Protect Your Privacy

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Protect Your Privacy Now! Hide Your IP Address

The content of this e-book was compiled by extracting excerpts from posts in the How-to-hide-ip.info blog. To read more about how to protect your privacy and hide your IP address, go to http://www.how-to-hide-ip.info

Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

Table of Contents
EVERYTHING you do online is traced back to you – through your IP address ........................................... 3 6 Reasons Why YOU Should Hide Your IP Address ................................................................................... 4 What exactly is an IP Address? ............................................................................................................. 5 What does your IP address reveal about you? ........................................................................................... 6 Can your physical address be traced through your IP address? .............................................................. 9 Why do you need to hide your IP address? ........................................................................................ 10 Is hiding your IP address legal? ................................................................................................................. 11 The pros and cons of hiding your IP address .......................................................................................... 12

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

Did you know . . .?

Absolutely EVERYTHING you do online can be traced back to you – through your IP address

If you thought the Internet was anonymous, think again. Every website you visit, every email you send, every image or file you download – is ALL connected back to your IP address. And anyone can get this information – including hackers! You are NOT anonymous. EVERYTHING you do online is connected to your unique IP address. With this special number, hackers can launch an attack against your computer. And identity theft fraudsters can track your activities and build profiles of your Internet usage. Every time you log onto the Internet, your unique IP address is stored in server logfiles. This includes any website that you visit and every email that you send. Don’t be fooled into thinking your email is anonymous either. Web-based email accounts such as Hotmail and Gmail are NOT anonymous. Even if you don't provide your real name when signing up, they can still capture your IP address and track you through your ISP (Internet Service Provider) if necessary.

If you are surfing with your real IP, your unique IP address reveals all this data about YOU.

Your unique IP address is exposed EVERY time you visit a website. Your IP address is your online identity and could be used by fraudsters and hackers to break into your computer, steal personal or sensitive information such as credit card numbers or banking details, or commit other crimes against you. Scary thought? Read on.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

Here are 6 Reasons Why YOU Should Hide Your IP Address:

1. Your IP address allows intruders to hack into your computer. 2. Hackers can access the private content on your computer to gain access to your credit card numbers, bank accounts, website passwords and much more. 3. Identity theft fraudsters can track your activities and build profiles of your Internet usage. 4. Hiding your IP address can STOP search engine providers from gathering and recording information about your Internet history and search habits, and divulging that information to others. 5. Having a record of your IP address can be used to block you from participating in certain sites such as forums, or gaming sites. 6. Your personal information can be used to send you spam and junk emails by marketers who have gathered information about your interests and know your IP address.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

What exactly is an IP Address?
Every computer connected to the Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol or IP address. IP addresses consist of a set of numbers separated by periods and look something like this: 127.0.0.1. This sequence of numbers identifies your computer on the internet. These numbers are usually assigned to internet service providers within region-based blocks. So, the IP address identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets across the Internet. Think of an IP as your computer’s mail address. This works in much the same way as your home address or phone number.

There is a lot of technical jargon associated with IP addresses but as long as you think of it as your computer’s physical address, it’s much easier to understand. With the enormous size of the Internet, your IP address is very important. It lets other computers know where to send the data you are requesting - whether it’s a website or any other kind of data. There are many different ways available to hide and change your IP address so you can have better security while surfing the Internet or conducting business. You can either use special programs or proxy servers that hide your real IP address thereby making your computer more secure or keeping your browsing habits away from the prying eyes of snoopers. It’s easy for almost anyone to find out your IP address and even the IP addresses of others. If you are concerned about security, it is wise to take steps to keep your IP address obscured.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

What does your IP address reveal about you?
Your IP address is a very powerful thing that can reveal a lot about your personal details and your computer. It is used to track where traffic is coming from for sites, and it can be used in intrusive ways which can harm you and your computer. It can also be used to block you from viewing certain sites. There are many other reasons why IP addresses are so important to people.

Your IP address reveals where you live Your computer’s IP address reveals your location (country and region – not specific home address) and your browser also reveals information regarding your online activity. Here is a list of info people see about you through your IP address:



Location of where the internet connection is coming from – that means YOUR location

• • • • • •

Your application Name Your application Version Your user Agent Your browser Name Your operating System Your platform

And ANYONE can get this information. For example, go to http://www.how-to-hide-ip.info/what-is-my-ip-address/ and see your computer’s information:

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address What Is My IP Address?
Your IP Address is: 43.236.95.11 City: Durban Country: South Africa Country code: za ISP: Telkom SA Ltd. Organization: Telkom SA Limited Proxy: 198.53.201.129 Application Name: Netscape User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.1.2) Gecko/20090729 Firefox/3.5.2 Browser Name: Mozilla Firefox 3.5.2 Operating System: Windows NT 5.1 - Windows XP Platform: Win32 - Windows 32-bit platform

And this is just the beginning of the list of things your IP address reveals about you and your family.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address
Your IP address allows intruders to hack into your computer Intruders use your IP address to hack into the private content on your computer to gain access to your credit card numbers, bank accounts, website passwords and much more. An intruder can gain access to anything on your computer simply by having your IP address. That is why it’s so important to understand how you are being revealed and what steps you can take to stop it.

