I'm using portable Firefox and am pretty happy with it.
Its privacy/security settings might not be perfect, but achieve the goal of leaving less information on all the PCs I'd be using.
With that taken care of, can there be solution for privacy on the server side?
For example, it's no secret sites in general, especially the ones requiring the logon collect vast amounts of information, with times and IPs of logins included.
Now, I would want to have control over which IP is shown, for example the same one (possibly bogus) all the time.
Is that something achievable at all? Already existing, perhaps?
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You need to use a proxy or something... like Tor. That's why I worked on TorPark which combines Portable Firefox with Tor. I do not recommend it for everyday browsing, though, as it slows things down quite a bit and can affect interactive sites. It's designed for people in places like China to be able to access prohibited content that could cost them their lives.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Before posting this question thread I searched forums and saw your comments on working with Tor/TorPark developer.
Would this family of products allow level of privacy including masking IP?
Regarding proxies that might not be the easy way to go due to the environment setup. More and more places, including workplace have proxies already and would not allow PC user to deviate from the mainstream. The idea was to have uniform portable package to browse privately either not leaving the IP trace behind or posing as if you're surfing from IBM/China/gov't/etc.
Then, no, you can't hide your IP address. And if you're at work, no matter what you do, they can track what you're doing. They control the network. If you're trying to do something at work that can get you fired... just don't do it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I understand that work controls everything you do, including network or keystrokes you punch on the keyboard.
Concern was almost opposite. I don't want to sites I visit, like this forum, my bank, or any portal or retailer to see my IP and know I've logged in from this address, which belongs to this subnet, which is such company or ISP.
Basically, I believe no one should care and log whether I'm accessing their site from work, library, or my friend's PC.
It's really no big deal. IP addresses change hands. There's not much a company can do to map it to a person. Cept whatever details you provide.
ALL things you do online give away your IP. Email, web, IM, file sharing, downloads, app auto-updates, etc etc etc. They have to. That's the way the internet works. The only possible workaround is to use an anonymizer... or something like Tor... which is complete overkill unless you're doing something that can get you imprisoned or killed... and in fact, should only be used for that so the people that really need Tor have access to it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
What's the main difference between Tor (TorPark?) and anonymizer?
I'm not planning to do anything illegal or leading to imprisonment. However, the internet is deemed as virtual space, but it appears that everyone's location is easily tracked and discovered by IP.
Proxies might be good, with only two caveats - you have to trust them with your information (login, password, etc.) and have to be able to use them (finding new & reliable ones, being able to use them in environment).
I do NOT want to get on some web site and be given local weather or nearby restaurant just as they discover my IP. I do want to get into my bank, brokerage or any other site without announcing my IP.
If I want security like that I load up the SwitchProxy Toolbar extension in PFF. Only thing is you have to load proxies manually (google proxy list). It can cycle through proxies every X seconds or minutes, and is easy to use, and easy to disable when you dont need it.
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Posted in Mozilla PowerSkunk. Other Browsers run in fear!
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