Anonymizer
Encyclopedia
An anonymizer or an anonymous proxy is a tool that attempts to make activity on the Internet
untraceable.
It is a proxy server
computer that acts as an intermediary and privacy shield between a client computer and the rest of the Internet. It accesses the Internet on the user's behalf, protecting personal information by hiding the client computer's identifying information.
However, anonymizers can also be used by individuals wishing to avoid the consequences of engaging in criminal, disruptive, or socially unacceptable behaviour online. For example much of the child pornography
distributed through the internet is accessed through anonymizers. Also, they are used to bypass web technologies that limit online content access to a certain number of minutes or quantity of data.
Some countries, especially dictatorships or Islamic countries, fail to serve the rights of minority groups, or oppress any opposition to their government. These countries apply heavy censorship on the internet, sometimes with the death penalty. Anonymizers can help in allowing free access to all of the internet content, but cannot help against persecution for accessing the Anonymizer website itself. Furthermore, as information itself about Anonymizer websites are banned in these countries, users are wary that they may be falling into a government set trap
Libertarian
and other movements concerned with the growing Orwellian
grip of governments in free societies
advocate using Anonymizer services in order to avoid government or other organized tracking
Anonymizers are also used by people who wish to receive objective information with the growing Target marketing on the internet and targeted information. For example, large news outlets such as CNN target the viewers according to region and give different information to different populations. Websites such as YouTube obtain information about the last videos viewed on a computer, and propose "recommended" video's accordingly, and most of the online targeted marketing is done by showing advertisements according to that region. Anonymizers are used for avoiding this kind of targeting and getting a more objective view of information
An example of a protocol specific anonymizer is an anonymous remailer
for e-mail. Also of note are web proxies, and bouncers for FTP and IRC.
to an anonymizer. The technology to do so varies. Protocols used by anonymizer services may include SOCKS
, PPTP
, or OpenVPN
.
In this case either the desired application must support the tunneling protocol, or a piece of software must be installed to force all connections through the tunnel. Web browsers, FTP and IRC clients often support SOCKS for example, unlike telnet
.
. Tor does not encrypt your traffic from end to end, rather it builds up a series of encrypted connections through the relays in the Tor network. An additional layer of encryption should be used with Tor if end-to-end encryption is required. See risks of using anonymous proxy servers.
Another example is I2P - the Anonymous Network
.
It works similarly to Tor, yet with some crucial differences:
I2P is an internal network. It is totally decentralized and does not rely on central lists servers and unlike Tor it uses no bidrectional tunnels, which makes timing attacks far more difficult, and it is end-to-end encrypted.
As you never know if a given mix logs all connections or not, the only way to be really sure there is no logging is to run your own anonymizing mix node and blend your traffic with those of other users, who in turn need not trust you, as they blend their traffic with yours and other users' traffic in their own mix nodes.
This is the philosophy behind i2p - each nodes routes traffic for others and blends its own traffic in, whereas one's own traffic will be relayed by other peers through so-called tunnels made-up of various other peers.
The network is highly dynamic and totally decentralized. It also takes care of other nodes learning about your node existing, for without peers using your node, there would be no traffic to blend yours with.
As all traffic always stay within the i2p network, a routing user's i2p will never show on public websites' logs.
Another example of multiple relays is sending an e-mail to an anonymizing remailer
, which relays it to another remailer, which eventually relays it to its destination.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
untraceable.
It is a proxy server
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
computer that acts as an intermediary and privacy shield between a client computer and the rest of the Internet. It accesses the Internet on the user's behalf, protecting personal information by hiding the client computer's identifying information.
Purposes
There are many purposes for using anonymizers. Anonymizers help minimize risk. They can be used to prevent identity theft, or to protect search histories from public disclosure.However, anonymizers can also be used by individuals wishing to avoid the consequences of engaging in criminal, disruptive, or socially unacceptable behaviour online. For example much of the child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
distributed through the internet is accessed through anonymizers. Also, they are used to bypass web technologies that limit online content access to a certain number of minutes or quantity of data.
Some countries, especially dictatorships or Islamic countries, fail to serve the rights of minority groups, or oppress any opposition to their government. These countries apply heavy censorship on the internet, sometimes with the death penalty. Anonymizers can help in allowing free access to all of the internet content, but cannot help against persecution for accessing the Anonymizer website itself. Furthermore, as information itself about Anonymizer websites are banned in these countries, users are wary that they may be falling into a government set trap
Libertarian
Libertarian
Libertarian may refer to:*A proponent of libertarianism, a political philosophy that upholds individual liberty, especially freedom of expression and action*A member of a libertarian political party; including:**Libertarian Party...
and other movements concerned with the growing Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
grip of governments in free societies
Free society
In a theoretical free society, all individuals act voluntarily. Individuals in a free society find it safe to be unpopular. This can be elaborated in terms of freedom of speech - if people have a right to express their views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm.In a free society,...
advocate using Anonymizer services in order to avoid government or other organized tracking
Anonymizers are also used by people who wish to receive objective information with the growing Target marketing on the internet and targeted information. For example, large news outlets such as CNN target the viewers according to region and give different information to different populations. Websites such as YouTube obtain information about the last videos viewed on a computer, and propose "recommended" video's accordingly, and most of the online targeted marketing is done by showing advertisements according to that region. Anonymizers are used for avoiding this kind of targeting and getting a more objective view of information
Protocol specific anonymizers
Sometimes anonymizers are implemented to work only with one particular protocol. The advantage is that no extra software is needed. The operation occurs in this manner: A connection is made by the user to the anonymizer. Commands to the anonymizer are included inside a typical message. The anonymizer then makes a connection to the resource specified by the in-bound command and relays the message with the command stripped out.An example of a protocol specific anonymizer is an anonymous remailer
Anonymous remailer
An anonymous remailer is a server computer which receives messages with embedded instructions on where to send them next, and which forwards them without revealing where they originally came from...
for e-mail. Also of note are web proxies, and bouncers for FTP and IRC.
