Internet Privacy

[Rose]

Thanks, DM... I now have better privacy on firefox and ixquick as my search engine! Not brave enough to trade firefox for avant.

[Dedicated Mind]

Originally Posted by Rose

Thanks, DM... I now have better privacy on firefox and ixquick as my search engine! Not brave enough to trade firefox for avant.

good job rose. well I took the plunge within the last few minutes. firefox is nonprofit, but if you read their privacy policy it says they share "nonpersonal" info with websites. If you read avant's privacy policy, they only share a restricted list of info. you will have to read both privacy policies for yourself. the reason I made the switch to avant is because in avant you can use 3 different "rendering engines". IE, Firefox and Chrome. I use the firefox rendering engine in avant and can add all of the firefox addons. also if you go to browser options/exiting you can delete cookies upon closing just like firefox. I am not exactly sure what rendering engine signifies, but I am assuming you are using the same firefox technology or engine with avant features as your "skin". i'm not thoroughly familiar.

[Dedicated Mind]

important page to see just what firefox is sharing and how to reconfigure your browser. easy steps. i even did this in avant because i use firefox engine in avant.

http://www.surfbouncer.com/browser_privacy.htm

[Dedicated Mind]

another firefox addon supported by electronic frontier foundation

https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

[JamDat]

Originally Posted by Dedicated Mind

start page is ixquick sister page run by the same company. ixquick returns the top 10 results from several search engines and does not deposit cookies when you use it. start page returns google results when you search but it deposits a google cookie in your browser when you use. just use start page and check your cookie folder to see for yourself.

I guess I should have read all of your first post, lol.

What about duckduckgo.com?

[JamDat]

I also use a VPN now. You can see the one I use at proxy.sh

It's only $40.00 a year and from what I understand it will secure your data from it's server's to your pc and your ISP only see that there is data, but will not know what the data is. It's important if you get a VPN that you get one that is headquartered where they aren't afraid of the US government and won't give into it like all the US companies we are hearing of.

I also use the TOR browser found at www.torproject.org
This browser bounces you around a bunch of relays and mixes you in with other users so no one knows who is searching or looking at what.

Then on my mobile phone along with my VPN from proxy.sh I use orbot which is from guardianproject.info this will put me in the same relay network as the tor project. Then I use the orweb browser for my phone also from guardianproject.info. You can find the mobile apps on google play, but guardianproject says the some have put up fake links in google play so that your browsing won't be secure. It's best to follow the links to google play from their website or download it direct from them.

[JamDat]

I know that changing the DNS on your pc can speed up your browsing and prevent your ISP from knowing everything about what you're doing, but I don't know of one that doesn't keep permanent records on your activity. I use the google public DNS's, but considering what google and the US government have been doing it's probably not the most secure.

[Dedicated Mind]

Originally Posted by JamDat

I guess I should have read all of your first post, lol.

What about duckduckgo.com?

the only thing with duckduckgo is that they are based in US so they would be subject to nsa warrants. ixquick is based in netherlands even though they have headquarters in NY. that is the only difference i can tell. both claim to be private. both may be sharing info, just thought that ixquick was less likely.

[Dedicated Mind]

Originally Posted by JamDat

I also use a VPN now. You can see the one I use at proxy.sh

It's only $40.00 a year and from what I understand it will secure your data from it's server's to your pc and your ISP only see that there is data, but will not know what the data is. It's important if you get a VPN that you get one that is headquartered where they aren't afraid of the US government and won't give into it like all the US companies we are hearing of.

I also use the TOR browser found at www.torproject.org
This browser bounces you around a bunch of relays and mixes you in with other users so no one knows who is searching or looking at what.

Then on my mobile phone along with my VPN from proxy.sh I use orbot which is from guardianproject.info this will put me in the same relay network as the tor project. Then I use the orweb browser for my phone also from guardianproject.info. You can find the mobile apps on google play, but guardianproject says the some have put up fake links in google play so that your browsing won't be secure. It's best to follow the links to google play from their website or download it direct from them.

i will look into vpn's if my isp starts blocking torrents. filesharing through torrents and government censorship are the main reasons for vpns. torrentfreak.com has a review of about 10 vpns. i really haven't researched fully but i would trust torrentfreak's recommendations since they come from torrent community. ipredator is the pirate bay's vpn. since pirate bay is thee top torrent website and the target of governments, i would think their vpn is one of the most trustworthy. if you read the article in wiki about tor, you will see they get over 80 percent funding from US government. tor is mainly to use in china. not sure i would trust them for privacy. not familiar with others you mentioned.