[Exumab]

It is astonishing how complex and difficult it is to determine the surest setup to protect ones privacy and overall security web browsing the internet.
Having gone through much of what is posted on Google referring to ActiveX I am no closer to determining whether this is a good or a bad thing to have on your computer.

I also am trying to determine what is the best approach to protecting my anonymity when on the internet. This is not to suggest that I am doing anything illegal or licentious when using my computer. (However I should mention that I firmly believe in the rights of every citizen to share files over the internet without threat from anyone.) I'm not! It's just that, faced with an ever increasing government invasion of our privacy, removal of our rights and freedoms and the general dangers of the internet I would just like to protect myself as best I can. Because all of the general information provided on this subject seems to be unable to definitively say what setup and programs would offer the best protection.
aside from Firewall, spyware, Antivirus all of which I use.

Also does anyone know which programs or services like Tor,Proxy servers and the like are most effective? It is for me, really confusing. I am not a novice but I am not an expert either. I'm about a third of the way up the technical intelligence ladder.

Can anyone provide any thoughts or suggestions which might help me. I would be really grateful for your comments and any help given. Many thanks.

[TOGG]

Firstly, let me establish that I definitely am not an 'expert' on these matters! As a general proposition, I believe that it is just about impossible to prevent 'tracking' because too much money is involved (the founders of Google didn't become millionaires or billionaires by chance). I looked into using proxies or other anonymous browsing methods but I got lost in the technicalities.

Active X is proprietary Microsoft software that you can definitely do without by using a browser other than IE (a piece of software that still doesn't comply with generally accepted standards and needs a Critical update nearly every month!). Beware ISP's 'own brand' browsers, something like Opera or Firefox definitely won't use Active X.

I know I can't escape tracking because my ISP attaches a specific four or five digit number to my IP address, which doesn't change, wherever I go. I will be switching ISP's soon, although I have little confidence that the new one won't do something similar!

[hammer1]

Here's a look at what can be retrieved from a HD, after it has been "cleaned", using programs available on the internet. It can also be done remotely. So you have no guaranteed protection using the internet

http://www.guidancesoftware.com/prod...creenshots.asp