Computer trivia

Do you know that whenever you surf on the Internet, your exact location can be traced including the street from which you are surfing. This is possible with the IP address which is assigned o the machine.

First, let us see what IP address is. It is very much similar to your home address. If you want to write to some one you first got to know their address and if you are expecting a reply, you will include your own address in the mail, so that the other person can get back to you. Similarly, whenever a computer has to contact another computer, they use the IP addresses assigned to them. Here comes the problem. Whenever your machine talks to another machine, it will give its IP address to the other machine which can then determine the location based on the IP address (Note: IP addresses are region specific i.e. certain addresses are given only in US, others only in India…)

But sometimes you would prefer to be anonymous (u know when ). There are solutions which will not cost you a pie and offers you anonymity.

The most obvious choice is the use of proxy websites. You can google for ‘proxy websites’ and you can get a huge list of such sites. They provide you an address bar which can be used to put in the website you want to visit. These sites then visit the website on your behalf and then pass the information back to you. So the website at the other end can only see the proxy website but not you.

Another solution is JAP. It is a free software which works on the same principle but with better control. You install their software and connect to one of the servers they provide and from that point your online activity is anonymous.

The problem with these solutions is that because of the intermediary server, the surfing speed is greatly reduced. A trade off!

Note: Apart from anonymity, this technique can also be used to watch blocked sites. Suppose myspace.com is blocked on your campus. Going through the proxies will help you out as the firewall on your campus can only see that you are contacting the proxy server and will not know that you are viewing myspace.com through the proxy. Of course, after some time the proxy will also be blocked. But do not worry. You will always find an unblocked proxy, given the rate at which they are created each day.

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