Since SafeWeb's Secure Surfing page changed its functionality to only serve the "Voice of America" for the Chinese People, we have been looking for alternatives. We include these links at this time for those who wish to explore various options for secure surfing. WCWCW provides these links as a service to those who are interested in online privacy. We make no money from them and take no responsibility for them.
We intend to expand this list as we become aware of other intelligent options for online privacy.
Please read our Basics page to get an overview of some basic issues in secure surfing.
Secure Surfing Software Reviewed Anonymizer | Surfola | The Cloak | Primedius | Safe Surf with CGI Proxy Text only. |
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Anonymizer.Com now offers a web-based service in addition to their downloadable program. However the 'free' web-based service is now extremely limited in its scope of available URL's you can visit. You can view their privacy policy Here. They also offer a paid services in various 'levels' of security. Their paid service claims it protects you not only from websites but also "Premium users have the option of using URL Encryption which protects them from the logging and tracking methods most often employed by intermediaries (ISPs, firewalls, etc). Users who desire a completely secure connection between their computer and ours should look into an Anonymizer SSH account." They also state:
"No information connecting a user name or the identity of a user (IP address for example) with the sites being visited is ever kept any where in any form. Our log files do not contain usernames or user IP addresses. Additionally, they are purged every 48 hours. Our own system administrators can not tell who is looking at what, even in real time with root access to the servers."
You can check out Anonymizer.Com for your self and see if it meets your needs.
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Another interesting free service is SURFOLA.com.
Surfola.com has no program to download but rather a website which allows you to browse the web securely from their web based browser. Once again, you will see advertisements. You can check out Surfola.com's "features" page Here.
Surfola.Com's privacy policy can be found Here. They state in point #3 of this Policy:
"Anonymous information regarding performance, surfing patterns and trends are recorded in our site log files. SURFOLA.com may use this information for research purposes. In this respect we use IP addresses, browser type, referring/ exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp to administer the site and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. This anonymous data is not linked to personally identifiable information. We may also share aggregate anonymous user information in summary form with other companies. They will never be given access to any information that could allow them to identify or contact you. "
So they can use general trends in their logs to supply marketing groups information about General trends.
If this service meets your needs you may connect here to Surfola.com
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The Cloak is another service that seems quite comprehensive. Their website contains a "features" page which includes:"HTTP and HTTPS anonymizing proxy: hide your identity from the sites you visit"
"Encrypted connection: hide your surfing from local snooping"
"Remote cookies: keep cookies at our site, and delete them after each session"
"User configurable content filtration: selectively remove Javascript, Java, and active content"
"FREE anonymous browsing ... just read our terms, privacy policy, and abuse policy and start surfing"
"Need more bandwidth than the free service provides? Check out our pay service."
Terms and Conditions, Abuse Policy, and Privacy Policy are Here and we think that they look better than some.
We took the "Cloak" for a quick "spin" in "free surfing mode" and things were looking good, though a bit slow. I guess this is to be expected with any free service of this nature. The Cloak's payed service information is here and it promises more bandwidth. The Cloak's payed service seems to be charging people on the the used bandwidth, which seems as fair as any system.
If this sounds interesting, check out The Cloak
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Thanks to a visitor who wrote to us, we have been able to explore the new (at least to us) Primedius Web Tunnel software. This is a downloadable .exe file that is installed on your local (user) PC and allows a proxy connection via the Primedius servers. This effectively cloaks IP addresses. Click Here to get an overview of their services and some idea of the Primedius software capabilities.
On the above page it is stated:"Does Primedius look at or profit from user information in any way?Given the above, and the fact that the service offered by Primedius is a straight-foward $4.99/month (at the time of this review), the deal seems reasonable. Primedius offers these secure surfing services to Windows and Mac Users:
Primedius has the strictest Privacy Guarantee in the world. We do not collect or use your information even in aggregate form nor do we track your visits to our site. We do not promote or sell third party software and services. Those who do, expose and compromise your personal information through 'cross-fertilization'. We have no ads, promos or banners because we accept no commercial use agreements or contracts in any form. We gain your trust with our actions and policies, not with slogans."Private Anonymous SurfingWe have "test driven" the Primedius Web Tunnel with Internet Explorer 6.0.2 and Opera Web Browser 6.06 and found it to be all it says it is. Primedius allows a free one week trial which is a great way to evaluate the software and any possible issues before (perhaps) subscribing to the service.
IP Masking, Anti-Snoop
Encrypted Online Traffic
Cache and History Cleaner
Popup Killer
Blocks Referral Information
Cookie Manager
IRC IM SOCKS Support
and more...
If you are using Internet Explorer, there is very little you need to do before you can use Primedius Web Tunnel. With Opera and Netscape there is a little "tuning" required before the Web Tunnel is accessible but these issues are explained quite clearly in the link above.
As with all software of this nature, it is important to *Really* secure surfing to read the faq's and the software help files and to adjust the settings to match your needs.
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Safe Surfing
Start browsing through this CGI-based proxy by entering a URL below. Only HTTP and FTP URLs are supported. Not all functions will work (e.g. some JavaScript), but most pages will be fine. This is a Text-Only Service.. During Severe Weather this service may be unavailable as it it hosted on a remote computer which is subject to lightning damage.
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CGIProxy 2.0.1 Restart
Online Feedback Form for our consideration.
Once again we offer these links only as a service to the internet community and take no responsibility and accept no liability for them.
If you know of other online privacy services that you feel would be valuable to add to this page, you can send us the pertinent information through our
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