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One of the craziest and most beautiful things about the internet is the anonymity that it can offer.  That anonymity and privacy is now being jepardized and it does not matter what operating system you are using, you are going to be spied on.

In the last couple of months things have been heating up with a practice called Deep Packet Inspection (DPI).  It is pretty much exactly as the name suggests, it inspects the packets of data that are transfered between your computer and the Internet.  It is now being implemented by Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) for them to esentially see everything that you do on the Internet, and throttle your content or change it as they see fit.

Freepress report on DPI:

Messages on the Internet are broken down into small units called packets. Each packet contains a header and a data field. The header contains processing information, including the source and destination addresses. The data field contains everything else, including the identity of the source application (such as a Web browser request, a peer-to-peer transfer, or an e-mail), as well as the message itself (part of the contents of a Web page, file or e-mail). Packets are much like letters – the outside of the envelope is like the packet header, and the inside, like the data field, carries the message.

Historically, Internet communications were processed using only information in the header, because only that information is needed to transfer packets from their source to their destination. By contrast, DPI technology opens and reads the data field in real time, allowing network operators to identify and control, at a precise level, everyday uses of the Internet. Operators can tag packets for fast-lane or slowlane treatment – or block the packets altogether – based on what they contain or which application sent them.

Now really think about that.  Right now the Internet is esentially a “free” country and you can do as you please within reason.  It is not controlled by a single government or entity but is moderated by everyone.  With DPI and it’s practice everything you do on the Internet can be viewed.  When you view your email there may really be a guy on the other end reading your email.

Love them or Hate them

Privacy and freedom has always been a big concern for a group of individuals that many love to hate, The Pirate Bay.  Much of this love for freedom is a result of what they like to do with their spare time, run the largest Torrent site on the Internet.  It is used for pirating music, movies, software and even for sharing legitimate things.  Love them or hate them they are bringing us the next biggest thing in privacy, IPREDATOR Global Anonymity Service.

Virtual Private Networks (VPN) are nothing new but they are getting much more attention now by the average computer user.  They secure your internet connection and encrypt all of your data that is being transfered to and from your computer.  What makes IPREDATOR so interesting is that it has the backing of The Pirate Bay and more importantly, their users.

In most countries it is illegal to pirate software, music, movies etc. but it has not stopped people from doing it.  ISP’s tried for a long time to ignore the practice and just stick with providing Internet access but the RIAA and other organizations have made that impossible to do.  Now with Deep Packet Inspection it is so easy for them to comply and if they want, turn off your Internet when you are doing something they don’t like.

The Pirate Bay’s IPREDATOR is not the first VPN service but it does have something that others do not have, owners that will never turn over records of your surfing habits.  While their intent may be to protect users of their torrent site, it is much more beneficial to those worried about privacy.

IPREDATOR is still in the beta stage but is expected to go live April 1st 2009.  The cost for the service will be $6.77 a month which for a VPN service such as this is pretty reasonable.  If that is still too much for you and you would like to encrypt your Internet usage there are many free options available, including  AnchorFree and Hamachi by LogMeIn.

Check It Out> IPREDATOR announcement, ZDNet on DPI, FreePress on DPI (pdf)