ANONYMITY & INTERNET - SURFING WITH A PROXY +ANONYMOUS DIALUPS

What is a proxy. Why proxies?:

(source 1) (source 2)

Your browser normally sends requests for pages directly to websites.
Along with this request, it sends out your IP address (= a unique
identifier of your computer on the Internet, which can be tracked back
to your country, city ISP and finally to you.)
The only way to hide your true IP from the site you are visiting is to
have a "middleman", a computer that will take your requests
from you and forward them to the website on your behalf; then it will
receive the pages and pictures from the site and forward them to you.
This way, the website will only know the IP address of that computer,
called (=proxyserver). You can configure your browser in such way that it
will use a proxyserver when it goes to the Internet.
The following things are visible to a website you visit:

-IP-address
-your ISP
-hostname
-your system
-your country/city
-URL of the privious site you visited
-color-settings
-your webbrowser
There are anonymous and transparent (=non-anonymous) proxies. In both
cases the contact to the website is made through a proxy and will the IP
of the proxy be logged by the website. But a transparent proxy also sends
information regarding your true IP address to the website (In the so called
Client-IP field)
Socks proxies are the best, general-purpose proxies. They are non-caching
(There won't be a record of the Web pages you fetched while connecting
through one, except on your own machine) it also means they're slow.
(They're located on port 1080)
The proxy machine's admin can easily learn that you connected to it after
perusing his logs, so a proxy doesn't actually conceal you; it just adds
a layer between you and whatever you're contacting on the Net.
If your proxy is located in a country unlikely to cooperate with requests
for their logs from foreign officials, or a country where your mother tongue
is rarely spoken, it can be quite an effective layer of protection.

How do I use a proxy?

Here you can read how to find and use a proxy. And also
how to test a proxy for anonymity.

I don't understand shit about your much too long proxy-story. I'm just
a dumb ass that wants to be really anonymous in a few simple steps.

WATCH OUT: when you really need to be anonymous, you have to ensure you
have JAVA, JAVASCRIPT and ACTIVEX disabled in your browser because they forward
the settings of your system to a website and sometimes even spill your real IP.

Free webproxy. Online proxies:

For those who don't want to go messing around with proxies there are webproxies.

A webproxy is a site that works directly as a proxy. The webproxy offers a field,
in which you only have to put the name of the site you áctually want to visit. The site
you want to visit will then see the IP-address of the webproxy and not yours.
Here's my site for free webproxies

ANONYMOUS DIALUPS

(source 1) (source 2 dutch site)
When you're using a proxy information about you is not sent to the
website you visit. But you're not really anonymous: You are to the website
you visit, but not to the government. Internet Providers log all data (Websites
you visit and your IP-address). Governments can ask for this data to make
people-profiles.
For most providers you need to register and subscribe. When you dial in your
provider can see who you are (phone number and IP-address)

There are free ISP's on which you can register with totally fictitious personal information,
and to which you can connect with caller ID disabled.
Here's a site which has selected 523 free ISP's worldwide. Just select your country and GO.

These ISP's don't allow much free surfing time (usually something like ten hours
a month) and they're slow; but they can be a superb means of connecting when you
need to be even more anonymous than usual.

Go to a public place where you can surf anonymously, (Internet cafe or library),
set up an account with a provider using fictitious personal information. Even better
go through a web proxy while you're at it.
Record your login, password, and dialup number (convenient for your home location).
Now go home, and disable caller ID (contact your phone company for instructions), and
dial into your new fictitious account.

When the possibility for making anonymous dial-ups is remote. One option (if you have
cash) is trying to find a data-capable pay-as-you-go mobile phone, and of course paying
cash for it. If you're asked your name, lie, if you're asked for ID, leave.