Avanquest GhostSurf 2006 Identity Protector review

Every time you connect to the internet, you're given an IP address, which is your unique location (a little like the electronic equivalent of a postal address).

While this makes all your online activities possible, it also allows websites and your ISP to track exactly what you've been doing and find out who you are. GhostSurf 2006 aims to bring anonymity back to the internet by helping you mask your IP address so that you can surf in privacy and safety.

After a quick installation, GhostSurf configures Internet Explorer automatically. If you use Firefox or Opera, the onscreen message tells you which setting you need to change. Still, wider browser support for automatic configuration would have been nice.

At this point GhostSurf isn't actually masking your internet connection. To do this you need to select the level of security you want from the program's main menu. There are four levels: Normal, Anonymous, Invisible and Secure. Normal doesn't hide anything. Invisible blocks cookies so that websites can't track you; however, some sites will stop working as they require cookies. If you run into this problem, you can manually permit those sites to use cookies. The Invisible setting blocks cookies, but also routes your traffic through other servers on the internet. This prevents websites working out your IP address, but surfing is slower as you no longer have a direct connection to the internet. Secure does all the above and also encrypts your data. This is useful if you're using a wireless hotspot, as it stops other people snooping on your network traffic, but it is slower than using a direct connection to the internet.

GhostSurf can also make your Instant Messenger (IM) messages anonymous. However, as you have to log in with your username and password, the IM providers can still track you. We tested the service with www.whatismyipaddress.com. Without GhostSurf enabled it detected our IP address, but with GhostSurf it displayed an incorrect address.

GhostSurf 2006 isn't just for web surfers who want to remain anonymous. It also has several tools that protect against pop-up advertisements and spyware. We found the settings a little hard to get to and they can be confusing. For example, one of the ad blocker's Advanced options lets you block script timers, but there's no information as to what this option actually does. In fact, if you go to the online help and click the Advanced options link, you're shown a page with help for the Standard options tab. The software is also preconfigured not to download updates to the list of known advertisers. To make sure your protection remains up to date, you should turn this option on.

It's not all bad, though, and some of the other features are easier to use. The anti-spyware tool, SpyCatcher, works well and, once it's turned on, you won't need much interaction with it. It's a well-respected anti-spyware tool and comes with a year's subscription for updates. The Personal Data Vault is another handy application that lets you create encrypted, password-protected storage. You can drag and drop files into it, but you can also store usernames and passwords securely.

Finally, TracksCleaner deletes history and recent file data from your PC. While you can do this manually, TracksCleaner does the job in a single click and also takes care of other applications including IM clients, Office and the Clipboard. Unfortunately, the only browser it supports is Internet Explorer, so it's not much use if you use Firefox.