Basic use - it's simple!Any time you post a link, simply put http://prot.com/? in front of it and no referrer information will be passed along to the target site when the link is clicked. Protect your site linksIf you wish to automatically anonymize all valid links on a particular page, simply add this javascript between its HEAD tags. |
Anonymized URL:
As HTML link:
As forum link:
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What is a link anonymizer and why use it?
Normally when a link is clicked, the browser tells the requested web site from which URL address the click was generated (called the referer), which is then saved to its server logs. This is potentially harmful because it leaves a trail of surfing habits, and the information present in the referrer URLs can be abused by nosy or mischievous individuals.
Anyone with access to these server logs, in particular the referrer data which is often sadly public, can find out more than a person would like about them if they clicked an un-anonymized link from for example a web-based e-mail service or a forum where vital information about session IDs or likes and dislikes may be inferred from the URL strings.
It is therefore a good practice when posting links to run them through the Prot.com link anonymizer script, which protects your site and audience by replacing any referrer info which may be present with simply prot.com.
More features
+ The referer-removing interstitial redirect page only lasts 2 seconds.
+ Redirects without the interstitial page if the HTTP_REFERER is already empty to begin with. Saves a little bit of time for people with browsers that support referer privacy!