Internet Browsers

[steamer 158]

In all honesty isn't this non existent? "Incognito browsing option is cool on chrome :thumbup"

 

How does it differ from FF's private browsing?

 

I haven't used either.

[tomcat76 327]

In all honesty isn't this non existent? "Incognito browsing option is cool on chrome :thumbup"

 

I think Chrome's "incognito mode" just has to do with cookie handling. Your ISP will still be logging all your connection info (your IP, IPs of websites you're visiting, connection start/stop, bytes uploaded/dowloaded, protocols used, etc.). Having signed in with Google, I guess they're logging everything, too. If you're doing anything online that you shouldn't be, don't expect Chrome to provide you any protection.

[Samsonite 181]

I think Chrome's "incognito mode" just has to do with cookie handling. Your ISP will still be logging all your connection info (your IP, IPs of websites you're visiting, connection start/stop, bytes uploaded/dowloaded, protocols used, etc.). Having signed in with Google, I guess they're logging everything, too. If you're doing anything online that you shouldn't be, don't expect Chrome to provide you any protection.

 

Yes, absolutely correct.

In Opera and Firefox, "incognito mode" is called "Private Browsing," but as mentioned just above, your ISP is logging your travels on the Internet. Its real purpose is to keep others who may be using your computer (or the same computer) from seeing where you have been on the 'Net.

 

The only way to keep the ISP (and other "interested parties") from tracking you on the 'Net is to use a proxy such as Tor.

 

https://www.torproject.org

Edited September 6, 2012 by Samsonite

[tomcat76 327]

Yes, absolutely correct.

In Opera and Firefox, "incognito mode" is called "Private Browsing," but as mentioned just above, your ISP is logging your travels on the Internet. Its real purpose is to keep others who may be using your computer (or the same computer) from seeing where you have been on the 'Net.

 

The only way to keep the ISP (and other "interested parties") from tracking you on the 'Net is to use a proxy such as Tor.

 

https://www.torproject.org

 

...or a VPN. Pros & cons to either solution.

 

Description of each here.

 

Pros & cons of each here.

 

Samsonite apparently prefers the proxy approach; I use a VPN. So between us we can probably answer any questions you might have about either.

Edited September 6, 2012 by tomcat76

[Samsonite 181]

It looks like Google Chrome took the lead this last March and continues to pull away from the competition.

 

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

[Gary 4,119]

I posted this before but it disappeared;

 

I'm not really paranoid but I do use this program;

 

http://www.ghostery.com/about

[9cisco999 107]

...or a VPN. Pros & cons to either solution.

 

Description of each here.

 

Pros & cons of each here.

 

Samsonite apparently prefers the proxy approach; I use a VPN. So between us we can probably answer any questions you might have about either.

 

 

Do you know of a VPN that does not keep a log? I signed up for Strong recently and while the speed seems to stay fine, I believe they keep a log.

[tomcat76 327]

Do you know of a VPN that does not keep a log? I signed up for Strong recently and while the speed seems to stay fine, I believe they keep a log.

 

Excellent (and often-asked) question - you're using a server and all servers (at least any run for any business purpose, including proxy servers) are going to have logs. The questions are, for how long are the logs kept, do they log just header info or sometimes payload data as well, and do they suffer from the same susceptibility to being co-opted by court orders, this "monitoring deal" with RIAA, etc My suggestion is that you visit their website, review their policy (as well as the policies for ANY VPN or Proxy services you're considering), and if they have a support or user forum (most probably will) see what's been posted on the subject there. My belief is that you'd have to go some to excite enough legal interest that corporate entities would try and extend their tentacles beyond the ISP level. They'd have to go to the ISP, get a list of logged destination IPs (remember, your VPN tunnel is encrypted to them), check out all the connections involvng encrypted datapaths, THEN identify and go to the VPN provider and try & get a subpoena or court order against THEM (remember, they're NOT parties to the "deal" between major ISPs and RIAA, etc.), THEN look up THOSE destination IPs (which were encapsulated & encrypted at the ISP level), decide which ones are "interesting" (who cares about your browsing to Target or BBC News), and THEN glean as much info as they can from their logs and/or contact the "interesting" sites you visited. All that's going to require a lot of effort and a lot of cooperation. Much more than a blanket "monitoring" effort.

 

I did a little digging before setting up with StrongVPN, and satisfied myself that they a) do not keep their logs for nearly as long as the ISPs do; have a much better track record of NOT turning over information; and c) definitely are NOT participating in the monitoring efforts that began in July..

 

But I'll say it again, if your comms are somehow or for whatever reason of sufficient interest to authorities, there's not much you can do to completely secure and conceal your internet activities. Neither VPNs nor Proxies nor strong encryption are going to reliably shelter online lawbreaking. It's just a matter of the resources available. Also, remember your email. Whatever email provider you use, your email is probably being stored as well, and unless you're routinely encrypting it (which means certificates, key exchange, you know - all that stuff), it's probably sitting on a provider's server somewhere, in the clear, for who knows how long. A VPN tunnel will go right through your ISP but will terminate at the VPN server you're using - from there to the actual destination server is just plain old HTTP or HTTPS (or FTP or whatever).

Edited September 13, 2012 by tomcat76

[MC_Ldop 40]

Do you know of a VPN that does not keep a log? I signed up for Strong recently and while the speed seems to stay fine, I believe they keep a log.

 

Here's a decent article that compares the practices of different VPN vendors:

 

http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/

[tomcat76 327]

Another couple of links you might find helpful on the logkeeping topic:

 

 

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=229950

 

http://www.bestvpnservice.com/blog/vpn-providers-and-logs/

 

 

It's a controversial topic to be sure. It's a 3-legged stool: the true extent of the anonymity and security you're getting; performance & reliability; and price. (Some might add a 4th "leg" for customer/technical support.)

[Samsonite 181]

Taking a page out of the bill gates' "guide to business ethics" Google has reached an agreement with Adobe for a version of flashplayer for Linux that will only run in Google Chrome. Adobe will maintain previous versions of the flashplayer for Linux, but has said they will not release new versions for Linux. This forces Linux users to install Google Chrome if they want the latest and greatest "flash experience."

Yesterday I discovered that while youTube still works with the regular flashplayer for Linux, it no longer works at the cbs.com sites where you can view past episodes of their various TV shows. So, I installed Chrome for Linux and its libflashpepper player (or is it libpepperflash.so) and the cbs site came back to life.

However, after now having used Chrome for several hours, I don't see the appeal to it as a everyday browser. Opera is noticeably faster. Each to her own, I guess.

[MC_Ldop 40]

However, after now having used Chrome for several hours, I don't see the appeal to it as a everyday browser. Opera is noticeably faster. Each to her own, I guess.

 

Part of it what you see and part of it is what you don't. Using it for several hours isn't a good barometer of anything. Chrome syncs data across different devices -- computers, phones, tablets, etc. My favorite feature is that each tab is an independent process, so that crashes are contained. Opera's Presto rendering engine isn't the best and its hardware acceleration is behind the competition.

[Samsonite 181]

Only know what I see, and Opera does what I want to do better than any other browser I've used over the years.

Edited November 12, 2012 by Samsonite