By Lance Cottrell, Anonymizer Founder and President

Q: How does Anonymizer protect people’s privacy?

A: Anonymizer acts as a trusted intermediary between its users and the web sites they are viewing. We remove all identifying information from the user's request for each page, and prevent the web site from reaching the user’s computer with requests or programs to gather information.

Q: How much do the Anonymizer services cost?

A: We offer a wide selection of privacy solutions and software depending on the users needs. Anonymous Surfing, our most basic solution, is $29.99 per year while Total Net Shield, the most powerful and complete security package available, is $99.95 per year.

Q: How does someone use your service?

A: Anyone can start using the service by visiting us at www.anonymizer.com. Once there, users can get a glimpse of how it works by using the free service. Simply type in the URL of the site they want to visit into the form (http:// window) on the front page and click “go”. Within seconds we have fetched the page and they can surf by clicking on any links on the page, or by entering a new site in the Anonymizer control bar across the top of the page.

To take advantage of the full service, visitors can access the products by clicking on the product link to sign up. Premium users simply click on the "Log In" button then enter their user name, password, and URL to visit.

Q: What kinds of computers and operating systems does Anonymizer support?

A: Anonymizer is compatible with all browsers and platforms, and requires absolutely no special configuration.

Q: Do you have to install any special software to use Anonymizer?

A: No, the Anonymizer services are totally Web-based. All you need is a browser.

Q: How is Anonymizer different from other Internet privacy products and services?

A: A major difference is in our blend of technology and convenience. No one else offers entirely Web-based services that rewrite every visited web page for optimal user protection. No one else has a Safe Cookies™ feature to allow full functionality and safe access to sites requiring cookies. And no one but Anonymizer offers URL Encryption to protect against monitoring by any third party. These features make Anonymizer not only the most secure privacy service but the easiest to use as well.

Another key difference is experience and brand trust. We are the oldest and most widely used Internet privacy service, having privacy-protected over 4 billion Web pages since our inception in 1996. Anonymizer is the only Internet privacy service that has earned its reputation in the field, and our real-world experience gives us the edge in developing newer, safer and better privacy technology.

Q: What kinds of information can Web sites gather about their visitors?

A: Web sites can always track you as you move through their site. They can usually recognize you when you return, allowing them to build a detailed profile of your activities over time. Any personal information you enter into their site will be added to and correlated with the rest of this profile. Many so-called contest sites were actually created to gather real name and other information to connect to on-line profiles. The most dangerous trend is with advertising networks which can track users over thousands of web sites. Any time a user visits a web page with a banner from the network (or an invisible "web bug"), the network can track the user’s activities. This extends the profile to cover a large fraction of all the user's online activities. The contents of web forms on the pages being viewed are also often available to the advertiser.

The detail of observation possible online is much more detailed than in the real world. In a physical bookstore, the store can gather a list of what books you purchase (assuming you don't pay cash). On line they gather all purchases, your home address and credit card number, all the books you merely browsed, and the amount of time spent browsing each book. It is like being followed around the store with a camera over you shoulder.

Q: Can Anonymizer protect people against spying by their ISP or government?

A: Yes. Using our Total Net Shield service, the Anonymizer tunneling accounts, provide absolute protection against anyone monitoring the connection between the user and our servers. URL Encryption is included with this service and protects against all analysis of records of which URLs have been visited by the user.

Q: Does Anonymizer work with sites that require cookies?

A: The Total Net Shield service has a feature called "Safe Cookies™," which allows users to access sites that require cookies without allowing the site to track or recognize the user.

Q: Really, how secure are Anonymizer's services and can the information be subpoenaed?

A: No, the information cannot be subpoenaed because we do not keep any of it. We would never be able to share with anyone where a user is by their IP address, what sites they visited, or anything else, because even Anonymizer does not know. Additionally, we work with law and police agencies where a privacy breech can have severe consequences, even death in some cases. We have never had a single breech since we began selling our products and services in 1997 due to our level of security.

Q: Can self-regulation and privacy seals be effective?

A: While self-regulation is a fine thing, it provides little assurance to the end user. Few users understand the standard policies advocated by many industry groups, many of which are far from privacy friendly. It is also difficult for users to tell the difference between legitimate privacy organizations, and window dressing. Finally, enforcement is very difficult. There are serious questions about the ability of these groups to effectively sanction violators.

Q: Can legislation protect privacy?

A: Legislation has a role to play, but it cannot effectively protect privacy. First, legislation is mainly national or local, while the Internet is by its nature international. Second, enforcement is difficult, and unlikely to be pursued against small time violators. Third, it is often difficult to tell who has gathered information that is later used by a third party. Fourth, restrictions on the use of publicly visible information have serious first amendment implications. Legislation is key for setting baseline expectations of privacy, and minimum privacy standards. It is also required to protect privacy in situations where an individual is required to hand over personal information, such as banking, medical, and on-line purchases.

Q: How concerned should an average user be and what are the biggest risks?

A: Anyone who surfs the Internet should be concerned about the amount of information that's shared as well as how long it's kept. Information trails are being left and because of how long this information is often kept, data points accumulate giving a wide range of personal information to those seeking it. These data points are often sold to marketing companies who will then use your personal information to market to you with annoying pop-ups, spam emails and even worse, for example, possibly sell the information to health insurance companies who track what health information you've been seeking to use it against you by increasing your rates.

Q: Can a user feel safe on a site with a privacy policy?

A: No, the mere presence of a privacy policy is almost meaningless. "We will take all your information and sell it to everyone" is a valid, but very bad, privacy policy. Even a privacy seal usually only means that the privacy policy will be followed, not that it is good. Users should read the policies, but they are often written in a very legal language and can be almost impossible to understand. Many policies are also subject to change without notice, putting an incredible burden on the user. Finally, many gatherers of information are unknown to the user, such as the advertising networks. Users are unlikely to even know who might be collecting information, let alone know where to go to check the privacy policy and try to opt out. The privacy policy of the site may not reflect the policy of the advertiser.

Q: There must be some information kept somewhere, can you really say that people are anonymous?

A: Yes, we really can. Our system is engineered so that records are NOT kept, even in real time. At no point do we gather the information because we never receive it. Although it's never happened and it would be difficult, if a hacker broke into our system, they still wouldn't be able to see any information about our consumers Internet surfing habits, because we don't have it.