresses of my family’s machines.

A nice evening to you. Jean.

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…………

What I do too is “allow” only the pertinent IPs, the addresses of my family’s machines.
………..

As Jean pointed out, access can also be limited by IP Address which is different from MAC(device specific) access. The same device can get different IP addresses depending on the order it accesses the router. The MAC identifier is unique to the device.

Here is the Table ….

My router is a Linksys.

the EDIT added DHCP table.

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jscher2000, hello.

>>> Hi Jean, a fellow moderator already raised this issue for you. An administrator probably will be contacting you in the next day or so.

One has and we agreed to a solution. Thanks. Jean.

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I believe my modem has an option to turn the wireless feature off – but I thought it might spice things up a bit to remind all that assumptions are easily overlooked, and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

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Peter, greets.

>>> I believe my modem has an option to turn the wireless feature off

Yes, it has, but the easiest way to do this is to pull the wall-wart feeding it DC. Not a solution ! Why did you purchase it in the first place ? To use it ! And use it securedly is possible. Mine is not encrypted but I have limited the access to it, nobody can use it except the ones ( IP ) allowed. I have not encrypted mine as I am in the boonies, no house inside of 300′, I limited the access to it as looking at the .log, I had noted a Road Warrior had used it from a Black Berry.

Why not look at the router innards and set up either encryption or access ? We want to help. Jean.

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.
Routers can limit access to specific devices (computers, printers, etc.)

Here is a sample of allowed devices……

.

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Tim, hello.

>>> Routers can limit access to specific devices (computers, printers, etc.)

This is exactly what I suggested to do. Seems to me that you also have a Dlink, the screen that you uped is like mine ???

Be good. . . . Jean.

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Tim, me still.

What I said : What I do too is “allow” only the pertinent IPs, the addresses of my family’s machines.

You obviously corrected me, it is the MAC address that I should have mentioned before, sorry. This way, only the machines inside this house can connect and use the router. Encryption is another ball of wax.

Be good . . . Jean

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The best way to secure a wireless home network is to limit the IP address pool and use WPA2 encryption, and forget about WEP. Also, MAC address filtering is not an effective security measure. Check out this ZDNet article about six ineffective security measures in securing a wireless LAN. It has an interesting segment on MAC filtering among others.

Hiding your network’s SSID is another measure that provides a sense of false security. Disabling broadcasting of the SSID is only prohibiting one broadcast avenue. Even with that disabled, wireless clients that connect to a non-broadcasting network, especially running XP SP2, are sending out probe requests that reveal the wireless network’s SSID. Check out this How To Geek article on hiding the SSID.

The ZDNet article also identifies another three broadcast avenues that still remain active in non-broadcasting wireless networks.

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Let’s look through the other end of the telescope (and I hope you will all stay out of jail).

I can disable my wireless, unplug my modem, throw it in the garbage, run on or off battery, flip the wi-fi switch on the computer, and the screen lights up like a Christmas tree with all the neighbours’ wireless modem signals, most of which probably have weak passwords and explicit names that give away who they belong to, and which give away the name of the ISP as well, with their known systems. Regrettably, the reverse is also true.

Who needs an ISP when you can piggyback on the neighbours’ ISPs? This is worse than an internet cafe.

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Let’s look through the other end of the telescope (and I hope you will all stay out of jail).

I can disable my wireless, unplug my modem, throw it in the garbage, run on or off battery, flip the wi-fi switch on the computer, and the screen lights up like a Christmas tree with all the neighbours’ wireless modem signals, most of which probably have weak passwords and explicit names that give away who they belong to, and which give away the name of the ISP as well, with their known systems. Regrettably, the reverse is also true.

Who needs an ISP when you can piggyback on the neighbours’ ISPs? This is worse than an internet cafe.

To reply to my own grouchy and altogether too explicit post, I have no wish to give anyone bright ideas about committing crimes, but there are occasions when there is a legitimate need for privacy in communicating sensitive information on a personal level, and it helps to be prepared. The one thing I will certainly try to look up is the proper means of turning off the wireless feature of my modem, which I rarely have a use for in any case, and for email I will try the certificate business again, which I botched when I attempted it the first time.

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When a customer comes at me with questions about their browsing security, my first question is always,
“What are you afraid of?”.
So I would ask the OP, “What exactly are you afraid of? Be specific.”

I quote one Security Chief in his comment about IE (any version) , “It just ain’t SAFE!!!”.

Look at all the MS Updates over the past ten years or so……a huge percent of them have been
to FIX problems or security holes in Internet Explorer. Cheeeeech!

Being fairly Security Conscious myself, I just refuse to use IE at all. For the sites that seem to
require it, I use the IE Tab add-on in Firefox. That works just fine.
Another add-on that I can’t seem to live without is “AdBlock Plus”. It really cleans up a lot of web sites
and forums that I frequent regularly. I really hate it, when I’m working a forum and an ad pops up right in
the middle of what I’m reading or typing. Grrrrrrr!

Ok, before this becomes a RANT…… I’m outta hea!
Y’all have a great day now, y’hea?

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Being fairly Security Conscious myself, I just refuse to use IE at all. For the sites that seem to
require it, I use the IE Tab add-on in Firefox. That works just fine.

IE Tab is handy, but just so everyone is clear, the add-on embeds the version of IE you have on your system in a Firefox tab. It doesn’t have its own independent rendering engine that works just like IE.

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peterg, good morning.

>>> means of turning off the wireless feature of my modem

Fine if it suits your modus operandi, but do it the software way, not with a sledge.

Look into your router’s innards, ( not a modem ) and find the click to turn off the wireless fonction. Keep it ON to use as a LAN machine.

When there is a will, there is a way.

Jean.

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The law-related site Laws Of.com has a convenient bundle of current (pun or no pun) links that are heavy on wireless, for those who are interested in such things. Battles are raging, whether anyone is following them or not.

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