How much information are you revealing when you go online?

Do you ever consider what information regarding your identity and computer environment might be disclosed as you surf the web? Even though you may feel you’re not revealing anything sensitive, even normal web surfing can leave enough of a trail for hackers to identify vulnerabilities in your protection and exploit them in the future.

One valuable Internet resource to turn to if you want to find out what elements of your digital footprint are exposed as a result of web surfing is All Net Tools’ toolbox – specifically the Environmental Variables Test and the SmartWhois utilities. The former includes your current external IP address and the kind of browser you use to access the Internet, while the latter enables you to find registration information and contact details for any unknown IP address or Internet domain.

Why is this information important? Your IP address is a unique address for your machine (or local subnet) that can be explicitly associated with you (or your LAN). If the IP address is permanent, your computer can become a target for web-borne attacks because it is easily traceable. By knowing the name and version of your browser, hackers can identify vulnerabilities and stage direct attacks that exploit those vulnerabilities, so always remember to update your Internet-enabled software, including browsers, to the most recent version. The WhoIS query is very useful if your computer makes unexpected contact with another remote computer and you want to find out who’s behind the remote computer.