Anonymizer FAQ
- How does Anonymizer protect people’s privacy?
- How much do Anonymizer services and software cost?
- Do you have to install any special software to use Anonymizer?
- How does someone use Anonymizer services?
- What is the installation process of the software?
- What kinds of computers and operating systems does Anonymizer support?
- How is Anonymizer different from other Internet privacy products and services?
- What kinds of information can Web sites gather about their visitors?
- How concerned should an average user be and what are the biggest risks?
- Can self-regulation and privacy seals be effective?
- Can legislation protect privacy?
- What is Anonymizer’s privacy policy and can user information be subpoenaed?
- Does Anonymizer have government customers?
- What government agencies does Anonymizer support?
- What kind of services does Anonymizer offer to law enforcement?
- What stops the “bad guys” from using Anonymizer to carry out malicious attacks and get away with it?
- How does Anonymizer service businesses?
- What are the Enterprise solutions?
- How do Enterprise-class solutions differ from consumer products?
Anonymizer Enterprise FAQ
- How many IP addresses do you have?
- Are all of your addresses in one or two large blocks?
- What happens if we get blocked?
- What happens if a site knows they are being harvested and wants Anonymizer to tell them who the customer is that is hitting the site?
- If we are using your IP addresses, why can’t someone look at the logs and see that Anonymizer is hitting their Web site?
- How does Anonymizer protect people’s privacy?
- Anonymizer acts as a trusted intermediary between its users and the Web sites they are viewing.
Every computer that connects to the Internet is assigned an IP (Internet Protocol) address. This is very similar to a telephone number in many ways. By tracking your IP address, online snoops are able to track the sites you visit and build profiles on your Internet activities. Anonymizer protects your privacy and personal information (credit card numbers, financial transactions, etc.) from cyber crime and abuse by redirecting your Web traffic through its secure servers; thus your IP address is kept private and your online identity is protected.
Our best selling consumer privacy solution, Anonymous Surfing™ protects you by keeping your IP address (and your identity) private. Anonymous Surfing works by creating an encrypted path between your computer and the Internet to shield you from even the most sophisticated methods of online spying, phishing, and pharming. It’s simple to setup and use, and it works silently in the background, without slowing down your Internet connection.
Our latest product, Anonymizer Nyms™, protects your personal email address and your identity with disposable, anonymous email addresses. Nyms allows you to create unique alias email addresses for every Web site you visit so you can shop online, track stock prices, join online newsgroups, and more without the fear of spam flooding your inbox. Each alias email is automatically forwarded to your primary email so you don’t need to check multiple email accounts.
- How much do Anonymizer services and software cost?
- Anonymizer’s consumer products are sold on a subscription basis and range from $19.99 to $99.99 for one year licenses.
Anonymizer also offers custom enterprise-class solutions for companies of all sizes, from small business to government agencies. The cost of these solutions varies by individual customer requirements.
- Do you have to install any special software to use Anonymizer?
- Yes, Anonymizer’s consumer products require software installation which can be downloaded from our Web site. The enterprise-class solutions vary.
- How does someone use Anonymizer services?
- Once the software is installed and activated, it works silently in the background. You simply surf the Web as you would normally using any browser, with the added peace of mind knowing that your privacy is protected.
- What is the installation process of the software?
- After purchasing your subscription you will receive your activation key and a link to download the software. Once the software is installed, click on the “Activate” button within the Home Dashboard.
Select the “Anonymous Surfing” module on the left side of the Dashboard, where you would switch the service to the “ON” position.
To the right you will see two IP addresses displayed. The two different IP addresses indicate that you are accessing the Web through our proxy server, your information is being encrypted and the IP address is being changed.
You can double check that your IP address is not revealed by going to www.ipchicken.com.
Visit www.anonymizer.com and download a free trial of our four top products: Anonymous Surfing, Nyms, Anti-Spyware, and Digital Shredder.
- What kinds of computers and operating systems does Anonymizer support?
- Compatibility varies depending on the service. All our consumer solutions are compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista™.
- How is Anonymizer different from other Internet privacy products and services?
