Monday, December 12, 2011

Tech Watch: New privacy add-ons and services

There are always new browser add-ons or other services being introduced to provide more privacy and security while online. Though I have never tried any of these (and also do not endorse them or guarantee how well they work), the concepts may be helpful for us to understand how they might be used.

  • A service called BTGuard allows BitTorrent users to download files from the file sharing network with anonymity. The service "gives you a[n] anonymous IP address and encrypts your downloads" for $6.95 per month. Or, upgrade to a virtual private network (VPN) for $9.95 and have all of your Internet activity anonymized.
  • Seedboxes have become popular in the P2P world because it provides great privacy to file sharers. All uploads and downloads are handled through an overseas server. Users may connect to the server through FTP or HTTP to find the files they set the server to download. One of the more popular services, ExtremeSeed, has services starting at $20 per month.
    • Just to clarify, this means that instead of someone showing up in America as downloading illegal files, their files would show up in Luxembourg, for example. They would then enter an FTP site to download their files.
  • Several browser extensions allow users to set certain domains or topics to automatically load in the browser's private browsing feature. Ghost Incognito for Chrome is preset to do this with all .xxx domains.
Have you heard of a notable extensions or privacy apps recently or do you have a question about how they work? Send an e-mail to .

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