Steganos Internet Anonym Pro 6

Every time you surf the internet, little bits of information about your surfing habits are broadcast from your computer and saved to your hard disk. Any website you visit can track your details, from which site you last visited through to your IP address, and can store the information and analyse it. And if anyone can gain access to your computer, either over the net or when you take it for a repair, they may be able to look back on all the sites you’ve ever surfed. If this sounds at all worrying, Internet Anonym Pro can help make your web surfing more confidential.

Features
The main part of this program disguises your IP address – the unique number that identifies your computer on the internet – by making it appear that your internet connection is actually coming from one of a number of other computers that Steganos has dotted around the world. By changing this disguised computer every second or so, a snoop shouldn’t have the time to figure out who you really are before you’ve moved on. The software also stops things like cookies, scripts and log files from capturing data about your browsing habits, maintains a locked and encrypted list of alternative favorites, and thoroughly cleans your PC of easily traceable evidence.

Performance
Surfing anonymously will slow down your internet connection because it sets up a diversion that everything you send and receive has to go through first. There are a number of these diversionary computers however, and the software will learn which you can connect to the fastest and use these as a preference. You should still expect to see some reduction in your connection speed though. The file shredder complies with two standards, one of which is the level used by the US Military, so ought to be reasonably secure.

Ease of use
Most of the control in the software is achieved using simple tick boxes, so operating it is relatively simple. There’s also online help available for if you get stuck or are struggling with any of the concepts.

Value for money
The quoted price is for a download but isn’t a lot to pay if you want an all round privacy package – expect to pay £10 more if you buy it in a box. A quick search on the web turned up a number of cheaper products that focus on just one of the elements that are protected by this software, if you were to decide that you didn’t want the whole suite.