I'd like the ability to mask my IP address. I dislike having my real IP show up on someone else's Monitor screen or Browse Host tab to enable them to find me. I'd like instead to be able to have a user name or other info show up. It wouldn't stop anyone from browsing my files, but it would short-circuit anyone's ability to log my IP. To me, this is a very big privacy and security breach.

There's no real true technique. Proxies at best. But everywhere you go on the internet you leave your ip footprints. Every site you visit whilst browsing can record it.