Do you want to surf the internet completely anonymously and keep your personal information private on the computer that you happen to be using whether it be a public, business or personal machine? Sound too good to be true? Well maybe not. StealthSurfer sent me this killer software package pre-loaded on a USB drive to check out.
What is the StealthSurfer you ask? Like the real US Air Force Stealth Bomber that can fly at supersonic speeds and avoid all types of enemy radar, StealthSurfer claims that the StealthSurfer software package (delivered on an OCZ Rally 2 USB 2.o Flash Drive) can let you be completely anonymous and keep all your personal information off the computer you are using. Surfing the web “under the radar” and keeping all your web bookmarks, passwords, internet cache and email all anonymous sounds like a dream come true. Does it work? Let’s find out.
First Impressions
I personally try to keep my personal information off the internet and public computers as much as I can. There must be thousands of people like me out there that share the same sentiment. People like me that want to retain some anonymity while on the Internet and on public computers would be interested in what the StealthSurfer software package has to offer.
StealthSurfer chose OCZ Technology to deliver their StealthSurfer’s software package. The software comes pre-loaded on different sized OCZ Rally 2 USB 2.0 Flash Drives, though drives could come on other fast drives from other manufacturers. I was sent the 2 GB version for review ($179 MSRP) , but the StealthSurfer software package is also available on a 4GB ($225) , 8GB ($279) and 16 GB ($339) versions if you need the space.
The OCZ Rally 2 seems like a good fit as it has a pretty stealthy physical look and feel to it, encased in a matte black aluminum case with clear plastic casing on each end. Futurelooks reviewed the OCZ Rally 2 USB 2.0 Flash Drive back in July 2007.
What is in the Box
Unfortunately I don’t know what the retail box for the StealthSurfer actually looks like as the editorial sample of the StealthSurfer I received came in a manila envelope stuck to the paper press kit. The last page of the press kit was pretty important as it had my unique activation codes for the StealthSurfer software. The other two items in the envelope were a USB cable and lanyard.
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Software Features
The StealthSurfer software package consists of the following 6 pieces of software:
MojoPac Deluxe software – The heart of the StealthSurfer software package, the MojoPac Deluxe software enables you to creates your own private and personal portable computing environment using the host computer’s operating system. With MojoPac you will be able to take your programs and files with you from computer to computer.
Tor Software – Tor software will give you complete network security by hiding and masking your IP address through a number of anonymous proxy servers.
Hushmail Premium – Hushmail provides a web based email solution that encrypts all your email online keeping it private and secure. There is no cost to use Hushmail premium for up to 4 years when purchased with the StealthSurfer .
RoboForm PRO software– RoboForm keeps track of all your User ID’s and passwords for those people that always seem to forget their user name and password. With one click, you can have your forms filled in on your websites that require authenticated login.
Firefox – Yes, this is the uber popular free web browser is included with the StealthSurfer bundle.
Thunderbird – Thunderbird is software that enables you portable secure E-Mail access from any computer with the StealthSurfer software package.
Overall, it’s pretty much everything that you would need on the road, though it would have been nice to see some office software, like Open Office.
System Requirements
Before you get to surfing stealthily, The MojoPac software has some clearly defined system requirements. Here’s the “Coles Notes” version:
- Windows XP (32-bit version ONLY) Home/Pro (sp1, sp2)
- Media Center Edition (2003, 2005)
- Tablet PC
If you’re looking to use it on a MAC, LINUX, or even a Windows Vista system, you’re pretty much out of luck for now. There are additional requirements and stipulations for proper functionality found at the StealthSurfer Website so make sure you have a look before purchasing. But basically, if it’s not WindowsXP, it’s not going to work right, or at all, which somewhat limits this device’s potential deployment points.
The Setup
The software package that needs to get setup first is the MojoPac software; the heart of the StealthSurfer bundle. To make a long story short, I found out the hard way that you need an internet connection when setting up the MojoPac software. If you don’t have an internet connection, and try to setup the MojoPac software, you will likely get the CK465 Error Code referencing you to the MojoPac website for further information.
The funny think is, I really didn’t find much help on the MojoPac website as to what this CK465 Error Code was and how to fix it. What was even more frustrating was any access to support or forums on MojoPac required you to log in and create an account. I did this and still no help on the error. What a piss off! If I wasn’t reviewing this product, I probably would have said F*&K It and returned the product.
Luckily there was one sentence in the press kit that directed me to this webpage in the event that I had any questions about the StealthSurfer. Funny as it sounds and in retrospect, I am glad the CK465 error occurred when it did as it forced me to read through the instructions. The fix was relatively easy as all I had to do was download a patch to remedy the CK465 error. However, this should have been on the MojoPac website as I’m sure I wasn’t the first person to encounter this.
The Software
Although the StealthSurfer software comes on an OCZ Rally 2 USB 2.0 Drive, you can transfer this software package to any equivalent High Speed USB2.0 compliant storage device. I would recommend that whatever USB2.0 compliant storage device you use, make sure that the performance is equal to or greater than that of the OCZ Rally 2, which is quite a fast drive in its own right.