Protocol independent anonymizers
Protocol independence can be achieved by creating a tunnelTunneling protocol
Computer networks use a tunneling protocol when one network protocol encapsulates a different payload protocol...
to an anonymizer. The technology to do so varies. Protocols used by anonymizer services may include SOCKS
SOCKS
SOCKS is an Internet protocol that routes network packets between a client and server through a proxy server. SOCKS5 additionally provides authentication so only authorized users may access a server...
, PPTP
Point-to-point tunneling protocol
The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol is a method for implementing virtual private networks. PPTP uses a control channel over TCP and a GRE tunnel operating to encapsulate PPP packets....
, or OpenVPN
OpenVPN
OpenVPN is a free and open source software application that implements virtual private network techniques for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It uses a custom security protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS for...
.
In this case either the desired application must support the tunneling protocol, or a piece of software must be installed to force all connections through the tunnel. Web browsers, FTP and IRC clients often support SOCKS for example, unlike telnet
TELNET
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection...
.
Use of multiple relays
One example of "daisy-chained" anonymizing proxies is the "Tor network"Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
. Tor does not encrypt your traffic from end to end, rather it builds up a series of encrypted connections through the relays in the Tor network. An additional layer of encryption should be used with Tor if end-to-end encryption is required. See risks of using anonymous proxy servers.
Another example is I2P - the Anonymous Network
I2P
I2P is a mixed-license, free and open source project building an anonymous network .The network is a simple layer that applications can use to anonymously and securely send...
.
It works similarly to Tor, yet with some crucial differences:
I2P is an internal network. It is totally decentralized and does not rely on central lists servers and unlike Tor it uses no bidrectional tunnels, which makes timing attacks far more difficult, and it is end-to-end encrypted.
As you never know if a given mix logs all connections or not, the only way to be really sure there is no logging is to run your own anonymizing mix node and blend your traffic with those of other users, who in turn need not trust you, as they blend their traffic with yours and other users' traffic in their own mix nodes.
This is the philosophy behind i2p - each nodes routes traffic for others and blends its own traffic in, whereas one's own traffic will be relayed by other peers through so-called tunnels made-up of various other peers.
The network is highly dynamic and totally decentralized. It also takes care of other nodes learning about your node existing, for without peers using your node, there would be no traffic to blend yours with.
As all traffic always stay within the i2p network, a routing user's i2p will never show on public websites' logs.
Another example of multiple relays is sending an e-mail to an anonymizing remailer
Anonymous remailer
An anonymous remailer is a server computer which receives messages with embedded instructions on where to send them next, and which forwards them without revealing where they originally came from...
, which relays it to another remailer, which eventually relays it to its destination.
See also
- "VPN comparison engine for ASIA,EUROPE,US and more"
- AnonymityAnonymityAnonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
—the generic concept - Anonymization—a more specific concept
- Anonymous remailerAnonymous remailerAn anonymous remailer is a server computer which receives messages with embedded instructions on where to send them next, and which forwards them without revealing where they originally came from...
—a similar service for e-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the... - Anonymizer (company)Anonymizer (company)Anonymizer, Inc. is an Internet privacy company, founded in 1995 by Lance Cottrell, author of the Mixmaster anonymous remailer. Anonymizer was originally named Infonex Internet. The name was changed to Anonymizer in 1997 when the company acquired a web based privacy proxy of the same name developed...
—a company that specializes in anonymizer services - Anonymous web browsingAnonymous web browsingAnonymous web browsing is browsing the World Wide Web while hiding the user's IP address and any other personally identifiable information from the websites that one is visiting.-Achieving Anonymity:...
- CGIProxyCGIProxyCGIProxy is, as its name suggests, a CGI proxy software package. A CGI proxy appears to a user as a web page that allows the user to access a different site through it....
, web based proxy Perl script often used as anonymizer solution, - I2PI2PI2P is a mixed-license, free and open source project building an anonymous network .The network is a simple layer that applications can use to anonymously and securely send...
—a peer-to-peer anonymizing network for e-mail, browsing, file sharing, ... - Proxy serverProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
—a basic tool of anonymizers - Tor (anonymity network)Tor (anonymity network)Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
—An onion routingOnion routingOnion routing is a technique for anonymous communication over a computer network. Messages are repeatedly encrypted and then sent through several network nodes called onion routers. Like someone unpeeling an onion, each onion router removes a layer of encryption to uncover routing instructions, and...
proxy system - Java Anon ProxyJava Anon ProxyJava Anon Proxy, also known as JAP or JonDonym, is a proxy system designed to allow browsing the Web with revocable pseudonymity. It was originally developed as part of a project of the Technische Universität Dresden, the Universität Regensburg and Privacy Commissioner of Schleswig-Holstein...
- a proxyProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
system designed to allow browsing the WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
with revocable pseudonymityPseudonymityPseudonymity is a word derived from pseudonym, meaning 'false name', and anonymity, meaning unknown or undeclared source, describing a state of disguised identity. The pseudonym identifies a holder, that is, one or more human beings who possess but do not disclose their true names...
.