People’s lives around the globe|world] today, especially those of the United States citizens, are of a highly mobile type. We use our cars to go anywhere, work a whole bunch of separate shifts to augment our bank accounts, and have more entertainment in our house than does a whole circus. Consider going out to the movies in the present day; in the prehistoric days, before the VCR player, you would have to buy a ticket for the theater playing at your time. Now you can simply download movies temporarily whenever you choose by taking your pick from an on-demand service. Our homes these days are like the best place to relax and have fun; it almost defeats the point of going out. This self-containment is a must today though because we have more going on in our lives than ever before.

Regardless of lackluster sleeping patterns, we beat back the sleepy with huge glasses of coffee and energy shots. As much as we might try and believe otherwise, we can’t change or avoid the obvious fact that there is only so much time in a single day; you can only plan so much in the time you are allotted. This leads to idea of making the shopping errand much faster. For many people though, and not just the ones who stereotypically enjoy spending, shopping is a fun reward for working hard. People like browsing for clothes, trying on every last article for optimum stylishness. So why would we take this pleasure away from them? A single word, in summation: time. It is time consuming to drag out to a store and lug your shopping bags around all day, and most would like to avoid it.

Online shopping is a relatively new phenomenon and began in a variety of sites. Most people first reach for massive marketing sites like Ebay when this type of shopping comes up, but they are just some of many. Through these sites, you could actually become quite the Internet entrepreneur, pedaling your old junk online. Some people make themselves rich selling their old knick-knacks to collectors! Whether or not you choose to participate in these transactions is up to every person on the site, but it was the public that took this process to the next stage. The Internet suddenly became the place for selling and buying, and all of a sudden we are bombarded with ads all over our explorer box. Unfortunately, the number one rule of the Internet rang true with this new online shopping market; any sort of economic prosperity, and bad people will catch on.

These new scam artists were witty people though, it was a shame they wasted their intellect on crime. They would make a credible name to use on Ebay and other sites. They would then post some sort of item for a great price that everyone would want. Once the customer bought, their credit card would be charged, and the scammer would send them an empty crate or maybe nothing at all. As is the nature of the Internet, the criminal packed up shop and was never heard from again. You may have known people to whom this happened, or been a victim yourself. Don’t get disillusioned; Internet shopping is a great tool; just watch who you are buying from. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Try and read their profiles on these sites too, and scan the buyer feedback. If it is bad, turn tail and run! Even if it is good, it still could be a hoax. Use your intuition and don’t let your money go to waste; or rather, to some low life who blatantly stole it.

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What is an anonymous proxy, you may be asking? First of all, there are two types of anonymous proxies. The one that most people use is the web-based. This is because it is simple to find. All that is required is a search on the Google site for “anonymous proxy” and a vast amount of results will be shown. Choose one of the results and go to the site. An empty URL box will be shown and you need only type the web address of the place you want to visit. The anonymous proxy will then take you to this address without showing your IP address. When you leave the website there will not be a record of your having been there. The anonymous proxy acts as a combination protection and retrieval tool. It gets the website for you and keeps anyone from accessing your IP address. Your IP address can tell a thief where you are located. How many people do you want to know your name?

The second type of anonymous proxy is a software proxy. This is somewhat like the web-based one however, software proxies work by downloading a program to your computer. Many of the software programs are set up so that when the traffic from your browser goes through the IP servers to be changed, they are put through encryption.  This encryption protects the data stream so that a hacker cannot read what you are sending over the Internet.  Without encryption your data stream is wide open for anyone using a packet sniffer.  Unprotected Internet communications is one way that people lose their identity or their money.

Setting this up is a very simple process. All you have to do is download the software for the anonymous proxy server. The software you are using will have an icon on your desktop. Open the program from here and put in your user name and your password. The next thing will be to choose the anonymous proxy from the ones available that you wish to connect to and hit enter. Your computer will be connected to the server you chose. The browser you use can be opened and your IP address is changed to one from the software program. Eliminating your IP address from showing on whatever site you choose to visit is a terrific move. The electronic trail that is left by your computer every time you go online no longer leads back to your computer. It goes to the server company that has the program you are using. This type of anonymous proxy has more servers to handle the traffic they are getting so it is faster than the ones you can choose free from the Internet. In addition, you are not inundated with the advertisements often put on free proxy servers.

The whole process makes for a safe and secure way of doing anything online. Instead of them being able to have full access to all your pertinent information, the IP address is routed through anonymous proxy servers. This eliminates the chance of a hacker gaining control of your information while you are online. Using a wireless router or a laptop on a hotspot allows everything you are doing to be seen by those who are just waiting for an unsuspecting surfer to come along. Did you know that your ISP even has a log of everything you do on the Internet? The law says they have to keep a record of the sites you visit. Do you think this is anyone’s business besides yours? The best way to make sure no one knows what you are doing while you are online is to make use of the anonymous proxy software that encrypts your communication and keeps them private.

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One of the issues raised in the video is the use of debit cards.  Again, for years we’ve been telling people not to use debit cards.  They do not offer the same protections that credit cards do.

However, the main item to take away from this, is that protecting your identity, and your privacy, is up to you.  You need to be proactive.  Think through the issues and put safeguards in place so that you do not wind up as a victim.

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How wrong I was.  Two days later I received an email from my credit card company informing me my credit card was maxed out.  This was followed by another card being used to its limit.  Then I received another email thanking me for my business.  Supposedly, I had borrowed five hundred dollars.

I was shocked and dismayed, wondering how someone had gotten my credit card information.  I had been anonymously surfing.  I was supposed to be protected.

Well, I wasn’t.

I knew what proxy service I had used when I was anonymously surfing, and contacted them with a complaint, letting them know my personal information had been stolen while using their free service.  They wrote me back informing me that since I used their free service for anonymously surfing rather than their fee-based one, they were not responsible for my losses.  I was furious, but legally there was nothing I could do.  And they had the nerve to offer me a package at a reduced rate.

So I had to cut up my credit cards and dispute the charges.  My credit rating dropped like a stone.  I’m still trying to get the charges off my credit report.  I can’t get a single credit card issued to me at this point.  I also found out that access to some of my personal accounts had been changed as well, and spam posted under my name.  When I tried to open a new account, I was blocked.  Banned from most of the sites for spamming.

It was a nightmare.  But I had to find out what happened, so I did my research.  I only wish I had done it before this happened.  It seems that anonymously surfing using free online proxies is not as secure as it seems.  Your IP address is hidden, but the data that is sent to websites is not encrypted.  Anyone who has access to the server can see all the information sent, collect it, record it and use it.

If only I had used a software-based proxy when anonymously surfing.  Of course, I couldn’t have installed it on the company computer, but I also surf anonymously at home.  I had been lucky up to this point.”

The point of this article is this: Be smart and invest in reliable proxy software when you want to go anonymously surfing on the Internet.  I’ve done the homework for you and experienced the hardship that not doing your homework can cause.  I wouldn’t wish this situation on anyone.  I’ve learned the hard way that anonymously surfing on the Internet using free online proxies has a very high price.  A very high price indeed.”

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