Web-Proxies

When you connect to a web-site on the Internet your IP Address is visible to that web-site. Knowing your IP Address also lets someone know your general location and your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Many web-sites log connecting IP Addresses and may also filter content based on your IP Address / geographic location.

If you want to see your unique IP Address when you connect to the Internet, visit a site like IP Chicken https://www.ipchicken.com/ or What’s My IP http://www.whatsmyip.org/ which will display your IP Address.

If you don’t want the web-sites that you visit to see and log your IP Address, you will need to connect to those web-sites in a way that masks your IP Address. One way to do this is to connect through a Proxy.

So why would you want to hide your IP Address? One of the most common reasons is to access area restricted content - maybe you want to watch streaming video not available in your country. Another reason is to keep a web-site from identifying you - maybe you want to leave a comment through an on-line form without having the comment connected back to you.

One of the easiest ways to use a proxy is to use a web-proxy. Connect to the proxy web-site, enter the URL that you would like to visit and the proxy passes your request on to the web-site. Because you are connecting through a proxy, the web-sites that you connect to see the IP Address instead of your IP Address.

To see how this work, connect to an IP Address checking site, such as IP Chicken directly from your computer. Write down your IP Address. Next connect to one of the following web-proxies and then connect through the proxy to IP Chicken again. Write down the IP Address when you connect through the proxy, they will be different.

Here are a few proxy web-sites that you can try:

http://securefor.com
http://newipnow.com
https://www.proxysite.com
https://hide.me/en/proxy
http://anonymouse.org/anonwww.html
http://dontfilter.us
https://kproxy.com
https://hidester.com/proxy/
https://www.vpnbook.com/webproxy
https://whoer.net/webproxy
https://nordvpn.com/web-proxy/

Connecting to a proxy over HTTPS is always better than HTTP. Some proxies keep no logs, other proxies probably do. A proxy adds to your privacy, and if it does not log also adds to your anonymity. Proxies are useful tools, and something I believe anyone concerned about data privacy and security should be aware of.

Use of some proxies, creating proxy chains (linking multiple proxies together), and using advanced functions can get a little bit complex, but using a web-proxy is simple. Just visit the proxy web-site and type in the URL of a web-site that you want to visit.