Of all the software in the package, the two most important pieces are the MojoPac and Tor software. Essentially what the MojoPac software does, is create a virtual desktop/profile that is run off of the USB drive and not the hard drive of the host computer. This is the main reason why the drive needs to be fast and the host PC needs to have a USB 2.0 connection. USB 1.1 is far to slow. The MojoPac software enables you to toggle between the “host” environment (the actual computer you are using) or the StealthSurfer / USB Flash Drive environment.
As you can see above, the MojoPac environment looks very much like any standard desktop. From it, I launched a few websites using the included FireFox browser and took note of the cookies and temporary internet files that were logged, and then I switched back to the host environment and checked the cookies and temporary internet files on the host. There were no traces of the websites on the host computer that I surfed to in the StealthSurfer environment as everything is stored on the drive.
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Going Undercover
My next test was to see if the Tor software included on with the StealthSurfer software bundle actually would mask my true IP address. I will not provide a screen shot of my true IP address, as I don’t need the world seeing this, but take my word that when I checked my IP address in the host environment, it was not the same IP address when I checked in the SteathSurfer environment.
In the StealthSurfer environment with Tor software running using the Firefox browser, the IP address was 218.240.9.87 which gives an IP location of Beijing China. Trust me, I have never been to Beijing China and I do not live in Beijing China! This was enough evidence to me that the Tor Software on the StealthSurfer was doing the job.
In the way of super secret email, I’m not really interested in creating yet another web based email account or using some other email software. Hushmail and Thunderbird software packages are included in the StealthSurfer bundles and are there if you want to encrypt your email and create yet another email address.
Google’s Gmail is accessible anywhere in the world and is now offering something crazy like 4GB of storage space and growing. Why would you want another email that has less storage and one where you have to start paying after 4 years? I guess if you really really wanted to be completely stealth, then having the top secret email would complete the loop.
The other software that is included as a free download for purchasing the StealthSurfer is RoboForm Pro. RoboForm Pro is software that can manage all your passwords and user names for various websites and forms. My view on passwords and personal information is they should never be all written down in one place; especially the really important ones like your banking information. People need to remember the important ones, and for those not so important ones, like passwords to your favourite discussion forum, then maybe RoboForm would be ideal. If you want to use Roboform, you will always have to carry the StealthSurfer software with you everywhere you go. What happens if you lose it or it lands into the hands of someone that like to hack into things? Manually putting in your passwords and users names each time will keep your brain sharp.
Drawbacks
The StealthSurfer does what it says it does. It works, but I feel there are some clear drawbacks and disadvantages to this product.
For starters, the StealthSurfer/MojoPac will only work with specific versions of Windows XP. This severely limits its portability in the wild. This is no problem if you are using your own computer, but what happens if you are traveling or using a public computer? There are lots of Vista machines out there now and what about the Mac and Linux machines out there?
Most public computers like the ones at Internet Cafés or libraries are not logged on as administrators, which is a requirement for this software to work. This is true of computers in most work places as well. At home this would be no problem and a non issue since its your PC, however, if you have multiple people in your family using your home computer and you don’t want them snooping around, the Stealthsurfer might help out there.
MojoPac claims there is a way around the “administrator access” requirement (sort of) with a plug in called MojoPac Usher. Once MojoPac Usher is installed on a host computer, it doesn’t matter if the host computer is logged on as an administrator. The catch? You need one time administrator access to install MojoPac Usher! Good luck with that!
Finally, for a price of $179 for the 2GB StealthSurfer, the StealthSurfer is a bit expensive. We all know that memory is cheap these days and a 2GB Flash Drive is less than $30 for a brand name 2GB Flash Drive. You have to remember that you are purchasing both hardware and software and not just a USB 2.0 Flash Drive.
If you were to purchase all these components separately you are looking at approximately $208. Here’s a breakdown:
- Hushmail Premium + desktop access (*2 years, MSRP $99.98)
- Roboform PRO (MSRP $29.95)
- MojoPac Deluxe (MSRP $49.99)
- Rally 2 USB drive – 2GB (MSRP $28.00)
In the end, you do save about $29.00 when you pay the $179.00 retail price.
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Final Thoughts…
I like what this product does and what it offers the consumer, but it does have its fair share of drawbacks as mentioned earlier. Minus the one mishap I had in configuring the MojoPac software, the StealthSurfer was pretty easy to use and set up. The heart of the StealthSurfer software is MojoPac and Tor and these two packages, when used correctly, will leave no trace of your internet usage on the host computer and give you a completely random IP address when surfing around the internet. I also liked the ability to flip back and forth between the MojoPac environment and the host computer. This is really helpful at times when you need to utilize the resources on the host PC or some other program that you don’t have loaded on the StealthSurfer.
Needing Windows XP and furthermore, having to have administrator access to the host computer, are two major drawbacks that will limit the sales and mass consumer use of this product. MojoPac needs to get back into the engineering war room and engineer up a version that makes these two issues history so more people can benefit from the StealthSurfer.
Overall, if the name of the game is to keep your information to yourself, and you can get a hold of a PC running Windows XP where you have administrator access, then the StealthSurfer might be what you’re looking for. The StealthSurfer will definitely help you on your quest to be “under the radar” and keep your computer usage and personal information secret.
Pros
- Web surfing anonymity
- IP Masking
- Great software package
- Portable
Cons
- Works only with Windows XP
- You need administrator access to the host computer
- A bit on the expensive side
Overall Rating: 8.0 / 10.0
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