I can’t even remember how many times I’ve been asked by both friends and strangers if it’s a good idea to use a proxy server.  The answer I always give is “Yes!!!”

Whenever I travel, I usually drive, so that means when I’m on the road, I’m usually working.  If I stop at Panera for a quick snack or if I’m staying in a motel over-night, I bring my laptop in so I can get things done.  Because of this, I’m relying on public Wi-Fi during my trips.  With all the talk of identity theft and hackers, I always wondered if someone sitting at the next table or staying in the next room was a hacker.  I tried to be cautious, but the worry was still there until I discovered Private Proxy.   Now, I can go anywhere and work on the Internet without worrying about my privacy.  Yes, there are free proxies available, but I was always told that you get what you pay for and some of those free proxies aren’t run by very scrupulous people.  These people can, and sometimes do, monitor the information being sent out and will use it against you.  Another thing to consider is that since the proxies are free, they are public and anyone can use them (just like public Wi-Fi).  No information you send out is encrypted.  With Private Proxy, I’m assured of an unmonitored, encrypted connection at all times.  This way, I feel much safer knowing that no one can read my personal information.

I also like that no one can figure out if I’m home or on the road.  Since Private Proxy gives me a choice of many rotating and static connections in the US, Canada and the Netherlands, I can be “seen” as being in the States even when I’m over-seas.  It also works to my advantage in the opposite way.  If a friend invites me to her child’s birthday party and I have had enough of ball pits and clowns for the year, I can choose one of the proxy servers on the other side of the country so it looks like I’m traveling.  Not that I don’t like my friends, their kids or their parties, but there is only so much of the bad magic tricks and silly string one person can handle!

I’m sure most of us know what “cookies” are by now, but what are web bugs?  Like cookies, web bugs go by other names:  web beacons and tracking bugs.  They are a form of spyware used frequently by spammers in order to confirm e-mail addresses and to let the spammer know when an e-mail was opened.

Web bugs are also used by advertisers to let them know which websites people are visiting and the frequency of those visits.  This helps the advertisers compile reports on individuals so ads relevant to the user’s website visits are placed on each browser.

You probably would never notice if a web bug was included in an e-mail you receive because they are cleverly disguised.  A web bug is usually a very tiny image (no larger than 1 X 1 pixel), formatted as a GIF, that blends in with whatever background it’s on.  Browsers can accept or reject cookies, but since a GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is widely used on the Internet, the browser generally accepts it.  Web bugs can also be disguised as an image of the site’s logo.  This way, it can be hidden in plain sight.

A good example of a web bug is the use of e-greeting cards.  Whenever you send one of these cards, there is an option that you can click on that tells you when the recipient has opened and looked at the card.  This is possible thanks to web bugs.

Web bugs can identify the IP Address of the computer that received the bug, it can identify the URL of the web page the web bug came from, it can identify the URL of the web page the web bug was “viewed” on, and it can distinguish what time the web bug was “viewed”.  Because web bugs used in e-mail usually come from spammers, this is what causes the most concerns about privacy. This will give the spammers too much information about a particular user.

A few weeks ago, one of our clients ran into a problem:  his subscription to Private Proxy had just ended.  Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue.  Private Proxy offers each client the option to have the subscription automatically renewed using the credit card information on file.  This, however, was a special case; the client was a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan.  With so many other more important issues on his mind, he didn’t think to update the expiration date on his credit card.  Consequently, the payment request was denied.

When the soldier was made aware of this problem, he tried accessing the Private Proxy site to update the information.  Unfortunately, because he was in Afghanistan, and no longer had a subscription to Private Proxy and our servers, he could not access the site.  He also no longer had access to other important sites, such as his on-line banking, home newscasts, American television, etc.

If the soldier would have been able to personally contact us to explain the situation, his subscription would have been renewed on the spot.  However, in this case, it took a while, but he finally was able to get in contact with a friend in the United States.  The friend called us on his behalf and updated the information.  The soldier’s subscription to Private Proxy is now renewed, and he can once again enjoy the Internet freedom that he’s gotten used to

Are you aware that every single time you log on to the internet, you are leaving behind electronic footprints? Just as a hunter tracks his prey, a new breed of criminal, the cyber-criminal, uses these footprints to lead him right to you.

The next time you are in your favorite “watering hole”, using their free WiFi connection, think about this: the person sitting in the next booth, intently working on his laptop, may not be what he appears to be. What he could be so focused on is gathering your personal information.

You may not even be safe in the comfort of your own home. When you use a wireless router, anyone near your home or apartment could tap into your connection. If you didn’t take the time to set the router to encrypt your data, the result is the same: your personal information is in jeopardy.

When you used a public hotspot, any information you enter onto your computer is unencrypted. This means that if someone can get access into your connection, that person can see everything you do.

