I’d like to offer a “review” of sorts of my experience with PrivateProxy – a software services company that provides anonymous server proxy protection.  First a bit of background.  I’m what you might call a “retail” user of the internet – I don’t have a web site of my own, I don’t try to create traffic on someone else’s website by “hitting” it many times, etc., my wife and I simply “use” the internet for email, surfing, banking, communication with family through Facebook, Google, etc.  We have 4 computers in the house (they accumulate over time like dust bunnies) and we both use the internet often through the day and often at the same time.

Over the past month or so there have been a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal, that frankly, scared the bejeezus out of us.  We knew that surfing the internet exposes us to identity theft and that third parties of all kinds can, do, and are probably in some cases legally required (like our ISP) to monitor all our online activities.  Now we believe our internet use is a private matter (doesn’t everyone?).  And we don’t feel that by tracking our internet preferences third parties can “better” market us through more targeted advertising to create a “better” internet experience for us.  Call us old fashioned but we would rather make those choices for ourselves – privately.  The WSJ articles made clear that ANY internet usage by an individual can both expose that user to invasions of privacy and outright dangerous – like going to a gun fight with only a knife.  All this got us thinking about ways to protect ourselves.

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Do you ever get that feeling that someone is following you, someone is watching you? Don’t quickly jump to the conclusion that you are crazy; many others feel the same way. The fact is that you are often being watched, and not just by other people. In Britain, and as being tested in some undisclosed parts of the United States, people are being held under surveillance by discreet video cameras mounted on houses. These video cameras can watch passerby and record everything that they see and or do. The cameras can be accessed by local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, or any other criminal agency at any time, with a live feed able to be brought up. These cameras are supposed to watch for “anti-social behavior”, and when detected, the police are to be dispatched and the situation taken care of.

While the idea of being watched sounds bad, it really is not. It depends clearly on the type. When you are being watched for your own safety, as these video cameras are doing for the citizens, sometimes it is necessary to make some privacy sacrifices to ensure your protection. The only question that arises is what exactly is “anti-social behavior”? If this anti-social behavior means a man waiting outside someone’s house looking to see if anyone is home, and then trying to break the door down or open a window, then it goes without saying that we would all be okay with these cameras. Sometimes these cameras can snoop into places we don’t want them too, and they then abandon their public service. This is the bad kind of being watched, a voyeuristic viewing of your life and its details. It doesn’t have to be the actual watching of your person though or what you are doing; this illegal type of surveillance expands into the extension of your self, except online: your social security number, your documents, your emails, etc.

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These days, it is hard to place our trust in anything. Perhaps it is the prevalence of terrorism, or the declining economy, or maybe even the thought of a nuclear war floating in the back of our minds. While we are hesitant to put faith in almost anything, we do so often every day in the least trust-worthy situations; the problem is, we don’t realize it.

Take the Internet for example. Kids, every day, converse with each other online. This has become the primary form of communication among the youth of America; rare is the case when a group of friends will actually go out and meet in person when it is so much easier to do so on the computer. With this virtual existence though, one can argue they lose who their friends really are. While this is meant in a sentimental, profound fashion, the literal meaning applies too. Without seeing their faces and hearing their voices, how do you know the person typing is the one actually typing? It would be easy and plausible enough that the friend they are exchanging personal information with is actually a hacker who is trying to lure them into a real life encounter. This is sobering news, but sadly it happens often.

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When you represent some sort of organization, whether it be a school, business, or a non profit, you assume the responsibility of their identity and the well being of it onto your person. When you are out there being a part of the organization in question, you become an avatar of it, and people will connect what you do and who you are with the thing you are representing. This can be a double edged sword: if you do well, your company looks good, and if not, you can be in for some hard times. If a business man is the head of a big name company and decided to hold a charity for some degenerative disease and raises a lot of money and gives it away, it brings good P.R. (public relations) back to the business. Those who believe in karma think that if they do good, they will receive good, and vice versa. On the other hand, if the business man falls into the public eye with some sort of scandal such as a DUI charge, their business could be forever associated with the crime and fail quickly.

This situation happened recently with a couple of high school football players. When they joined the team, they signed a contract with their coach saying that they would always abstain from drugs and alcohol and that they would maintain a good image, for their image reflected the entire football team’s. About halfway into the season, after a major and crushing victory, the team in question had a party to celebrate. The football players who had previously signed the contract started drinking, and actually ended up getting pulled over for underage drinking and driving under the influence. The coach immediately, even though they were the star players, cut them from the team. Ever since, many jokes and puns have been made about the team and their partying habits; they could never be taken seriously again.

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Terrorism has always been a big concern of the United States, and the main job of the most powerful person in the world, our president, has been to try and counter it. While many people are not worried about terrorism or the threats it brings to the American people, the government has always been concerned with this matter and done the up most to try and prevent it. There are many safeguards and agreements in place; even though many countries and nations hate the United States out of religious and cultural differences or perhaps just a strong feeling of envy, we have successfully been able to negotiate many cease fires between enemy nations. No matter how strong our diplomatic skills are though, there will always be some countries that are inconsolable and will try and attack us no matter what.

