Thursday, Jul 31, 2008    Text size: 

Vanishd.com is an online service that lets users secretly surf websites while looking like they're doing work. It does this by giving users the power to choose a "cover" web page or document that would conceal a hidden page that the user would surf through a movable viewport in the "cover" page.

Users can move and resize the hole with their mouse. To hide their activity from prying eyes, users need only move their mouse pointer off of the "cover" page. The viewport then disappears.

Vanishd isn't a browser plugin. Instead of downloading and installing it, users simply register at the Vanishd homepage, which acts as an online plugin.

Although the Vanishd website promotes this product as a way to surf mainstream websites at work, it seems tailor-made to surreptitiously surf porn on the job.

"We find the interface a little annoying, frankly," wrote Fleshbot's Lux Nightmare about Vanishd. "But you know what else is annoying? Listening to your boss complain about all the porn you watch at work."

In addition, the team behind Vanishd has already unveiled plans to make its product even more porn-friendly. They plan to roll out a browser plugin in the near future, as well as a product or service that will cleanse users' browser histories, cookies and cache.

Even more notable, Vanishd claims that they'll soon release a product that will let users access websites blocked by their employers.

In related news, Vanishd will be competing with the Heatseek web browser in the market to make porn-surfing secret and safe.