Anonymity on the Internet refers to various ways to go unnoticed on the World Wide Web. The reasons for hiding your actions on Internet sites are varied. They can be connected both with the desire to protect oneself from possible illegal actions of third parties, and with the commission of illegal actions by the person who seeks anonymity.
Content
- 1 History
- 2 General rules of anonymity
- 3 Software methods of anonymity
- 4 Criticism
- 5 Impact on users
- 6 notes
History
The issue of anonymity on the Web arose in the late 1980s. At first, pseudonyms and unique names were used to achieve it. In the early 1990s, the World Wide Web became available on the Internet, and as a result, a new stage in the development of technology began. At the same time, various methods of ensuring anonymity began to appear. Among them were remailers that allowed you to send encrypted messages by e-mail. At the same time, software methods have been developed to achieve anonymity, which are still in use. This is onion routing , which in 2000 was finalized and expanded to garlic routing , the SOCKS network protocol, as well as proxy servers [1] .
General Anonymity Rules
Any information that is related to a person’s personality can be obtained on the basis of linked accounts on social networks and the data published on them.
This can be avoided if you use aliases and unique names for different sites and do not put the same photos in separate profiles.
To maintain anonymity on the Web, you should regularly clear your cache , cookies, and browsing history. However, in most cases, the degree of anonymity is limited by the IP address , which allows you to determine the Internet user, his actions and location.
Software Anonymity Methods
To achieve anonymity, anonymous networks working on top of the global network are used .
In order to achieve a higher level of anonymity on the Internet, anonymizers are used. They are technical means for hiding information about the Internet user and his actions on the Web. These include proxy servers , which are resorted to if necessary to hide the source of the Internet request or display false information about the user.
You can also turn to the VPN service, which allows the user to hide the real IP address and choose a virtual location on their own.
Using the I2P network, which runs on top of the Internet and uses encryption, allows you to maintain the anonymity of the server .
One of the most reliable methods is Tor , which contributes to the anonymization of traffic due to onion routing [2] .
Criticism
One of the opponents of anonymity on the Web is Russian programmer Evgeny Kaspersky .
“The average user is confident that he is anonymous on the network. In fact, this is not entirely true: all network activity of subscribers is monitored by Internet providers. Moreover, they are obliged to assist law enforcement agencies by transmitting similar information to them. Cybercriminals understand this well, and therefore use various methods to hide their presence on the Web. Is there anonymity in this case? Unfortunately, yes - but it is for cyber-villains, and not for most ordinary users. That is why I advocate prohibiting the so-called. technical anonymity on the network - each user should have their own Internet passport, ”says E. V. Kaspersky.
Archpriest Vsevolod Anatolyevich Chaplin, former chairman of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations of the Moscow Patriarch, also criticized anonymity on the network.
“Is it time to give up anonymity on the Internet? In the “real” space, people usually do not accept anonymity. If I suddenly, when talking with you, put on a mask, use my nickname and hide my real name, you will have every reason not to trust me, ”said V. A. Chaplin.
User Impact
The rapid spread of the Internet at the beginning of the XXI century and the emergence of anonymous methods of communication have had a significant impact on the psychology of its users. This can be a difficulty in expressing emotions during communication, due to which such graphic language methods as emoji , emoticons , acronyms and Internet memes have become popular. Anonymous communication on the Internet is also associated with the effect of disinhibition on the Web , which implies a person’s behavior unusual for real life. Also, the Internet has influenced the tendency to social stereotyping, when the created image of the interlocutor on the Internet is greatly influenced by categorization and identification mechanisms, and the individual himself tries to adapt to them. Anonymity mainly affects how a Web user presents himself to others. So it can be noted that cases of hiding information, providing false information and even creating a whole new image for communicating on the Internet are becoming more frequent. This can cause a person to feel impunity, which is the reason for the increase in the number of insults, sexual harassment and blackmail [3] .