Every day, we use the internet for a wide range of reasons. Sometimes, we’ll sign up to post on a certain site, or to get an on line newsletter. We do this so often that we don’t even give it a second thought. We enter our names and choose a password, but, if your connection isn’t secure, all of the information you input is fair game. The person sitting in the next booth, or in the next house or apartment, could be watching and waiting for you to give him what he needs to steal your identity.

Since most of us are signed up to so many sites, a majority of people will use the same password for everything. The cyber-criminal already has your e-mail address and the password from the new site you signed up for. Once he has this, he can try that password to get into your e-mail account. How much information can someone gather from your e-mails?

From your e-mail account, he can try that same password to get to your social networking account. Now, he not only has your full name, but he also knows where you live. He also sees your status post on when you are going to be leaving for vacation. He also can see the pictures of your family and friends that you’ve been posting.

Now you know what can happen, but what can you do to prevent it? The best way to end the threat of being victimized by cyber-criminals is to use a proxy server. When using a proxy server, your IP address is hidden, so it can’t be used to find your approximate location. You also have the added protection of all your information being encrypted. This means that even if someone could hack into your data stream, any information that person could gather would be useless because it couldn’t be read.

Don’t allow yourself to become prey. Use a proxy server so cyber-crooks can’t make your life theirs.

What would you do if you couldn’t go online every day?  You use the computer every day for your job, to connect with your friends and family, and to shop.  In spite of how necessary the Internet has become to our lives most people don’t realize that they are leaving their personal information unprotected.  Using a proxy server is an important way to ensure that your computer is secure.  You can keep your surfing history and laptop safe from those who really want to get that information.  But how do you pick the right proxy software?  Arm yourself with some basic information before you shop for this amazing tool.

Computer security is so much more than checking your laptop for viruses every week.  If that’s all you are doing then you have left yourself vulnerable.  The bad guys can install malware on your computer and track your every click as you surf the Internet.  If you do a lot of shopping and banking online then you are particularly vulnerable.  But it’s not just criminals that you need to be wary of.  A lot of marketing companies are competing to acquire and sell your information to advertisers.  You’ll stop them before they start by using a proxy server.

With all the advantages the Internet has brought comes a new kind of crime. Internet crime is at an all time high. Thieves have learned that this is an easier way of robbing their victims than ever before. All they have to do is gain access to a person’s connection to the Internet and it is possible to take their identity or their money. This is being committed even as you are reading this article. Accessing someone’s bank account, credit cards and other personal information through the World Wide Web is the way a thief can get by with his crime with the least likelihood of getting caught. Gone are the days when going on the Internet was not threatened by the possibility of malware and spy ware. When a thief gains access to your Internet connection, all the information you are sending on that connection is out in the open for the taking. Bank account numbers, credit card numbers – all manner of personal information – is no longer safe. How do you take steps to keep this from happening? One of the best ways is to have an anonymous proxy server. This is one solution to keep thieves from gaining knowledge about your connection to the Internet and in turn keeping your information safe.

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?

Every Internet user knows the hassle of constantly popping up advertisements and other flashing ads on the side of their screen. While most just view this as the trade-off that they give while surfing the free Internet, some are a bit more worried. And with good reason; recently, a new practice has begun: behavioral advertising. This will actually go into your browsing history, scan it to determine your interests, and then put ads all around your page based on it. It is a bit invasive, and completely involuntary.

The premise is simple; give people ads that they might actually consider. Imagine a dainty young woman into flowers, teacups, and all things cute and cuddly. If while on a beauty website, she encounters an ad for a protein shake that is guaranteed to put on fifteen percent more muscle in one week, she probably isn’t going to even think about clicking it. On the other end of the spectrum, if a muscle-bound college kid is managing his fantasy football team, and an ad for a miracle garden solution pops up, he probably won’t think twice before exiting it out.

These may be a bit extreme, but everyone has had something like this occur. One can see two sides of the coin to this new behavioral advertising; one is good and puts ads that you may actually consider on your screen, and another is bad and completely invades your privacy without permission.

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.

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.

Every computer comes stock with some sort of Internet browser; whether it be Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, etc. These browsers start out completely uncensored and unblocked. This is the prospect of America; you have absolute freedom unless you choose to limit it. Parents who buy their young kids computers have to go in and manually install child-blocking software and other censoring programs. This is all done by choice, and is completely unnecessary to the correct function of the computer.

This is true of most countries, the United States being the most prominent. There are some places where the government censorship is running rampant and is instated unwillingly upon its citizens. These places are few and far between, but are highly publicized for their censorship and other injustices on their citizens. China is a prime example. “The Great Firewall of China” is what China’s censoring agenda is satirically known as, and its citizens are becoming fed up with it. The people of this nation used to just be defeated by it, and would never do anything to try and help themselves out of desperation, but recently, movements have been made to free them. People in the Americas and other free nations set up proxy servers to send aid to their companions in less-than-democratic nations. These anonymous proxies ensure anonymous browsing for the citizens, who run the risk of being caught for their “crimes”; YouTube, FaceBook, etc.