It's Time to be Anonymous

Internet users who have experience with using a proxy server have proven its many different benefits. One of these benefits is in terms of speed. My personal experience in this area helped me to better enjoy my online experience. After encountering problems with speed in uploading my blogs, I used an anonymous proxy, and it solved the problem.

At this time, more good things can come from using anonymous proxies, specifically bypassing filters. Basically, since a great deal of the spyware and junk that is sent to your computer is blocked, it saves you from the usual problems that users encounter. Although this can be remedied by using technical expertise, it is very burdensome to encounter the same problem over and over again.

Anonymous proxies also help in protecting personal information. Once personal information is gathered by sites, it can be used for marketing purposes. You can be saved from this problem because with an anonymous proxy, websites are blocked from gathering your personal information.

Sometimes there are corporations, institutions or schools that use filters to block users from viewing certain sites. This filter can be bypassed by an anonymous proxy. In order to do this, the anonymous proxy downloads the site onto its server. The user can then download the “blocked” site from the proxy server to his browser, thus getting around the “wall”.

Slow loading websites can easily find their way with a proxy. There are instances when the problem is not in the web hosting company. There are users, especially those with some technical expertise, that change their DNS server address but still can’t load the site faster. When this happens, the real culprit is narrowed down to the internet provider itself, due to bandwidth or network related problems. Luckily, this can be solved by using a proxy server.

The use of a proxy server is not yet popular with many internet users. A lot of them think that it requires some special skills to effectively take advantage of its usefulness. There is a need for more user education, or at least for the sharing of experiences. Little by little, more people will learn about its good uses and apply a proxy server to their advantage.

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Surf Anonymous, the Safe Way to Browse the Internet

By: Martin Greif

Do you think your personal and sensitive information is safe on “secure” sites? Do you think anonymous proxies are only for people with something to hide? Think again. There are several reasons a normal, everyday person may need an anonymous proxy for perfectly legitimate reasons. Anonymous surfing is entirely possible and, at times, entirely necessary.

One reason to use an anonymous proxy is a simple desire for privacy. Search engines, such as Google, track every search query. Some people, even if doing nothing wrong, are uncomfortable with being perpetually watched by a third party they have never met. The major search engines not only track people's searches, but also store this information for up to eighteen months. It's easy to see how any person would be disturbed by this infringement to their privacy.

Another reason to use an anonymous proxy is to avoid targeted ads. Certain advertising companies track a person's movements throughout their internet sessions so they can use pop-ups to advertise on that person's computer screen. Other companies track the information and then sell it to the highest bidder so they can use similar methods of advertisement--or do whatever they want with the information. This can mean that anyone, criminal or honest, government or corporation, may be able to track you.

Some people use anonymous proxies because they have been unfairly banned from a website or chat room. Sometimes moderators or webmasters at a favorite site arbitrarily block someone for purely personal reasons. Although this is a violation of a person's fundamental right to move freely about the Internet, there is little one can do to get unblocked beyond appealing to the person responsible for the blocking. Using an anonymous proxy not only allows people to visit sites from which they have been blocked, it effectively keeps them from being blocked again.

Sometimes people use an anonymous proxy or anonymous surfing practices to find information about competitors or family members without being traced. Unfortunately surfers can be traced through their IP address by any website they visit. Using an anonymous proxy effectively thwarts this. Because anonymous proxies use different IP addresses, and none of them traceable to the user, people can browse while secure in the knowledge that they are completely anonymous.

People with websites also benefit from anonymous proxies because they can post positive comments about their websites in popular forums without being discovered as the website owner. This kind of word-of-mouth advertising is both the rarest and the most effective. If you aren't using this deceptive, but entirely legal, method to bring traffic to your website, you are at a distinct disadvantage because other websites out there are using this technique.

Anonymous proxies can be used for anonymous reporting in cases where people fear reprisal. Although most people believe the government is on their side, there are too many cases of corruption for this to be realistic. An anonymous proxy makes sure whistleblowers and reporters are entirely anonymous and thus, entirely safe. In other countries, anonymous servers help oppressed citizens notify the world of injustices in their community without fear or imprisonment and death.

