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.

The web proxy is activated by going to the proxy site. From there you put in the site you wish to visit, and your IP address is changed and you are now anonymous. These are often free and are readily available on the Internet. These will also help you get by those filtering site programs at your work or school. These have some downfalls though; they are often very slow, can be unsecure, and are very finicky. First, you are traveling on one network with many different people, and using a lot of bandwidth. This makes you travel quite slow. Then, who knows if these web proxies are scams or not? Bandwidth costs lots of money, web proxies use a lot, and keep in mind the owner of the proxy can still see all of your data. Maybe they dip into some customer’s unknowing bank accounts to extract some money…

A fee based software proxy is a much better bet. These offer all the advantages of a web-based proxy, but are often lightening fast, much more secure, and offer encryption services, which are essential to true Internet security.

The decision is obvious, and the real-world axiom applies in the world of privacy as well. Web proxies are okay to use on a public computer, but definitely not for home use. Using a fee-based anonymous proxy can keep you completely safe and ensure anonymous browsing while online; and you don’t have to break the bank!

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.

Although the IP is completely public, it can be hidden using anonymous proxy software. This will actually mask your IP, and allow you to travel anonymously and securely on the web. The proxy will change your IP address to one it uses, and this way, you will not appear as you, but as the proxy.

There a variety of these services to choose from. Web proxies are the most common, and most widely used, often because they are free. All these entail is going to a website, hitting in the address you wish to visit, and the proxy will act as a middleman, and retrieve the information for you, so it’s like you never even visited the site.

The other type of proxy server is the professional, fee-based server. These will offer the same services as a web proxy, but often add in an additional layer of security. Although people feel safe with a web proxy, the truth is they offer no security and are sometimes run by hacker to steal people’s information. Fee-based proxies offer encryption services, which will encode all of your data so that it will appear as hieroglyphics to any hacker or interloper.

Don’t be disillusioned by total freedom; you are not always safe. The systems that protect you and come stock on your computer are not enough to combat the perils of online life and browsing. There are criminals who, every day, make an illicit living on people who are unprotected. Don’t be one of them! Protect yourself by using an anonymous proxy and ward off any intruder to your Internet space. Most importantly, don’t let anyone locate you through your IP address, use an anonymous proxy and gain the peace of mind that comes with complete safety.

With the advent of the “Information Generation”, people flocked to the Internet for its unlimited resources and its great exploring potential. People began to have virtual lives online, living vicariously through games or social networking sites. The Internet unknowingly conglomerated with television through YouTube, and is currently putting television on its last legs. Even the drudging commute to work is becoming archaic, and being replaced by the coffee-fueled masses that earn their bread working from home.

America has always been a land of change, as well as freedom. Right now, we are in the middle of another Industrial Revolution; although perhaps it will appear in history textbooks as the Technology Revolution. As the people evolved and changed their habits, so did the inventive criminals. Crime has always been a plaguing leech on America’s side, but one that is inevitable by the amount of freedom each citizen enjoys. Although criminals are often stereotypically portrayed as completely ignorant, uneducated low lives, they know quite some about their art; it is their chosen profession. They follow people and find out where they are most unprotected and will strike there when the opportunity arises. They also factor in how likely it is that they will be caught.

When everyone began using the Internet, criminals began to see that this was an excellent new avenue for them to exploit. Instead of having to rob someone in a suspicious back alley or on a crowded subway train, they could do so surreptitiously online, without even a trace of fear. A robber mugging someone in an alley will be plagued by the screams of his victim, and most likely caught by police as he tries to escape. An Internet hacker who hacks into an innocent person’s bank account online will not have to worry about the victim screaming for help, nor about a quick escape. It is likely the victim won’t even know that they have been robbed until months later, and by then the criminals will be gone, without a shred of evidence left behind.

You may think that these criminals have to be rogue N.S.A agents to be able to hack into your computer, but the truth is, it isn’t that difficult. All the thief needs is access to your Internet communications.

How do you hide it then? Obviously you don’t want a criminal breaking into your computer and stealing your data and secret information. The best way to do so is by using an anonymous proxy server.

There are two kinds of anonymous proxy servers; web-based, and software-based. A web-based proxy is the most common that people use, and the ones most commonly made. These can be accessed by just doing a brief Google search of “anonymous proxy”; you will get a ton of results. By going onto one of these sites, you will see a new URL box (where you type in the website you wish to go to) that will be able to be typed in. Simply type in the website you actually wished to visit and the proxy will act as a middleman, going and retrieving the website for you. This will ensure that no record of the website being visited remains on your computer, no tracking cookies have been planted, and your identity is kept completely anonymous. Remember that your IP address contains your location and other identifying information, so the proxy has effectively kept you safe.

