hiding my IP address

Use a proxy server (available freely; search the web) or use TraffiCompressor www.tcompressor.com (beta, therefore, free at present) . It has the advantage of reducing download times and costs.
Also try a web search on "anonymous web surfing software" or similar.

I wouldn't recommend either of the two products you linked to. They are wastes of money doing ineffective things that you can do for free anyway.

But I am not sure what you are trying to do. If this really is about "one person", just avoid this one person's website.

One person can see that traffic to her website came from your IP, but they can't see where else you are going... unless somehow they have access to your ISP, or have spyware on your computer. In either of these cases, you have worse problems than either of these links can solve.

There are free, more advanced solutions for those of us paranoid folk who are worried about sophisticated organizations (i.e. the NSA) tracking us. Tor is a technically advanced way of hiding your web traffic that is free (having been built by people with political motives or who think the technology is cool).

If you let us know more details about the problem you are trying to solve we can help, or you want to visit a specific website without the owner knowing, we can offer more help.

But don't waste your time with either of the two products you posted links for.

Hi rymer ,

thanks for your reply, i will have a look around whats available freely.. but kinda wondering what would people get out of providing " anonymous" surfing for free?

have you actually tried " traffic compressor" or other proxy servers?


cheers , mata

Hi ebrown..

ty for your response.. in my case its one sorry individual im trying to avoid, he has hacked into my email , has made contact with some people close to me , from my address book, etc.. Of course i've changed passwords and am very careful, but we both happen to go to a chat where we play music. i dont want to stop going there but love to prevent him from seeing me online,..and hope that the " out of sight , out of mind " theory applies..

If you have any ideas how i can achieve this, i'd love to hear it..

thanks and cheers... mata

Instant messenger software (like AIM or MSN Messenger) are known to open security holes on your computer. You certainly shouldn't be clicking on any links, or downloading... and "playing music" sounds like it involves this.

If someone hacked into your computer, it is because he tricked you into downloading a bad program that he controlled. This is almost certainly because you clicked on something bad, not because anyone knew your IP adress.

First, you should have someone knowledgable about computers check out your computer to make sure any bad software has been removed.

Second, my suggestion is to give up the risky behavior you are involved in. What you are doing is dangerous to your system and your privacy, period.

Third, to answer your specific question, many people make anonymous proxies for political reasons. Others for academic or because they like the challenge. For the truly paranoid, check out the Tor network which is very cool (but requires some technical expertise to use effectively).

Fourth, a anonymous proxy probably will help in the one case you are talking about. It may be that you don't need it, if you are careful not to click any links-- I don't know how hard it is to see someones IP adress from a chat identity these days. But the proxy will help you...

I still don't think there is much value in it.

huh..im very careful about where i go and do & what i click on...and use instant messaging mainly to keep in touch with family and friends..but from what i understand , its not rocket science to obtain IP addresses .. and he didnt hack into my computer, only my Hotmail.. my security is up to date and able to deal with spyware or else...
I've just finished reading about Tor.. it sounds interesting ...as my knowlegde of computers is reasonable.. might give it a try..

thanks for ur input

Re: hiding my IP address
I'm not 100% sure, but I think what you are wanting to do is illegal. Well, maybe not in Australia. But you may want to check into the legalities of hiding or masking your address before you get into trouble.

Tried both approaches and Tcompress saves time and possibly money too!
Traffic compressor is probably the easiest software I have ever used, requiring no setup at all, and it can be turned on and off from the taskbar icon. Its provisioning of anonymity only occurs because all your traffic goes through its server (very Fast) whether it gets copmpressed or not.

Other anonymity packages vary in their simplicity of setup, and some work extremely well and easily. Many proxy servers are found by folk who search the web for 'back doors' left by webmasters on websites and then post these lists on the web - just google 'proxy servers' to see the range of them!

Roverroad, interesting thought.. it has never entered my mind that it could be illegal.. after all i dont give out my home address.. or personal details to strangers in real life , fully aware that it would make me vulnerable , some might use it to do me harm . On that principle i assume im entilted to same on the internet too..as my only intention is to protect myself.

Would love to hear how others think about this issue..

Thanks rhymer.. i will have a closer look.. someone has suggested TOR.. do you know it ? Also what do you think of " roverroad"s comments about the legality of using such programs?

I wouldn't worry about the legality of programs like Tor. There is a community of people who care about privacy who develop and use these programs-- they are drawn from both the software development and academic sides of the industry.

Privacy software in the Open Source community now includes pretty good encryption which is available to anyone, as well as programs like Tor. No one is having legal problems from using this software and there are professional and legal groups who are working to keep it that way.

TheTor Legal Faq (for server operators) may interest you.

BTW many of us who support the right to privacy for idealogical reasons want as many of you to use privacy technology as possible -- even if you don't need it.

If only one person protects their privacy, they will raise suspicion. But if everyone uses encryption and the Tor server, it is much better for everyone's privacy.