Some people feel that using a proxy for internet surfing is unnecessary because the most current version of Internet Explorer has a privacy mode. Although this will keep people who have access to the computer from tracking these users, it will not keep the visited websites from tracking the user. Even in privacy mode, there is no privacy. The only way to achieve true privacy is to use an anonymous proxy.

Are you still convinced that surfing the web is safe and anonymous without an anonymous proxy? Even as you read this, there are people out there who can track you. If you are comfortable with that reality, you truly have no need for an anonymous proxy. If you think this violation of your basic right to privacy is disturbing, now is the time to take action. Sign up for an anonymous proxy and start anonymous surfing today!

About the Author
President and founder of Privacy Partners, LLC. Privacy Partners is a privately held company headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Founded in 2003, the company creates and markets privacy software for consumers. The company and its products have won numerous technology awards. Click here for more information about Internet Privacy or Anonymous Surfing

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The US Military and Proxies

Right now, the servicemen and servicewomen of the US Military are overseas fighting for your freedom. They chose to serve in the military knowing full well that someday they might be put in harm's way. These dedicated men and women put country above their own safety. Now in far away countries, they defend us on the front lines. Over the years, these front lines have changed. Yes, the danger is still there, but so are options to relieve their boredom. Enter the Internet. Just like us, they have access to the world wide web.

So what would a soldier want to access on the Internet? Believe it or not, one of the things they do is watch TV online. They can catch their favorite programs or watch hockey. Most of the major networks put their some of their newest episodes online. For others, they can access media sites that aggregate content. Another outlet for media is the online newspapers like the New York Times. Or maybe they want to read their home town newspaper online. Today most, if not all papers, have an interactive version. So between TV, sports, and newspapers, they can catch up on the current US media and news.

There are also several social networking websites out there that they can use to keep in touch with friends and family. Sure e-mail works to an extent, but if you have ever used any form of social networking, you know exactly how much simpler it is. You can type a message on your homepage, and suddenly all of your friends and family will be able to see it. Soldiers are very pressed for time, and sometimes there just isn't an opportunity to respond to every single person. This makes social networking extremely important. There is a problem however, a huge problem. Sometimes soldiers cannot get to the websites that they need. Why exactly? Well let's talk about it.

The purpose of companies streaming their television shows onto the internet is so that people will see them, and eventually decide to buy them on DVD. People outside the country however will not be able to buy these because they are simply unavailable. Companies decided that they were actually losing money because such people couldn't get a hold of their products! They didn't seem to consider all of the people IN the United States that were buying. After all, what could it hurt if a few foreigners watched an episode of The Office, or even Stargate Universe? Well you wouldn't think that it could hurt at all, but the production companies didn't quite see it that way. For this reason they started to block IP addresses outside of the United States. The same went for several social networking websites because they suffered from the same advertisement problem. This however did not stop the military personnel from viewing their favorite websites. They instead turned to proxies.

For those who don't know, a proxy is a server that one can connect to. This server will then connect you to the internet via it's own connection. What does this accomplish? It provides you with a new IP address which is based in the United States. You are not visiting websites via your own connection, but instead you are using the ISP that the proxy subscribes to. What you're dealing with there is surfing the internet using a computer across the ocean. The moral aspect is up to you, but if you get a proxy with decent encryption, the ISP you use overseas will never know the difference. This is also a great way to protect your privacy. By using a proxy you will be able to hide your identity while catching up on your favorite shows. The one thing you don't want to do in a war zone is broadcast who you are and what you are doing. With that in mind, start shopping for a good proxy today. Once you arrange a good one, you will be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite shows.

Stay Out Of The Limelight with an Anonymous Proxy

Your IP address is very important during your Internet travels. It is similar to a dog-tag your computer wears, with all sorts of information engraved. The difference is, people are supposed to read your dog-tags, but you wish to keep your IP address hidden.

Just by knowing your IP address, a hacker could find out quite a bit of information about you; location, server, etc. This is why many people choose to browse anonymously on the web.

