What is the Solution to Being Banned from a Website?

Being banned from a website is a problem that many Internet users are faced with.  It can happen if you post too much or post inappropriate content.  It may not even be something you did.  It could be that for whatever reason, the Webmaster just doesn’t like what you are posting.   If you agree with the ban or not, the decision has been made.  So, is there a solution?

You would think that deleting your cookies and creating a new username and password will by-pass that ban, but that isn’t the case.  You see, when you are banned from a website, not only are your username and password banned, but your IP Address is banned as well.  Don’t panic; the situation isn’t hopeless.

Changing your IP Address can be done in a few ways:  1) Go to your local public hotspot whenever you want to go onto the banned site (but that isn’t convenient at all); 2) switch Internet Service Providers (but that would cost too much, especially if you are locked into a contract with your old ISP); or 3) you can find a proxy service that has multiple servers for you to choose from.

Changing your IP Address by using a proxy service is the easiest and most convenient way to do this.  It can be done at any time right from home.  You would need to delete your cookies then pick which proxy server you want to sign on with.  Go to the website, create your new username and password and you will be good to go.  Since the IP Address is that of the proxy, you will no longer be banned.  Just be careful not to get banned again.  True, you would have many proxy servers to choose from, but remember that if you get banned from the website using the proxy, any other members of that service will also be banned from that website if they happen to use your banned IP Address.  Just read and understand the rules of the website and this shouldn’t be a problem.

Getting on banned websites isn’t the only advantage to using a proxy server.  When you use a reputable service, your line of communication is always encrypted no matter where you are; at a public hotspot or at home using your wireless router.  The encryption will keep you safe from hackers because none of your information will be readable to them.  Make sure you use a reputable service because sometimes those free proxies are owned and run by some shady characters that monitor the lines and sell your information.  You won’t have that worry with a reputable service because the lines will be encrypted and unmonitored.  

My information and privacy is important to me, so I use Private Proxy.  No matter where I go, my information is safe.  Try it for yourself by going to the Home page and use the link for the Risk Free Trial.  You could be surfing the Internet safely within minutes.

What are the Advantages of Using a Proxy Server?

I have been asked many times if it’s worth it to use a proxy server.  My answer is always an emphatic “YES”!  

I travel a lot.  Since my means of transportation is usually a car, I often work while on the road.  This means using public hotspots, whether it’s when I stop at Starbucks for a quick snack, or when I stop for the night at a motel.  This always worried me before I started using Private Proxy’s proxy servers.  You never know if someone at the next table or in the next room is a hacker, but now, I don’t have to worry because I know that everything I send out from my computer is encrypted.  Sure, you can find some free proxies, but some may not be so trustworthy.  Because they’re free, they can be used by anyone and they are usually not encrypted, so you’re not really safe from hacking.  You also have to be careful because some of these proxies are monitored by the owners of the sites.  By monitoring, they can get your personal information.  

Another advantage is that no one knows when I’m traveling or when I’m at home.  With Private Proxy, I have a choice of many servers, both rotating and static, in many areas of the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.  This way, I can use a server in my area of the country when I want my travels to remain private or, I can choose a server across the country when I’m invited to the hundredth kid’s birthday party of the year at Chuck E Cheese!  After all, there is a limit on how much bad pizza and how many screaming kids one person can take.  

Even when I travel outside of the United States, I can still keep in touch with friends, family and my local news.  Since some websites aren’t available all over the world, all I have to do is choose which one of the US servers I would like to use and no matter where I am, the Internet will be “fooled” into thinking I’m home.  I will then have access to sites that would normally be blocked in whatever country I’m traveling in.  I can watch my favorite TV shows, read my local newspapers and shop on sites that would only be available to me in the United States.  All of this without worrying that someone could steal my information by breaking into my data stream.

When I chose Private Proxy as my proxy service, encryption was one of the major selling points.  I like knowing that no matter where I go in the world, even if I’m just around the corner or at home using my wireless router, no one will be able to grab my information and use it to their advantage.  Also, the proxies are never monitored and only Private Proxy clients have access to their servers.  Add that to the choice of multiple servers in different areas of the United States, Canada and the Netherlands and I was hooked.  

Private Proxy offers a free trial period so you can see all the advantages for yourself.  Simply go to the home page and click on the link for the Risk Free Trial at the right of the screen. 

Are Our Privacy Rules Changing?

Do you realize how much information is gathered from your smartphone?  This is something most people use every day, but not just to make calls.  It is also used to surf the Internet, send e-mails and update social networking.  Many people even use their smartphones as a GPS.  Because of its many functions, your smartphone holds information on your location, your e-mail contacts and your favorite Internet sites.   In other words, your smartphone is yet another way you can be tracked on-line. 

It seems like every month new apps are being developed for smartphones and tablets.  In fact, the smartphone is probably used less to make calls than to surf the Internet.  You can use Google Maps to find any location in the world, you can keep up with your office e-mail and you can even use GasBuddy to find the least expensive gas in the area.  When you’re ready for a break, you can play your favorite on-line games!  All this can be done with one device.  You can be traveling, yet you’ll never be far from your office or home.  You can even access sites that can help you out with a solution if you don’t know how to handle your two-year-old’s tantrums or medical sites that can tell you what that strange rash on your leg is.

Yes, these apps are a fantastic convenience, but they also leave us open for tracking.  Many people find that the convenience far out-weighs the risk of being tracked.  After all, isn’t it better to have access to all of these great sites if it means all you have to do is enter your zip code and your birth date?  There are thousands of people in that zip code with the same birth date, so what could be the harm?  Well, thousands of people aren’t using YOUR smartphone!

With this information, you are opening yourself up to being tracked by advertisers.  This can happen because many sites share the gathered information with others. They know your location from your GPS, so with your zip code, birth date and the knowledge of what sites you visit on-line added in with your e-mail address, you are going to get a whole lot of targeted advertisements in your inbox.  You could also be given suggestions for even more apps to either purchase or download for free.

These app developers claim that in order to get the full benefits, some personal information is needed.  Congress has discussed the issue of these apps as a privacy risk.  It has also been discussed that consumers should be allowed to opt out of being tracked, but so far, not much has been done to remedy this.