Hide Your Public IP Address

On the other hand, it is possible to hide public IP addreseses from most Internet servers in most situations. This method involves an Internet service called an anonymous proxy server.

Anonymous Proxy Servers

An anonymous proxy server ("proxy") is a special type of server that acts as an intermediary between a home network and the rest of the Internet. An anonymous proxy server makes requests for Internet information on your behalf, using its own IP address instead of yours. Your computer only accesses Web sites indirectly, through the proxy server. This way, Web sites will see the proxy's IP address, not your home IP address.

Using an anonymous proxy server requires a simple configuration of the Web browser (or other Internet client software that supports proxies). Proxies are identified by a combination of URL and TCP port number.

Numerous free anonymous proxy servers exist on the Internet, open for anyone to use. These servers may have bandwidth traffic limits, may suffer from reliability or speed problems, or might permanently disappear from the Internet without notice. Such servers are most useful for temporary or experimental purposes.

Anonymous proxy services that charge fees in return for better quality of service also exist. These services are designed for regular use by households.
Hiding Your IP Address - Related Tools
Several related software tools (both free and paid versions) support anonymizing proxies. The Firefox extension called "switchproxy," for example, supports defining a pool of proxy servers in the Web browser and automatically switching between them at regular time intervals. In general, these tools help you both find proxies and also simplify the process of configuring and using them.

The ability to hide an IP address increases your privacy on the Internet. Other approaches to improving Internet privacy also exist and complement each other. Managing Web browser cookies, using encryption when sending personal information, running a firewall and other techniques all contribute toward a greater feeling of safety and security when going online.

Read full history - Hide Your Public IP Address

WCDMA

WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is the radio access scheme used for third generation cellular systems that are being rolled out in various parts of the globe. The 3G systems to support wideband services like high-speed Internet access, video and high quality image transmission with the same quality as the fixed networks. In WCDMA systems the CDMA air interface is combined with GSM based networks. The WCDMA standard was evolved through the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) which aims to ensure interoperability between different 3G networks.

The standard that has emerged through this partnership project is based on ETSI's Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) and is commonly known as UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). The access scheme for UTRA is Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA). The information is spread over a band of approximately 5 MHz. This wide bandwidth has given rise to the name Wideband CDMA or WCDMA.

In WCDMA, there are two different modes of operation possible:

* TDD: In this duplex method, uplink and downlink transmissions are carried over the same frequency band by using synchronized time intervals. Thus time slots in a physical channel are divided into transmission and reception part.
* FDD: The uplink and downlink transmissions employ two separated frequency bands for this duplex method. A pair of frequency bands with specified separation is assigned for a connection. Since different regions have different frequency allocation schemes, the capability to operate in either FDD or TDD mode allows for efficient utilization of the available spectrum

Key Features of WCDMA

The key operational features of the WCDMA radio interface are listed below:

1. Support of high data rate transmission: 384 Kbps with wide area coverage, 2 Mbps with local coverage.
2. High service flexibility: support of multiple parallel variable rate services on each connection.
3. Both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).
4. Built in support for future capacity and coverage enhancing technologies like adaptive antennas, advanced receiver structures and transmitter diversity.
5. Support of inter frequency hand over and hand over to other systems, including hand over to GSM.
6. Efficient packet access.

Read full history - WCDMA

DSL Splitters

Some DSL implementations move data traffic over the same pair of wires which carry voice telephone traffic.

Other DSL implementations move date traffic over a dedicated wire pair.

Most American homes have two pairs of wires from the local telephone company. If the home has only one telephone line in use, DSL can be installed on the second pair.

If the home has both telephone lines in use, DSL must share one wire pair with voice traffic. This is done using a DSL splitter.

A DSL splitter is a small box which attaches to the wire pair and splits it into two separate wire pairs, one for voice traffic and the other for DSL traffic.

Read full history - DSL Splitters

What is DSL?

DSL

ADSL (Asymmetric DSL) is a type of DSL where the upstream and downstream bandwidth are assigned different amounts of bandwidth. Typical configurations today are 2Mb downstream and 128Kb upstream.

Downstream refers to data which you are downloading across the network to your local systems. Upstream refers to data you are sending from your local systems across the network.

ADSL is the most common flavor of DSL.

HDSL (High bit-rate DSL)

HDSL (High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line) is a variant of DSL which is not frequently implemented.

IDSL (ISDN over DSL)

IDSL (ISDN over DSL) is a 144Kb standard for DSL. IDSL is available where other forms of DSL, such as ADSL are not available.

IDSL is slow and relatively expensive, but it can sometimes be the best possible option.

RADSL (Rate-adaptive DSL)

RADSL (Rate Adaptive DSL) is an asymmetric DSL variant which can adjust the speed of the DSL connection depending on the distance from the Central Office (CO) and the quality of the connection.

SDSL (Symmetric DSL)

SDSL (Single line DSL) is a DSL variant where the upstream and downstream are both set to the same bandwidth.

SDSL typically operates at 1.5Mbps upstream and downstream.

SDSL is not nearly as common as ADSL.

VDSL (Very high bit-rate DSL)

VDSL (Very high bit-rate DSL) is an asymmetric version of DSL which operates at very high speeds.

VDSL operates at downstream speeds up to 55Mbps, but only at a distance of up to 1000 feet from the Central Office (CO).

At longer distances, VDSL transmission rates drop dramatically.

DSL Lite

DSL Lite is an asymmetric variant of DSL which places the DSL splitter at the telco central office instead of in the customer premisis.

G.SHDSL (Single-pair High-speed DSL)

G.SHDSL (Single-pair high-speed Digital Subscriber Line) is a variant of SDSL which is defined by ITU standard G.991.

G.SHDSL supports symmetric speeds from 192Kbps-2304Kbps on a single line pair and 384Kbps-4608Kbps over two pair.

Europeans refer to G.SHDSL as "SDSL", causing confusion with existing SDSL equipment.

DSL Splitters

Some DSL implementations move data traffic over the same pair of wires which carry voice telephone traffic.

Other DSL implementations move date traffic over a dedicated wire pair.

Most American homes have two pairs of wires from the local telephone company. If the home has only one telephone line in use, DSL can be installed on the second pair.

If the home has both telephone lines in use, DSL must share one wire pair with voice traffic. This is done using a DSL splitter.

A DSL splitter is a small box which attaches to the wire pair and splits it into two separate wire pairs, one for voice traffic and the other for DSL traffic.

For more information on telephone wiring, read How do I install telephone wiring?

DSL Modems and DSLAMS

A DSL circuit exists between the DSL modem on the customer premisis and a DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplier). The DSLAM is usually located in the telco Central Office (CO).

One DSLAM can terminate several hundred DSL connections.

Read full history - What is DSL?