In order to accomplish this, they visit an anonymous proxy website. A proxy website simply is a page that has a box to enter the website you wish to visit. When you enter your desired destination, the proxy server replaces your IP address with one of their servers. The proxy acts as a middleman, allows you access to the sites you want, but leaving no trail of it. All your ISP would see is that you visited (so and so proxy site) a bunch of times, and not what you actually visited. This is the simplest type of anonymous proxy.

For enhanced anonymity, we recommend using a software-based proxy that also encrypts your data and changes it IP address regularly. Either type of anonymous proxy will work, some just work better than others.

These anonymous proxies are completely legal and almost a necessity in today’s Internet-based society. With so much traffic on the Internet, criminals are just waiting in line to get some unprepared surfer. Don’t let it be you; be anonymous today.

Anonymous Surfing Involves More Than Using an Anonymous Proxy

This Squidoo lens features information on Anonymous Proxy surfing. It was written by our VP of Marketing and provides tips on how to stay anonymous on the Internet. I'll post one of her tips below, but click the link for the full article.

E-mail Addresses
If a site requires an e-mail address, or the e-mail address is part of your post, then you might want to have multiple e-mail addresses. They are easy enough to set up and if you do it correctly using an anonymous proxy server, then your e-mail identity is masked. Let's use Google Gmail as an example. If you use one of our servers, let's say the one in Tempe Arizona, set up an account with Google. Then, when you use Gmail, the header information in the e-mail will show an IP address from Arizona.

Breaking Down the Great Firewall (part 2)...

As an update to my recent post about China's Great Firewall it seemed appropriate to discuss the methods for bypassing the Golden Shield Project. With the Olympics in full swing, and nearly halfway over, it is only a matter of time before China's government re-bans the websites and Beijing is again part of China's Internet censorship program. Chinese officials lifted their ban on certain websites after journalists were upset that many of the sites they needed to access were unavailable because of the GSP. Once the final medal is awarded it most likely won't be much longer before China is back to banning as much content as possible, so it is important to know ways to bypass the Great Firewall and maintain Internet privacy.

The following methods may seem familiar, as they are used for anonymous surfing, but they do in fact work rather well for circumventing the GSP and gaining access to banned sites.

• Anonymous Proxy servers: Anonymous proxy servers based outside of China can be used to access blocked content. The sites are blocked only to Chinese citizens and therefore if you surf using a U.S.-based proxy server then you can gain access to restricted sites. The website will read the IP address and give you permission to view the site. At the same time, the server will hide your IP so that anyone snooping the connection will see a person from Tulsa, OK surfing the Internet. As an added bonus a good proxy server will also encrypt the data being transmitted so that anyone spying can not view the information.
• Foreign companies can apply for a local website hosted in China. While this method does not apply to an individual user attempting to access a banned site, it is a method to bypass the Great Firewall since the company's content does not have to go through the Great Firewall (but the company does have to apply for a local ICP license)
• Using secure tunnels such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN). GSP can't filter secure traffic that is being communicated and therefore secure tunnels provide a way for users to access content and create sites that would otherwise be banned.
• Onion routing networks, such as Tor, can be used since it requires a network of computers to encrypt and mask your information. This method is, in essence, very similar to an anonymous proxy server. The major drawback of Tor is that you do not know who set up the anonymous connection you are passing through. As noted in an earlier post, you really have no idea who set up the connection and therefore anyone can invade your privacy through this trusted network. If a group of grad students and professors can do it, why wouldn't the Chinese government?
• FreeGate: a software utility created for Iranian and Chinese citizens to bypass any Internet censorship attempts by the government. The software finds open proxies, which are not blocked and can be accessed by any user, and penetrate firewalls. This useful tool is a bit controversial as it has been reported to be a Trojan virus.
• Reporters without Borders offers a "Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents" (PDF) which gives detailed information and tools for blogging and surfing anonymously. The handbook gives detailed instructions, including screenshots, for setting up a blog and remaining anonymous.
  