We were able to fend them off for some time, and did so quite well. It wasn’t until the 911 attacks that we faltered. These terrorist attacks jaded our nation and knocked down our confidence. It was similar to the Titanic; the impossible and the impenetrable was broken down. America seemed like a huge fortress, but some ramshackle terrorists were able to infiltrate it and deal us some swift damage. This woke the government up, and made them protect America even more diligently, and think of many new ways to do so.

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Privacy is a big part of today’s world. As people’s information and data become more and more sensitive, the need to keep it hidden becomes more and more necessary. Ten years ago, someone’s IP address wouldn’t have been treated with any security what so ever, now it must be hidden at all costs. People probably wouldn’t have known what an IP address was at the time!

The demand for Internet privacy got to be so strong, that there began to be a market for it. People would pay for the services they provide, and would do so willingly. At first, these companies charged ridiculous amounts for their services, but today they are often dirt cheap.

Anonymous Proxy usage became more and more important. These are programs or web sites that actually alter your IP address, which is a virtual nametag showing location, browsing history, etc. The programs then allow you to surf on their encrypted networks to be sure all of your information is encoded upon you sending it. Then, they actually go and retrieve the websites you wish to visit for you, allowing you to bypass blocks set on work and school computers (or possibly an oppressive government) and enjoy the sites you want to. They will allow no traces of data such as cookies or cache to stay on your computer, allowing no one to see your browsing session. All your employer or teacher would see is the name of the anonymous proxy over and over and over again. If this isn’t good enough for you, professional fee-based proxies offer a “delete session information” function that completely deletes history of your browsing for that session, leaving no traces anywhere.

There are two major types of proxies; a software based proxy and a web based proxy. We’ll focus on the web based one first.

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In the U.S., we enjoy a great amount of freedom and many social rights. Privacy is one of those, and arguably the most important. Our Internet is completely uncensored and our government has no notions or plans to change that. We can surf what we want, when we want, and people have almost taken this for granted. Many other countries are not this way. For example, Iran is very censored, and around certain times, it gets worse. As the last election drew to a close, the government in Iran blocked Twitter and other instant messaging services were shut down so as to not give protestors a medium to communicate their message. In China, people always make jokes about the “Great Firewall of China”. It didn’t earn this nickname for no reason though, Chinese citizens are blocked from pretty much any site that has anything anti-communist or any content that might go against their ideologies.

Although out Internet is as free as red, white, and blue can be, freedom can bring about some bad things. Criminals and identity thieves roam the Internet; hackers and trackers prey on innocents. As technology increases, these criminals up their arsenal and still have some tricks up their sleeve. Some people may feel comforted by the security systems and firewalls installed on their computer, but this is just the same as a child hiding under the covers; what are the covers actually going to do?

These preliminary defenses are a piece of cake for a hacker of even the most rudimentary talent. The truth is, even if these defenses worked, they still wouldn’t fix the main problem: the IP address. This virtual nametag your computer wears is shown to every website, and contains your location. If someone got your IP address, all they would have to do is copy it into a Google search, and they would have your location.

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American’s military is the glue that holds the nation together. National security is on every U.S. citizens’ mind, and this is only magnified in these turbulent times. These freedom fighters would give everything to help their country, and do so every day.

Though they may seem almost inhuman with their selflessness, these are just ordinary people. They love family, freedom, and happiness just as much as anyone else. While traveling or being stationed internationally, some military members can get homesick. This is perfectly normal, and happens to some when leaving on a leisurely vacation. Imagine the anguish of having to leave your country, and go off to some faraway land to fight!

Watching some familiar American T.V. is a great way to stay in touch with old Uncle Sam. Unfortunately, a man can‘t exist on “I Love Lucy” alone, and must supplement their viewing diet.

Internet T.V. to the rescue! Imagine the joy of a lonely soldier when he or she could access an entire cultural reservoir of familiarity. They could just catch up on the affairs back home, or maybe just see who J-Lo is marrying this week. Alas, it was too good to be true.

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If you want to surf securely and remain anonymous on the Internet, a private proxy is the best way to do so. There are a couple important things to keep in mind about proxies though. Having a better understanding of Internet security in general will better prepare you to select the right proxy.

First of all, there are free proxies. “Free” is a bit of a subjective term here. In the eyes of most, “free” means no money needs to be shelled out. This is true of a free proxy. Keep in mind though, that you pay in attention. There are ads all over sites, and the proxy makes money by you clicking on them.

Web proxies are the most common type of proxy on the Internet. They cloak your IP address and allow you to remain anonymous on the web. They can also bypass firewalls and other virtual blockades by masking the sites you are visiting, and just having it appear that you are visiting their site.

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During an HTTP transfer of information that occurs when a user surfs the web, their IP address is shown to the website in order to transfer information. This also allows a website to track its traffic by user. If the website isn’t a trusted one, they could use your information for criminal means.

When one uses an anonymous proxy server, they can truly travel the Internet in total privacy. The proxy will be the IP seen entering the site, and not yours! This eliminates all possibility of being tracked, and the proxy can go even further. It can delete all logs of your activities off of its logs, and then truly it will be like the web session never even happened. The only thing to worry about is whether the website will recognize that the proxy is indeed a proxy, and it would block you from visiting. If you are using a professional proxy that requires some kind of fee though, rest assured this should not happen to you.

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