How to hide IP and identifying data?

[IT-]

It's time to put end to exposed security threats. I have placed too much personal info on the net without good security measures.

I hate it when servers and search engines collect my personal data without my permission. I live in a country that has very strict monitoring policies and where even commercial operators have been caught from recording their employee/journalist converstations.

Now, I'd like to know:

1. How can I hide my IP?
- no logs
- I prefer HTTPS over VPN, so that I don't have to install a client but VPN is ok too if it is good
- should offer many IPs and possibly from different user selected locations/countries

2. The provider should also remove any identifying data which a browser sends to a server such as: OS, Browser ver, display etc.
Also the provider should block/remove/warn me when an application (Flash, JavaScript) tries to send some identifying info

3. Especially Google search history should not be saved

4. I am willing to pay for the service, but not much. 5$/month should be fine

I have evaluated a few:

proxify.com
- free surfing quite limited, subscriber-only safe but expensive (40$/3 months)
- https
- removes some personal data
- logs for 3 days

vpntunnel.se/en
- requires a VPN client installation
- quite affordable (5€/month)
- does not say that it removes personal browser data
- no logs

Tor
- users say it's quite slow

I also turned my email protocols safe (over SSL) and the next thing to do, would be to change easily-crackable passwords.
I also need a safe webmail for web based usage only. It needs to be safe and I intend to keep mails only on the server.
So, basically the traffic should be https and the server content encrypted.
I tried hushmail.com but a free version blocks the user if he/she does not log in every 3 weeks. I don't intend to write
anything illegal, so it's okay if the provider says it can reveal the content to officials.



cheers,

[IT-]

Since no-one has replied, I decided to talk to myself.
I made myself a to-do list to improve my security. And here's howto:

1. Use encrypted mail traffic (POP over SSL, SMTP over SSL)
- this costs a bit more with my ISP, but it's a lot safer

2. Use HTTPS traffic whenever applicaple
- it's a pity that Firefox does not have this option but I use an add-on called https-everywhere

3. Strenghten your passwords
- never, ever use a password that identifies you such as your name, birthday etc.
- keepass.info is a handy tool to generate and store passwords for you
- never, ever use same passwords at home and at work
- some corporates favor using only one strong password per user, who then has a password-database in his/her PC.
No need to remember more than one strong password and calls for help-desk minimze
- always use hard-drive encryption for laptops, such as utimaco

4. Delete old mails from your Hotmail etc. and change the password for public emails at least twice a year.
Hotmail has been breached more than once and someone once hacked into my Facebook and sent some unwanted
messages impersonating me. That was embarrassing

5. Check at panopticlick.eff.org how identifying is your browser's footprint. Mine is one out of
600.000 so it's quite revealing. You can use an add-on tool to switch your user agent that swaps your
OS and Browser info

6. Logging into Google with public computers is a risk, since at least my browser remembers my login
even after bootup

7. Delete your browser history and logs often. And use the latest browser version if you can

8. If you need to browse anonymously, it is not enough to hide your ip. You also need an add-on to
remove scripts that can reveal your personal info end-to-end. I found this: noscript.net

9. If you use chargeable services such as anonymous proxies or encrypted webmail, you always leave
your personal data to the provider. Since most of the professional criminals use anonymous services,
you'll risk ending up in a black list with bad guys, if the provider is raided. I don't know if this has happened,
but it's a risk. I don't know how to deal with it

10. Changing your MAC-address that goes to ISP (mine is a MAC of my wireless router) occasionally
might be a good idea to protect your anonymity. With some ISPs your ip changes when you change your MAC

11. I would prefer using anonymous mail but I don't know how anonymous is Hotmail. It keeps logs
from ip from where you log in, so it's not fully anonymous. With a court order the ISPs give their
log info

12. Never give away your credit card number to on-line sellers. Keep PayPal instead

13. If you have intimate info about yourself on your PC and don't want to give it to your heirs,
use TrueCrypt

14. Always replicate all data. I use a synchronize software which replicates my PC to an external
hard-drive. It helps a lot, if you store ALL your files in one directory such as C:\data
I never use defaults (C:\Documents and Settings\) not even with my email, which resides on C:\data
and subsequently is replicated as well

15. Encrypting USB sticks is a trick. I don't know any universal solution. All of the encryption
sw is proprietary and requires a client installation on PCs that you stick your USB into.
And installing an encryption sw requires admin-rights. I don't know how to solve this

cheers,