April 24, 2008 - If you use the internet, the chances are that you leave personal information in places that you don't intend to. Every time you sign onto a website or make a purchase, you transmit at least some personal data that can be intercepted. If you transmit enough information, either by visiting websites or by using e-mail, you may actually be setting yourself up for identity theft. Beyond these threats, the government regularly monitors e-mail messages and other transmissions that go over the internet. So how do you keep your personal information private, and avoid becoming a victim of fraud?

It has been more than a year now since our last article on the topic of protecting the data you send over the internet. In that time, some of the services that we reviewed are no longer available, and others have been created. While the technology to protect yourself hasn't changed too much, and is easier than ever to use, the number of threats lurking on the internet has only increased.

There are really two keys to protecting the personal data you release on the internet. The first is to mask your IP address. This is a number that is very similar in the way that it functions to a telephone number. IP addresses can be tracked back to your computer, and ultimately to you. Although most people have dynamic IP addresses... meaning that the number changes every time you log onto the internet... tracking the number back to a particular computer is easier than you might think.

The second key is to encrypt the data you send over the net. Encryption is really just a way of scrambling data and then reassembling it.

While this may sound like a cumbersome process, it really is not. Internet tunneling, or rather VPN services are available that take many of the hassles out of protecting yourself. And threat to your identity, your good credit and your privacy are such that not protecting yourself may be akin to playing Russian roulette.

In our last review of services, none of the services available were free. That has since changed. The difference between free and paid services is that the paid services will provide you with a faster internet connection speed. Although ACCESS is not recommending any of these services individually, we do believe that it is in your interest to review them all and figure out which is the best for you.

So here is a quick look at several tunneling services that we are aware of.

FindNot

FindNot is the granddaddy of internet tunneling services. The company claims to have 34 servers in 7 countries. The service is fairly easy to setup and gives users various options that run the gamut from simple to setup and use to advanced and complex.  

Not only can you use their service to mask your IP address, you can also set it up so that it encrypts all data sent over the internet including e-mail. As with most tunneling services, using FindNot makes it impossible for even your internet provider to know what sites you visit or what is contained in your e-mail messages.

The service is not free. They have plans that start at $13.95 per month for a standard connection and go up to $300 per year for broadband speeds.

Although they offer a variety of payment options, the company discontinued its affiliation with PayPal, which has made it less convenient to use than some other services. Even so the service works quite well and is worth taking a look at.

SecureIX

The biggest drawing card for SecureIX may be the price. The company offers a free plan, as well as paid options. The service operates very similarly to FindNot.

Although the paid options are lower in price than FindNot, the site's owners have posted very clearly on their front page that they are trying to sell the service. This is of some concern because as a customer you would have no idea who was purchasing it, or how they would use your data. We certainly wouldn't recommend using the service to transmit highly sensitive data. Even so, it may provide a good way for new users to try out an internet tunneling service. The price is certainly right.

VPNOut

VPNOut is a premium service but their charges appear to be reasonable. A three month subscription costs $20, and they give you up to a week to get your money back if you don't like the service.

Unlike most tunneling services, they do monitor the amount of bandwidth used. This means that anyone using the service to download large files could run out of allocated bandwidth prior to the end of their subscription. If that happens, you would have to make another purchase from them.  For most users however, this should not be an issue.

Relakks

Relakks is a Scandinavian service. All of the company's servers are located in Sweden. The upside of this is that it makes the service much less vulnerable to government access. The downside could be speed.

The reviews available on the internet give Relakks high marks. The price is fairly reasonable; 5 Euros per month. At current exchange rates, this amounts to roughly $7.50 per month.

Anyone visiting their site will notice that the site is not in English. This can be easily remedied by clicking on the small flag of Great Britain which appears on the upper left portion of the sites front page.

SmartHide

SmartHide is another service that offers both free and paid options. The paid options offer faster download speeds and secure connections. The paid version is also reasonably priced at $9.95 per month.

by Jim Malmberg

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