Conceal Your Online Trail

I spent some time with JanusVM, a program that attempts to counteract this epidemic of indiscriminate snooping by disguising the source of all of your Internet traffic--not just your surfing. The software's creators request a donation, but they allow you to use the app for free. It'll definitely cost you some speed online, however. Still, if you want to stay unknown as you perform sensitive tasks, JanusVM may be worth the price in slower performance.

JanusVM (a 20MB app) is a collection of free, open-source privacy tools, such as Tor, which links you with other Tor users to mask your virtual location. These tools are packaged in a virtual appliance that makes setup and configuration a breeze. To use it, you'll need the also-free VMWare Player (a chunky 145MB download from VMWare.com), which lets you run virtual PCs within Windows distinct from the operating system.

Once you've downloaded and unzipped JanusVM, start up VMWare Player, click Open, and browse to the JanusVM folder. Soon after selecting the one file there, you'll see the JanusVM startup menu. At the top of that screen are two commands you need to run from the command prompt in order to set up Windows to use JanusVM. One is for the PC you installed JanusVM on; run the other, as needed, from any other networked machine you want to use the app with. It works with Windows XP, 2000, and Server 2003, as well as Linux. I also used it successfully on a Vista system.

After running one of the two commands, you'll see a new desktop icon. Double-click it and click the Connect button (to change the default user name and password, head to the JanusVM menu).

A system tray icon will appear, indicating that you're using Tor and other privacy-protection tools. Regrettably, whereas my laptop's Wi-Fi connection ran at 1.5 mbps without the software (according to tests at DSLreports.com), it dragged along at 350 kbps with it. Though browsing was noticeably slower, it was still functional.

To stop the service and restore your speedier but traceable connection, right-click the system tray icon and choose Disconnect.