On Privacy Issues of Internet Access Services via Proxy Servers

Abstract

When you access to the Internet via an Internet services provider (ISP), information like when and how long you access the modem pool and which objects you request is logged in the proxy servers. Such data enables one’s user habit to be traced and analyzed. This is referred as “clicktrails” data collections and is a threat to user privacy. In this paper, present legal and technical solutions of protecting user privacy in Internet service provisions are discussed. We also propose a cryptographic solution that allows anonymous Internet connection via an ISP proxy, while the user’s identity is revealed when he/she misbehaves. In this way, user can access the Internet anonymously while the anonymity cannot be abused.