Without fanfare or explanation long-time anonymous browsing service Anonymizer has [discontinued the web-based and toolbar versions][2] of its "Private Surfing." The desktop version of Anonymizer is still available, but there are already hosts of desktop packages that do the same thing and cost less --[Tor][1] comes to mind-- what made Anonymizer unique was the web-based component.

Even worse for Mac, Windows Vista and Linux users, the desktop version of Anonymizer is only available for Windows 2000 and XP.

Though I haven't actually used Anonymizer in years (I gave up basically) I'll credit the site and its re-routing web-service with introducing me to the concept of anonymous web browsing and why it's necessary.

These days I have a copy of Tor installed and I use the Firefox extenstion, [TrackMeNot][3], but I'm curious if Compiler readers have any suggestions for another web-based service like Anonymizer... let me know your ideas in the comments below.

[1]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2006/08/beginners_guide.html "Beginner's Guide to Safe Searching"
[2]: http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/ps_upgrade_authentication.html
[3]: http://mrl.nyu.edu/~dhowe/TrackMeNot/