Newfound Luxuries, Newfound Dangers

Although we enjoy things that, one-hundred years ago, people couldn’t even fathom, there are dangers that they couldn’t fathom either. Now that we have cars, people can commute to work faster and over longer distances than ever, but many people die in automobile crashes every year. Now that we have television, people can kick back and watch their favorite shows, but obesity has risen two-fold due to sedentary lifestyles. Now that we have the Internet, there is a wealth of information right at our fingertips, but there are legitimate criminals who try, and successfully do, steal identities and information every day.

For the last concern, many people turn to a popular service on the web called a proxy. There is a bit of discrepancy among proxy users and new prospects though: anonymous surfing software, or web-based proxy?

Software based proxies are anonymous proxies that can run in your existing web browser, and don’t require re-routing to  a home page every single time you wish to visit a different URL. These programs are often very easy to run too; usually one click getting you surfing anonymously instantly. They often offer encryption services as well. These will encode your data and other communications to a point were it resembles little more than hieroglyphics, and even the N.S.A. would have trouble cracking your code! This all sounds great, and it is. There is simply one downfall; there are usually fee-based. These proxies usually cost only a couple of dollars a month, but due to people’s stingy nature, usually are avoided.

Web-based proxies are the most widely utilized fashion of anonymous proxy server. These will change your IP address, ensuring that you will not be tracked, and can do the most important feature proxies offer quite well; bypass security blocks. Workers and students use these servers to get on MySpace and other game sites that their tech department blocks. Oftentimes these proxies offer little to no encryption or other security software, and are blocked from encrypted sites, such as online banking.

Obviously, the software based proxy seems like the best choice, and it is. That is not to say web-based proxies have nothing to offer; they are ideal for public computers and sites with no personal information required, as they leave no traces and don’t need to be installed. At the end of the day though, if you are serious about protecting your identity and remaining anonymous on your home computer, investing a couple of bucks a month is a small price to pay for the reassurance and privacy this proxy server will provide you.

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