Anonymous Surfing Software vs Web-based Anonymous Proxy...which is better for your Internet privacy?

As an Internet user you face many dangers online ranging from cyber criminals trying to steal your identity to marketing companies and ISPs tracking and logging your IP address. As a lot of web surfers know, one of the best ways for protecting personal information and maintaining Internet privacy is to use a proxy server. While many useful proxy servers can be found on the Internet simply by searching "proxy" on Google, the age old question that many Internet users have difficulty answering is: What is better to use, anonymous surfing software or free web-based anonymous proxies?

Web-based:
These are quite easy to use and require nothing on your part besides an active Internet connection. These web anonymizers require you only to enter the URL of the site you wish to visit and give it a click. Your IP address is hidden and replaced with the IP address of the site's server. This is a great example of proxy avoidance and will get you onto a blocked website, but only offers minimal, if any, data protection and encryption services. The main purpose of the web-based anonymous proxy is to get on a website such as MySpace, that would normally be blocked by an IT Department. Another downside is that this type of proxy can't gain access to sites that use Secure Socket Layer or Secure Shell encryption, such as banking sites.

Software-based:
A software-based proxy will run with your current browser and allow you to surf freely without having to go back to a homepage to enter a new URL. After installation it should only require 1-click to run the program and surf anonymously. A good software proxy will cost you a few dollars a month (nothing to break the bank over), which is a downside compared to the free web proxies. There is usually a fee associated because you are getting what you pay for...software proxies offer anonymous surfing, but also encrypt the data being transmitted. This means that in addition to your IP address being masked, your data and the transmission between networks is also secure (which is not the case with a web proxy).

Ultimately, both methods of protecting your IP address and Internet privacy have their pros and cons. At the end of the day if you only need a quick fix to get onto a blocked website that requires no personal information (such as a log-in, e-mail, or password) then a web proxy will work for you. Using a software proxy whenever you surf, even if only for a few minutes, would be highly recommended. It is still easy to use and offers much more protection and freedom to surf without the worry of just how protected you are. The advanced protection alone makes software proxies your best bet.

Anonymous Surfing is now available for Firefox and Vista using Private Proxy

Tampa, Florida (July 30, 2008) - PrivacyView Software, the developer of award-winning Internet and computer privacy software, announced today that the latest release of its anonymous proxy server, Private Proxy, supports Firefox version 3.0 under both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

This recent update allows Private Proxy users to use Mozilla Firefox version 3.0 under Windows Vista. Private Proxy previously supported Firefox on Windows XP. Now Vista users can surf anonymously with both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Increasingly, people need safe and secure access to the Internet in order to protect both their privacy and freedom. Private Proxy allows users to choose an anonymous proxy server where their Internet browsing can not be monitored. For example, with the recent Viacom / YouTube lawsuit, any Private Proxy user would have been secure from potential tracking from Viacom. By using Private Proxy, the IP address is changed to an anonymous IP address and hence not associated with a specific user.

Private Proxy also encrypts the Internet communications between Firefox or Internet Explorer and the anonymous proxy enabling users to create a secure tunnel. With a secure tunnel, users are able to access sites that were previously blocked by bypassing filters typically used by restrictive governments and many corporations. Further, the users’ anonymity is protected because the destination websites will not be able to track the users to their company or location based on their IP address.

The software comes with a 7 day free trial allowing users to decide if they want to keep the service without having to spend any money. Along with the 7 day free trial, PrivacyView offers two options for its users: they can subscribe to a monthly service for $9.95 or choose a quarterly option for only $24.95.

About PrivacyView Software:
PrivacyView Software, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Founded in 2003, the company creates and markets privacy software for consumers. The company and its products have won numerous technology awards. For more information about PrivacyView, and its affiliate program, please visit www.privacyview.com.

Hide My IP?

To ensure your Internet Privacy, there are two things to watch, your IP address and your local Internet traces. In this post, we will focus on hiding your IP address.

First, why be concerned about hiding your IP address? Why do people search on Hide My IP or Hide My IP Address? It's simple, your IP address is associated with the server you use to connect to the Internet.

