Now THAT would be a lovely sight to see on my screens, yet alas ...around 1,000 is as good as they'll give me.

You are correct in that they DO keep track of your surfing habits, and that's why I bought two accounts;  One at http://proxify.net and another at www.anonymizer.com.  They are not only "anonymizing" services, but when you set the security to "max" and encrypt your page titles, not even your ISP (ie; DirecWay) has any clue where you are surfing to, only how long and that's it!  lol...  I hope it drives them as crazy as they drive me!   

Thanks for sharing that speed 'knockout' ....phew!

Cheers!

Hey There Microwave

Everyone knows that their ISPs "spy" like crazy on them, sell them out to anyone with a buck in their hand that resells the info, yet they (overall) pretty much treat you like dirt yet smile while they do it.  (Make that "treat you like S#!t" if you have been roped into having DirecWay/Hughes for an ISP).  For 20 bucks a year via http://proxify.net you can have COMPLETE anonymity and even hex-encode every URL you surf to ...so all the folks trying to monitor your movements get to see is a bunch of gobley-gook on their screens, and their high-priced machines that keep data on you for 90 days end up keeping data that is worthless.  Now ...to ME that's worth the $20US that Proxify charges.  With www.anonymizer.com, you can really do some neat tricks that aren't available with Proxify (my account with them is $1,500 annually, but there are cheaper ones available that "foil" an ISP in a heartbeat ....AND, if you get your hands on something like Steganos Anonymous Or Anonymous Pro from www.steganos.com (or anything/programme that does the very same thing), you can literally 'vanish' from their screens, be assigned a different IP # as often as once-per-second, and all sorts of other good stuff.  (You can also "daisy-chain" proxies (for free) and pretty much end up with the same results, yet there is no guarantee you are anonymous if you choose to do it yourself of course ...but it's what the hackers use day in and day out).  The only thing that you can't truly hide is your MAC Address ...but give it some time and a way will be discovered to do that as well (but your ISP doesn't have the equipment to "pull" your MAC so we're talking apples and oranges now with regard to security measures.  Believe me, after you have taken at least one measure (like "proxify" yourself then use their gear to Hex-Encode the URLs you surft to), you are leaving a very faint trail that would take anyone several months to figure out.  Toss in a few overseas "anonymous proxies" and you've just made it impossible unless you've really done something henious enough to get a government after yur butt.   

It's worth mentioning that these anonymizing programmes work just as well with programmes like AIM - - or most any Chat software.  Equally important is having the knowledge to erase your tracks when you log off.  Steganos and a half-ton of other companies have software that erases about anything that "the bad guy" is looking to lift from your machine.  I also use a free programme called MRU-Blaster.  It erases all MRU lists every five seconds (or at any time interval you wish) ...and trust me when I say that foils alot of crooks seeking to meddle in your personal life by studying what programmes you use most on your computer, and which was the last one opened, and why was it opened, etc.....  That kind of stuff is enough to piss off the Pope!  lol....

ANYTHING is better than letting the people seeking to make a buck off your private life succeed in doing so don't you agree?  That's the sole reason that I chose to "go anonymous" years ago ...because I found out rather rudely that everything that was "sensitive" info about the folks I was dealing with was being sold like candy by the creeps who called themselves my ISP.  Geesh ...what I do or anyone else is doing at any given moment is none of anyone's business assuming they aren't plotting to annihilate a country or something kinked out like that!  lol...  I guess what I am trying to say is that it is my humble opinion that everyone should 'anonymize' themselves  ...otherwise Big Brother is 100% pleased with how easy you are making things for him!  Think about it....

Cheers!
*I am not financially affiliated with nor do I represent ANY anonymizing service available to the public.  I represent Freedom ...something we are all in short supply of these days.

**You can use http://proxify.net for FREE during their non-peak hours, but how can ya beat their price of 20 bucks a year?  I have friends in "controlled" countries using them and services exactly like them to avert being "controlled" by the countries they live in.  Most of us don't have that worry now ...but it's coming.  One good way of slowing it down is to slow down the amount of available "personal" information that's being peddled everyday by the "blackhats" out there.  Unfortunately, there are more ISPs wearing 'black hats' than those wearing white ones.  Okay ....I'll get off my soapbox now.  Thanks!

Cheers

I am of a mind that one should use every tools available these days when surfing the web.  90% of websites scan everyone automatically in an effort to find info they can "make money" with by selling to others who will use it against you, or at the very least will take your 'valid' e-mail addy and sell it to the spammers (for one).

I use over 12 "anti" everythings ALL THE TIME (realtime), and my systems are set to scan everything I have twice daily.  Even with all of the high-tech protection I am running, there is always somebody who manages to break through it in an attempt to leave a nasty on my systems, which irks me to no end.

I use everything that DiamondCS uses ...their latest programme, Process Guard is a killer, yet Microsoft's new Antispyware contends with it since they both are "watching out" in realtime ...which is a plus.  SpyWare Guard from JavaCool is priceless, MRU-Blaster, SpyBot and SpyWareBlaster (with Tea-Timer) to prevent all manner of bad things (like browser hijackings), TDS-3 allows me to track anyone who 'gets funny' with me plus it is loaded with features (including "lookup" capabilities that are priceless.  Zone Alarm Pro works fine for me without causing any loss in speed, and I've had great luck with McAfee (their best).  Once a month I visit www.trendmicro.com and let them do a full scan just to be safe, and every once in a while I'll go to PC Pitstop and let them put me through their wringer to make sure I'm running at optimum.  All these things combine make for peace of mind and a secure system.  My very best defence (or defense if you will), is Steganos Security Suite 7.  It erases all tracks and has excellent features that are unrivaled by any other programme trying to imitate it.  I also 'swear by" being anonymous while online, and that's why I have dual accounts (www.proxify.net and www.anonymizer.com).  Using either of them, no matter where you go you are safe.  They can only attack your anonymizer ...you are well out of harm's reach!  Oh, I also am running Trojan Hunter now and it's a hot programme too! 

I take this machine in the 'meanest' of places yet nobody has been able to trash me (lately) since the installation of all this "protection" software.  Before, I was reformatting all the time due to some egghead getting off on trashing my system just because they thought it was "cool."  Now ..if they even try, it's detected and my programmes lead me right to him no matter how well he's tried to hide himself (and then they get a taste of their own medicine).     lol....

"The Rev"