People who have concerns about privacy issues that arise from surfing the web are not without a means to fix the problem. Anonymous surfing allows users to surf the web from any computer and hide their identity such as IP address, location (city/state/country), and browser information. It also allows employees to surf from their work PC while protecting the company's computer information. Anonymous surfing can protect the user from being identified as having surfed the web when they're not supposed to for example from their place of employment. Some of the Anonymous Surfing services will hide user's URL's along with their website traffic. The information is hidden within a Virtual Private Network. This is very effective when people use broadband and went to ensure nobody can peruse their personal information.
Additional Provisions of Anonymous Surfing
Anonymous surfing not only provides privacy protection it gives users a host of other bonuses. Pop-ups become a thing of the past since anonymous surfing often blocks them. Also, users don't have to be concerned with cookies and home-page hijackings because many anonymous surfing sites take care of them. Other items that anonymous surfing takes care of are: home-page hijackings, adware, spyware, and keeps people from getting a computer virus. Often bandwidth is decreased which increases the speed of the Internet.
Will it Cost Me?
Many anonymous surfing services are free of charge. However, they do offer users manifold services that do come with a charge. Some of the sites offer the opportunity to store bookmarks, no limitations placed upon downloads, ability to have file extension, assurance of prime access even during times of high volume and traffic numbers, and the ability to circumvent the cache. Others offer the convenience of email, IM service, and chatting capability.
Why aren't More People Utilizing Anonymous Surfing?
Alot of people don't know about anonymous surfing or don't yet feel the true need for privacy as they should. Anonymous surfing goes far in protecting users and their information while they move around online. Also, alot of people aren't aware that anonymous surfing exacts or that they truly have a need to protect themselves by concealing their IP address and other vital information.
Which Type of Anonymous Surfing Sites are Out There?
@nonymouse Anonymous Web Surfing gives users the ability to type into a URL, and the web page will be extracted for the user. Proxify eliminates ads, cookies, scripts, information from referrers, and the option to hide page titles exists as well. The cloak permits users to surf on sites and while doing so it removes Java code that the site may attempt to place on one's webpage. Also, the cloak removes images and cookies.
Anonymous surfing is simply the ability to browse the World Wide Web but having your identity hidden from the outside world. From the outside world I am referring to the websites you visit. You identify can be hidden successfully by using an anonymous browser based proxy. These are just sites on the Internet that you can use to type in the address of the site you want to visit and the service will then take you to that website but keeping your information like your MAC address and your IP address private and hidden from the eyes of the site you are visiting. For example, when the user attempts to access something on a certain part of the Internet, the proxy site will communicate to that file as a middle man for the user, thus maintain that users privacy and anonymity.
The ability to browser anonymously also maintains the privacy of the user from potential loggers spying on the users connection. Anonymous proxy servers also allow Internet users to bypass any network restrictions imposed by its college or work place network. Firewalls of certain software installed onto computers or network filter out certain sites that are deemed inappropriate or unrelated. Proxies are often used in schools or offices where there are heavy restrictions on websites that are not accessible to the student. Students will usually do this to gain access to social networking sites and chat rooms which are often blocked by schools tech offices.
Office workers use the same methods and will often anonymously browse as this can help them bypass restrictions set by their employer and can help them cover their tracks in case the employer happens to be monitoring their Internet activities.
Even though anonymous surfing can seem to be the solution to complete privacy, it can also be potentially very dangerous. The reason for this is because the user using the proxy does not realise that the data remains unencrypted when it is being sent to the proxys server. This means that important information like login information, passwords, credit card information, and bank details could be leaked by a proxy service administrator who has malicious intent. People that are always looking to browser anonymously could quite easily fall into Internet traps where web pages display wrong security measures and the user ends up giving out too much or just plain sensitive information.
This could then lead to greater disasters and problems than simple, non-anonymous browsing as the proxy server and any persons associated with the maintenance of the proxy website could end up stealing the users information and doing whatever they like with it. A product with encryption as one of its features should ideally be used for maximum protection on all fronts. I hope the information on this article has proved useful and helps you understand that even though using proxies for anonymous browsing has lots of advantages, it also has many disadvantages that are often over looked by lots of people seeking greater privacy online.
Both Robert D. Thomson & Wayne Cutforth are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robert D. Thomson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dog Care, Real Estate and Dental Practice. Tom Paine writes for The Tech FAQ and is the author of articles such as ,. Robert D. Thomson's top article generates over 2240000 views. to your Favourites.
Wayne Cutforth has sinced written about articles on various topics from Information Technology, Personal Desktop and Web Development. The author lives in UK and has his own proxy service on the Internet offering free tips and reviews on some good products. You are welcome to her. Wayne Cutforth's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.