A proxy site is a website that allows you connect to the internet without logging your IP address. It acts as intermediate between you and the site you want to visit. The sites you are connecting to will not see any requests or log entries from your IP address, but from the proxy server instead. Thus, you are able to surf in secrecy and change your IP address.
This can be especially useful when visiting sites while at work or school, or bypassing websites that only allow one account per computer.
Here are several things you should know before using a web proxy.
Pros and Cons of using web proxies
Pros
- You don’t have to install anything
- Easy to use: just type in the desired URL and press Go/Submit
- There are plenty of proxies to choose from
- You can use secure proxies (https) to increase your privacy
- Best way to unblock sites (MySpace, Facebook, YouTube) from school, work or internet cafes
- There are paid versions that are more secured and faster (e.g. htpp://proxy.org)
Cons
- The IP addresses of web proxies are most of the time well-known and often blacklisted
- Streaming applications (like online radio or TV stations) are not supported. So you are not really able to watch YouTube videos
- Your personal information can be intercepted by the proxy owner (except for the https proxies)
- You are not able to choose the country or the location of the IP to be used
- Many proxies are full of ads, some of them being quite annoying (pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, etc)
- Most of the web proxies have a short life.
What do you think about using web proxies? Do you use them? Are you confortable using them? Do you feel safe?
Happy Surfing!
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One Comment
I am quite an avid proponent of using proxies but I do not feel comfortable using web-based proxies. There are just way too many privacy risks for me to trust my personal information over some random website. If I don’t know who created it, or have no way of contacting the creators of it then I don’t want to bother.
These web proxies, from my experience, just do not offer the same level of protection an Internet user should require, if not demand. I think these web proxies are good for middle schoolers to get on MySpace but otherwise a user needs some sort of encryption or security measure and should use an anonymous proxy server from a trusted source.
3 Trackbacks
[...] Source: How-To-Hide-IP.info [...]
[...] Web proxies are probably the simplest way to hide your IP address. Just enter the url of the site you want to visit anonymously in the text box of the web proxy and press the Submit/Go button. Of course, there are downsides of this hide ip approach, but the idea is that it’s a solution that work (Pros & Cons of Browsing Anonymously using Web Proxies). [...]
[...] Proxy-urile sunt probabil cel mai simplu mod de a-ti ascunde adresa IP. Tot ce trebuie sa faci este sa introduci url-ul site-ului pe care vrei sa il accesezi si sa apesi butonul Submit/Go button. Bineinteles ca sunt si dezavantaje in folosirea acestei metode dar important este ca e o solutie care functioneaza. (Argumente Pro & Contra in folosirea Web Proxy-urilor) [...]