- Our technology, performance, support, infrastructure, and track record set us apart from the competition.
- Technology: Anonymizer developed and patented technologies to specifically protect a user’s identity on the Internet. All traffic is routed through dedicated hardware, housed in secure facilities with complete access control. Other Internet privacy solutions such as Tor do not use secure hardware or private proxies. Their technology relies on individuals to “open” their own workstations for users to access as proxy machines.
- Performance: Anonymizer’s solutions enjoy very high availability, less than 3 seconds delayed connections, and are tested and optimized on a regular basis. Because other Internet privacy solutions rely on individual computers for the proxy network, performance and reliability can be severely impacted.
- Infrastructure: Anonymizer maintains tens of thousands of privately owned “clean” IP addresses and rotates them frequently to keep users from being blocked. Internet privacy providers that use an onion router type of network use proxies owned separately by individual operators. Users don’t know who is on the other side of the connection and are at the mercy of each one of these operators’ integrity.
- Support: Anonymizer offers free customer support. Tor and other Internet privacy solutions do not offer customer support.
- Track record: Anonymizer is the most experienced and most widely used Internet privacy service, protecting millions of users and billions of Web pages since our inception in 1995. Because of Anonymizer’s hardened networks, redundant connections, and strict internal procedures, the company has been able to weather everything from hacker attacks to government-sponsored intrusion teams. Anonymizer is the only Internet privacy service that has earned its reputation in the field, and our real-world experience gives us the edge in developing newer, safer, and better privacy technology.
- What kinds of information can Web sites gather about their visitors?
- The detail of observation possible online is much more exhaustive than in the real world. For example, in a physical bookstore, the store can gather a list of what books you purchase (assuming you don’t pay cash). Online they gather all purchases, your home address and credit card number, all the books you merely browsed, and the amount of time spent browsing each book. It is like being followed around the store with a camera over your shoulder.
Web Analytic tools make it possible for any Web administrator to identify specific IP addresses, domain names, and geographic locations of visitors and to follow visitor activity; analyzing individual surfing behavior, tracking the pages within the site that are most frequently accessed, and the files that are downloaded, etc. It is this aspect of functionality that can in turn be used to build a detailed psychographic profile based on your purchases and online tracks.
- How concerned should an average user be and what are the biggest risks?
- People expose themselves online in all kinds of ways they would not do if they realized their vulnerability.
Anyone who surfs the Internet should be concerned about the amount of information that’s shared as well as how long it’s kept. Your trail of information accumulates with data points giving a wide range of personal information to those seeking it. These data points are often sold to marketing companies who will then use your personal information to market to you with annoying pop-ups, spam emails and even worse, for example, possibly sell the information to health insurance companies who track what health information you’ve been seeking, then use it against you by increasing your rates.
In 2006 AOL released “anonymized” search logs for 650,000 users. There was no “identifying information” attached to individual searches, but all searches done by the same person could be grouped together under some “anonymous” identifier. A reporter at the New York Times was able to identify one of those people in just a few days based on her searches.
The Internet’s top search engines state in their privacy policies that they automatically record information on user searches, including Internet browser and language, computer IP addresses, unique cookie information, and the URL of the page requested. Just as you wouldn’t want anyone listening in on your private conversations, you don’t want anyone watching your every move on the Internet. This simply underscores the importance of protecting your identity when on the Internet.
- Can self-regulation and privacy seals be effective?
- While self-regulation is a fine thing, it provides little assurance to the end user. Few users understand the standard policies advocated by many industry groups, many of which are far from privacy friendly. It is also difficult for users to tell the difference between legitimate privacy organizations, and window dressing. Finally, enforcement is very difficult. There are serious questions about the ability of these groups to effectively sanction violators.
- Can legislation protect privacy?
- Legislation has a role to play, but it cannot effectively protect privacy. People need to actively protect themselves. Viruses are illegal, yet you need anti-virus. Hacking is illegal, yet you need firewalls. If you want to be anonymous, you need to take responsibility for that as well.