For example, I live in Tampa and connect to the Internet with my Road Runner account. When I check my IP address, it shows that I am in Tampa and use Road Runner as my Internet Service Provider (ISP). That in itself is not a problem. However, there are two possible reasons to be concerned. First, some sites block access based on an IP address. You might have been banned from a favorite website, or posted over the daily allowable limit on a given website. The IP address is one of the ways that you can be tracked or blocked. However, as I tell all our customers of our anonymous proxy, Private Proxy, to change IP addresses is often not enough. You also have to make sure you don't have a cookie stored on your PC that also identifies you. Assuming the cookie issue is solved, hide IP software or services can get you past a blocked website.

If you surf from work, you might need a hide IP address service so that you can not be tracked back to your company. When you surf from work, chances are that you are connecting through your company's Internet server. This server's IP address will identify the company. If you are researching a competitor you probably would not want your IP address to show up on the competitor's website log. Worse yet, if you are surfing for personal reasons at work, you really might not want anyone to be able to track back to your employer.

In both instances, whether surfing from home or work, the server you connect through has a log showing your web surfing. With an IP address that points back to the server, you can be tracked back directly to your home or our desk. Here's how: The IP address shows the web server. The web server knows who you are. In the case of an employer, all they have to do is look at the log. In the case of an ISP, all it takes is a subpoena or a helpful ISP employee. In either case, with the right questions, you can be traced.

So why do I hide my IP address? It's mostly principle. When I hide my IP address I know I've made it more difficult for someone to trace me. I find it very disturbing that some web sites and most search engines use IP addresses to build profiles. Why make it easy for them? Hence, I hide my IP.

Private Proxy Introduces Automatic Connection to Private Domain Names

Tampa, Florida (April 21, 2008) - PrivacyView Software, LLC the developer of award-winning Internet and computer privacy software, announced today that the latest release of its anonymous proxy server, Private Proxy, automatically connects to private domains.

This recent update allows Private Proxy users to avoid being blocked by outside parties, such as restrictive governments found in Asia or the Middle East. Private Proxy automatically connects to private domain names that are not blocked enabling secure anonymous surfing on the Internet.

Many restrictive governments have banned websites that their citizens wish to visit such as news websites from the NY Times and CNN, reference sites like Wikipedia and popular social media sites such as MySpace and Facebook. With the increase in censorship, people need safe and secure access to the Internet in order to protect their privacy and freedom. Private Proxy allows users to choose an anonymous proxy server where their Internet browsing can not be monitored or blocked. Learn more about censorship issues.

The software comes with a 7 day free trial allowing users to decide if they want to keep the service without having to spend any money. Along with the 7 day free trial, PrivacyView offers two options for its users: they can subscribe to a monthly service for $9.95 or choose a quarterly option for only $24.95.

About PrivacyView Software:

PrivacyView Software, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Founded in 2003, the company creates and markets privacy software for consumers. The company and its products have won numerous technology awards. For more information about PrivacyView, its awards and its affiliate program, please visit http://www.privacyview.com/.

PrivacyView Software News

News from PrivacyView Software

PrivacyView Software's award winning creations are established to help protect users' Internet privacy and security. PrivateProxy was developed to mask a user's IP address so search engines, marketing companies, and ISPs can not track your Internet activity. PrivateProxy will mask your IP address through one of their servers so that your "Internet identity" will remain anonymous. Servers will record the IP address from PrivateProxy so you are free to surf anonymously. PrivateProxy allows the user to choose one of their numerous domain names to surf the web, and maintains your anonymity with randomly rotating IP addresses.

PrivateProxy not only acts as an anonymous proxy server, but it is also a bypass proxy. The 128-bit encryption allows the flow of data while keeping your information protected, and eliminating ISPs or network administrators from monitoring the user's surfing. Records are only kept for 5 days and are then deleted to prevent hackers and spammers from accessing the information.

PrivacyView Software also offers a detailed support section with FAQs and Privacy Resources for both products and general Internet security and computer privacy questions.