Proxy Servers for Anonymous Surfing
Proxy Servers
Proxy servers for anonymous surfing are a must as the Internet expands and grows, and with it, crime and criminals increase in sophistication, spying, and invasion of privacy. It used to be, you didn't have to worry too much about people gathering private information about you; as a result, you spent less time trying to hide your identity that simply enjoying the new toy called the World Wide Web. All of that has changed in the 22nd century, with everyone from big business to the NSA gathering intelligence on what you like, dislike and where you surf. A good proxy service is a must now days.
A proxy service acts as an intermediary between your ISP access point (i.e. where you initiate your web surfing) and the page or URL that you are attempting to access. It is a relatively simple concept once you get it once. For example, say you like a particular website like www.ilikethissite.com. You are always going there. If you go without a proxy service, you will be directly connecting to that website. Now, if they have spyware installed, every time you connect, they remember where you came from and what pages you like to read.
Invasion of Privacy
"So what?" you ask. Well, on the simplest level, this is invasion of privacy. If you went to a physical store, would you like some person you do not know wandering around behind you taking notes on what you pick up off the shelves and which aisles you go down or bypass? You would begin to wonder why they were keeping such close tabs on your movements. It is the same thing on the web.
Enter a proxy service. It is a computer that you connect to, which in turn connects to your favorite site - www.ilikethissite.com. If the site has spyware installed, theoretically, they cannot get past the intermediate or proxy computer to find out your personal information.
Web Based Proxy
When looking for a proxy service, you will want to try to find a caching proxy service or if you are only interested in surfing the net, a web based proxy service. The advantage of these types is speed because much of where you surf is stored and there is no need to keep revisiting the real server every time you surf. Caching proxy servers pull from the cache and have a distinct advantage of their non-caching counterparts.
Online web proxy servers, while limited in scope, serve a useful function offering anonymous access to websites with little experience on the user end. Web based proxy servers, sometimes called open web proxy servers are for surfing the web and are real time savers when it comes to going places on the fly. If you want a level of anonymity, you will need to check out the web based services. Some offer higher levels of anonymous surfing based on the setup, experience level of the admin running the service.
Bypass Proxy Servers
Sometimes web proxies also used to block offensive, dangerous or shady websites. They can also block incoming viruses that are becoming more prevalent through the webpages that are being viewed. In fact, many organizations make use of proxy servers to perform these very functions. A company using a web based proxy, can effectively block its employees from viewing a particular website by making use of a proxy server. In most cases, web proxies are user-called, and the surfer is aware of the work being done by the proxy server.
There are many other kinds of proxy servers that are found on the Internet. These include transparent proxies, split proxies, and reverse proxies. Popular with spammers and Internet Relay Chat users are open proxies.
Anonymous Proxy Servers
A good anonymous web proxy is worth its weight in gold. It will, as a matter of course, block viruses, maintain a level of privacy for the user and raise the security levels at which surfers get from page to page around the net. As things get more sophisticated, surfers are taking to web as well as proxy servers to protect their identity, shopping habits and general preferences from everybody from over ambitious marketing agencies to criminals looking for another way to grab personal information.