That all sounds good; but it is not all that it seems. Any proxy server is operated by one particular person, or a group of people. While you may be hidden from the rest of the web, the owners of the proxy can see everything and everyone’s real IP address that flows through their network. Anyone can configure and set-up a web proxy. Although some of these people might be hosting one to help out a friend living in a less-than-democratic country, the chances are slim of this, and it would probably be private. The bottom line is, bandwidth costs major money, and with so many people on one server, the owner is likely to accumulate quite a large bill at the end of the month. Most people lose their philanthropic spirit after their bank account is emptied by other people. These proxies are often free, which raises some eyebrows, and correctly so. Oftentimes, these web-based proxies are run by hackers and criminals to lazy to break into people’s computers, so they have their prey come to them. These people are under false pretenses that they are safe on these hacked servers, but the truth, is a hacker is diligently recording and watching all of their bank transactions, log-ins, and other private information. It is not too big of a stretch to think that these people are dipping into their unknowing consumers accounts to keep their proxy going.

The other kind of anonymous proxy is called a software based proxy. These are similar to web-based proxies in theory, but differ in practice. As their names denote, web-based proxies are done by accessing an Internet site, while software-based proxies are used by downloading something into your computer. These proxies also differ in one more major manner; they are usually fee-based. This usually turns some people running to the hills for a free-web based proxy, but the truth is, you get what you pay for. Remember, proxies cost money, and you are paying in one way or another if you don’t do so up front. By paying a small monthly fee, (your child has enough money in their piggy bank) you can be ensured that the proxy will guarantee anonymous surfing and browsing for as long as you use it. These also are much faster that free web proxies too, as the software based ones will have more servers to disperse traffic, while a web proxy will keep all of its users on one server, sometimes slowing traffic to a haul. Another plus is that you won’t see incessant amounts of random advertisement. If the web proxy isn’t stealing from you, they will likely fill your retrieved page with all sorts of advertisements and other garbage that decreases your anonymous browsing experience.

Both proxies have their ups and downs, but a software based proxy is the way to go if you can spare just a couple of dollars a month. It is worth it to know no hacker is intercepting all of your documents and compromising your anonymous surfing experience. Identity thieves hang out on web proxies, and can cause some serious privacy issues. A web proxy should only be used when surfing on a public computer where you want to bypass some sort of institute instated blockade. Use software proxies for your home and work computers where you wish to bypass any Internet censorship your boss might have instated, hide your IP address, and make sure you are enjoying an anonymous browsing experience through your secure tunnel of access.

Don’t be baited by a hacker and use a web-based proxy unless you are on a public computer; use an anonymous software based proxy and get the Internet privacy you need in the “Information Generation.”

Web-Based Proxy Servers
These web-based anonymizers are easy to use and only require you to have an Internet connection and enter a URL.  Give it a click and your IP address is replaced with theirs.  This can get you into a blocked website, like Myspace, but that is the main purpose of the online anonymous browser.  It’s not safe to send personal information over these servers because there is no guarantee that the information is encrypted, and if not, it can be accessed by some less than scrupulous person.  Also you cannot use web-based proxies to access banking sites or any other online location that uses either Secure Shell or Secure Socket Layer.

Software-based Anonymous Proxy
What’s nice about a software-based software is after installation it will run with your browser and you won’t have to go back to a start page to enter a new URL.  One click and you’re surfing away.  A downside is you will have to pay for the proxy service that comes with the software, but it isn’t a large amount of money, normally a few dollars a month.  When it comes to security online, you’re going to get what you pay for.  The software not only allows you to surf anonymously, but encrypts your information.  So the transmission between your computer and the Internet are secure in addition to your IP being masked.  You can’t get that kind of protection from a web-based proxy.

There are pros and cons to both methods of protecting your Internet privacy and IP address.  Which method you use primarily depends on what you do on the Internet.  If you just want to get on a blocked website that doesn’t need personal info, a web-proxy is fine.  But for ANYTHING else, no matter how long you are online, a software-based proxy is the better choice.  The advanced protection alone makes purchasing it a wise investment.

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.

Anonymous proxies are the essential staple of Internet security. They can even bypass government instated censoring on the Internet! These proxies can also be charged to keep track of cookies, and with no cookies as evidence that a web session even occurred, they can delete your browsing history altogether.

Web proxies are simple to use; just type the website you wish to visit into the proxy’s input box, and off you go. Anonymous surfing is so simple to do, and in today’s Internet community, completely essential. However they tend to be slower than software based proxies.

Both types are useful.  Privacy Partners offers a software proxy called “Private Proxy”. For a web proxy, we recommend Proxify.