Legislation is key for setting baseline expectations of privacy, and minimum privacy standards. It is also required to protect privacy in situations where an individual is required to hand over personal information, such as banking, medical, and online purchases. However, legislation is mainly national or local, while the Internet is by its nature international. Also, enforcement of legislation is difficult, and unlikely to be pursued against small time violators. It is often difficult to tell who has gathered information that is later used by a third party. And lastly, restrictions on the use of publicly visible information have serious first amendment implications.
- What is Anonymizer’s privacy policy and can user information be subpoenaed?
- Please refer to our Privacy Policy.
- Does Anonymizer have government customers?
- Anonymizer works with law enforcement officials and some government organizations. Services offered to government entities are completely customized based on each client’s unique needs. For example, Voice of America, which is run by the State Department, resourced our services to provide unfettered Internet access to those in suppressed countries, such as China and Iran.
- What government agencies does Anonymizer support?
- Due to the nature of our services and to respect the confidentiality of our customers, we cannot provide that information. However, Anonymizer is the recognized leader in non-attribution services among state and federal organizations.
- What kind of services does Anonymizer offer to law enforcement?
- Services offered to law enforcement organizations are completely customized based on each client’s unique needs. As a hypothetical example, a local police department could be investigating an online drug trafficking ring but when they went to the suspected Web site, it appeared to be an innocent social networking site. The investigators didn’t realize that the Web administrators were able to detect the PD by their IP address and show them a very misleading Web site. With Anonymizer, they were able to protect their identity, view the actual site, and shut down the drug trafficking ring.
- What stops the “bad guys” from using Anonymizer to carry out malicious attacks and get away with it?
- Anonymizer has built strict limitations into the consumer software that prevents users from abusing the system. Customers aren’t able to send spam, launch denial of service attacks, or carry out any other type of malicious attack with Anonymizer software.
- How does Anonymizer service businesses?
- In addition to its consumer products the company offers security solutions uniquely adapted for corporations and government agencies.
- What are the Enterprise solutions?
- Anonymizer provides corporations access to online competitive intelligence without the risk of being blocked or spoofed. Our tools allow businesses to safely harvest data or manually collect it while remaining anonymous.
Anonymizer has a proven track record in Enterprise applications and is currently servicing a variety of industries including:
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Legal
- Lending / Mortgages
- Real Estate
- Security
- Travel
- Retail
- How do Enterprise-class solutions differ from consumer products?
- Services offered to enterprise-class solutions provided to businesses are completely customized based on each client’s unique needs. Additionally, Enterprise services provide enhanced security and functionality:
- Enterprise services have a highly flexible and specialized IP pool, while the consumer IP pool is restricted.
- Enterprise services support protocols other than HTTP email which will not be protected with consumer services.
- The enhanced enterprise service platform allows access to other services and also allows easy modification to the service platform for different customer requirements.
- Enterprise services can be monitored by the customer to ensure internal security.
- Enterprise services have an enhanced security model.
- High security content protection between Anonymizer and the customer network via a secure VPN.
Anonymizer Enterprise FAQ
- How many IP addresses do you have?
- We maintain a large pool of IP addresses and are able to rotate possibly compromised addresses out and replace with fresh ones.
- Are all of your addresses in one or two large blocks?
- Anonymizer is able to make arrangements with several providers of IP addresses and because of this we are able to purchase quantities of small blocks. Through our arrangements we are able to rotate out used IP addresses with new ones to maintain a fresh IP pool.
- What happens if we get blocked?
- Anonymizer works with every customer to understand the nature of the business they are in; we make suggestions and provide best practices to help them be responsible net citizens. If a site does block an IP address we follow all processes as described in our Terms and Conditions as well as our SLA’s.
- What happens if a site knows they are being harvested and wants Anonymizer to tell them who the customer is that is hitting the site?
- We have strict Non Disclosure Agreements between the customer and Anonymizer, and we do not keep logs of where our customers are going. We would never disclose who our customer base is.
- If we are using your IP addresses, why can’t someone look at the logs and see that Anonymizer is hitting their Web site?
- Anonymizer has several levels of “Tradecraft,” that ensure non-attribution for the specific level of security required by each client.