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Frequently Asked Questions
Installation Instructions
What is SSH
What is an IP Address ?
What is a USB Drive?
What is a Computer Virus, a Worm, a Troyan or Malware?
What is Identity Theft?
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Secure Shell or SSH is a network protocol that allows data to
be exchanged over a secure channel between two computers. Encryption provides
confidentiality and integrity of data. SSH uses public-key cryptography to
authenticate the remote computer and allow the remote computer to authenticate
the user, if necessary.
SSH is typically used to log into a remote machine and execute commands, but
it also supports tunneling, forwarding arbitrary protocols.
The Privatizer uses SSH to connect the Portable Firefox, which comes with our
package, to connect to our servers for which it then fetches and sends requests
over the public internet.
It is very important to understand that the traffic (data etc.) between the
Portable Firefox on The Privatizer to our servers is encrypted and cannot be
intercepted, read, or traced back to the computer you are using.
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An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique address (here is
your current IP: 38.107.191.89) that computers and other
electronic devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a
computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP) in simpler
terms, a computer address, similar in function to a phone number or fax number.
The IP address acts as a locator for one IP computer to find another and
interact with it. When somebody requests a certain web site the web server
storing the information wanted, it has to identify the receiving machine, to send the data
to, similar to a fax
machine.
When a data request is processed (eg. when clicking on a link) the data
(packets) are sent via a multitude of computers and finally end up on the users
screen to be displayed. Almost all computers keep logs of this activity and any
request can be recalled even years later.
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USB flash drives are data storage devices integrated with a USB
(universal serial bus) connector. They are typically small, lightweight,
removable and rewritable.
USB flash drives offer potential advantages over other portable storage
devices, particularly the floppy disk. They are more compact, faster, hold more
data, are more reliable due to their lack of moving parts, and have a more
durable design. Additionally, it has become increasingly common for computers to
ship without floppy disk drives. USB ports, on the other hand, appear on almost
every current mainstream PC and laptop. These types of drives use the USB mass
storage standard, supported natively by modern operating systems such as
Windows.
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A computer virus is a computer program that can copy
itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the
user. However, the term "virus" is commonly used, albeit erroneously, to refer
to many different types of malware programs. The original virus may modify the
copies, or the copies may modify themselves.. A virus can only spread from one
computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for
instance by a user sending it over a network or the Internet, or by carrying it
on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, or USB drive. Additionally,
viruses can spread to other computers by infecting files on a network file
system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. Viruses are
sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses. A worm can spread
itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host,
and a Trojan horse is a file that appears harmless until executed.
Many personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local area
networks, facilitating the spread of malicious code. Today's viruses may also
take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, and file
sharing systems to spread, blurring the line between viruses and worms.
Furthermore, some sources use an alternative terminology in which a virus is any
form of self-replicating malware.
Some viruses are programmed to damage the computer by damaging programs,
deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Others are not designed to do any
damage, but simply replicate themselves and perhaps make their presence known by
presenting text, video, or audio messages. Even these benign viruses can create
problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by
legitimate programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can
result in system crashes. In addition, many viruses are bug-ridden, and these
bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss.
The most dangerous malware are those which are completely hidden
from the user and work in the background of the computer, processing bulk e-mail
for a mass mailing company, observing your typing and collecting login and
passwords to websites (key loggers), and/or collecting information about the user of
the system for the purpose of identity theft.
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Identity theft is a catch-all term for crimes involving illegal
usage of another individual's identity. The most common form of identity theft
is credit card fraud. In order to impersonate another person the thief needs to
obtain personal information from the victim. This is usually accomplished by
stealing mail, retrieving information from garbage, hacking into computers and
retrieving information, installing worms, key loggers and other malware on an
unsuspecting victims computer. There are many pitfalls where a victim can be
lured into providing information which in turn can be abused.
A victim of Identity theft encounters massive problems with credit card
companies, banks and in many other areas as the victim might also have to proof
that it was not himself/ herself stealing or obtaining fraudulent credit. To
recover from an identity theft can take many years and in most cases the credit
rating etc will be never the same for the victim.
By using a system like the 401Surf Privacy Surfer the chances of attack via the
internet are greatly reduced, as the connection to the web is anonymous and the
real IP address of the user is not published on the web.
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