Using a program or a proxy server to hide your IP address There are many different software programs that can be used to hide your IP address while surfing the web. This provides you with better security for your online privacy. You can purchase a program that will block or hide your IP address from prying eyes. This is a valuable tool to protect your computer and yourself online. Anyone who conducts purchases online should always be worried about their privacy and take the steps needed in order to protect themselves. Using Proxy Servers is another way to view certain sites without revealing your IP address. It’s not an ideal solution, though, and can cause problems with surfing online (we’ll discuss that later). It’s a far better solution to purchase software that will block your IP when you want it blocked. Some sites won’t allow you to have a blocked IP, so it’s necessary to be able to change it to and from hidden mode.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

Can your physical address be traced through your IP address?
The answer is both yes and no. No, your exact physical location (as in street name and house/apartment number) cannot be traced through your IP address by some idle evildoer surfing the Net in search of criminal activities. Yes, it is true that your IP address is no secret. Each time you surf the Net or connect to a website, or request a web page, or play online games, you are sending communication protocols that include your IP address. Without an IP address you would be invisible on the Internet and would therefore not be able to communicate with anyone. However, each time you go online (either through dial-up, or cable or dsl) your computer’s IP address will lead people back to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). So anyone with criminal intentions in search of your physical address would only be able to ascertain the country of origin of your ISP, and the general geographic location. No one will be able to pinpoint your exact physical address from this. For example, if you are using a nationwide ISP, all anyone would be able to ascertain is that you are from a certain country, a wide geographic area within that country, and nothing more. But for anyone out there with illegal intentions, thinking they can commit fraud and other criminal activities online without being traced to their place of residence or business, think again. The law will come knocking on your door sooner or later! Your ISP will not willingly reveal your personal details to anyone – except the law. If your ISP is served with a court order to reveal your details, including your home address, they are obliged to do so. But of course for the criminally inclined there are ways and means to access and use the web anonymously. As we have seen, there are sites with proxy servers that act as a proxy between you and your ISP, hiding your IP address completely. Some of these proxies also boast that your information cannot be subpoenaed because they do not keep a record of any logs.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

Why do you need to hide your IP address?
Why do I need to hide my IP Address? This question is sometimes asked by Internet users. However, this is also a question that most people never even consider! As we have seen, an IP Address is a series of numbers that is assigned to every computer that has a modem. This IP address identifies who you are and where you live. It also tracks everything you do on the internet. Everything you do on the Internet can be traced through your IP Address. So why do people hide their IP addresses? There are various reasons why people want to remain anonymous on the Internet by either hiding their IP or changing their IP address. Here are some of them: • To protect their computer from hackers – protecting credit card numbers, banking information etc. • • To have better security when purchasing items online. To stop search engine providers from gathering and recording information about their Internet history and search habits. • To regain access to sites they may have been banned from, such as forums, or gaming sites.

How do sites and search engines track my Internet Activities through my IP address? Your computer accesses the internet through a modem. That modem is assigned an IP Address that tells any particular website that is accessed exactly where you are, who you are, and most importantly, what you have been doing on the Internet. Whether you’re downloading free music or emailing an old girlfriend, you might want to consider hiding your IP Address. This way, you can be completely sure that whatever you’re doing online, your secrets will remain hidden for as long as you want them to.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

Is hiding your IP address legal?
As long as you are not engaged in any illegal activities online, then it is perfectly legal to hide your IP address. There are many other benefits to hiding your IP address; some of these include: • Protecting yourself and your computer from spyware • Freedom from pop-up ads • Your computer will work more efficiently • Sites can’t monitor you

You can hide your IP in three different ways: • • • Through software programs. Through proxy servers. VPN services

The legitimate way to hide your IP address is through a licensed software program, but going through a proxy server is also perfectly legal. You can’t get into any trouble for this unless you are suspected of doing illegal activities while using hidden IP’s. A major disadvantage of using proxies is that it will slow your computer down considerably. If you’re trying to hide what you are doing online from people you know, then hiding your IP address is the way to go. There will be no way for them to know what you have been looking at online.

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Protect Your Privacy Now! - Hide Your IP Address

The pros and cons of hiding your IP address
There are a lot of things to be aware of when you’re hiding your IP. You could be doing something illegal without even knowing it. A lot of sites have very specific rules in their TOS (Terms of Service). You have to be aware of these and make sure you protect yourself. Here is a list of the pros and cons that come with hiding your IP address. Pros You can have more than one account on sites that restrict it. If you are banned from a forum you can create a new account using a different IP. • • • • Cons If using a proxy server, you will trust someone else with your actual IP. You can be sued by sites for violating their TOS (Terms of Service). Hiding your IP is not allowed by some sites, and will result in your being banned. You can post comments on forums/sites/blogs using a fake identity. You can vote multiple times (e.g. vote for your photo on a photo sharing site). People will have a tough time finding out who you really are. You will be able to download more things at once.

• •

• • •

As you can see there are many implications associated with hiding your IP address.

But

when considering whether to hide your IP address or not, remember this old adage: It’s better to be safe than sorry!

The content of this e-book was compiled by extracting excerpts from posts in the How-to-hide-ip.info blog. To read more about how to protect your privacy and hide your IP address, go to http://www.how-to-hide-ip.info

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