Free proxy servers can be extremely useful for most Internet users. Nearly all proxy servers are of the pay for use variety, however there are still hundreds of free ones that may be used both for protection and for speeding up your surfing.
What are proxy servers?
A proxy server works as a kind of buffer between your computer and all Internet resources. They store the most frequently visited pages and downloaded files and in case they already have the resource you’re looking for, they upload it to your PC without the need to download information from the original URL. This can greatly increase your surfing speed, but speeding up your browsing is only a fraction of proxy servers’ abilities.
What else do they do?
Besides speeding up your Internet connection, some proxy servers can hide your IP and thus increase the security of your PC. Hiding your IP will stop many hacker attacks and make the rest of them much more difficult. For example they can deflect many automatic spyware attacks – they won’t get to your computer, because they will be unable to find your true IP.
Proxy servers can also help when the owners of some Internet resources restrict the access to some information to inhabitants of certain countries or geographical regions. As a proxy server can hide your IP, it is impossible to tell where you are from.
Types of proxy servers
There are three types of proxy servers: transparent, anonymous and high anonymity. Transparent proxies don’t hide your IP - their main target is to increase surfing speed and not your security. Anonymous proxy servers don’t care for increasing browsing speed as much as protecting your privacy. They usually use some version of “Virtual (or Secure) Tunnel” technology, providing encrypted connection to all Internet resources. Of course the fact that they are committed to privacy protection doesn’t mean that they slow down your computer – they only don’t increase the downloading speed as much as transparent ones. The last kind (high anonymity proxy servers) is similar to anonymous proxies, but usually incorporates a few additional defenses.
How can I benefit from a free proxy server?
As it was mentioned earlier, most anonymous proxy servers are paid ones (like the www.Anonymizer.com proxy), but fortunately there are still a few that are available for free. The best option is to get a free proxy server agent, like a free version of ProxyWay (www.proxy4free.com) and use it. It will automatically find the best free proxy server for your need and will handle all possible security problems all by itself.
As usual when talking about freeware downloaded from the Internet, you have to be careful while downloading an agent program. Before you decide on any one, look for as much information about it as you can. Some less known proxy server agents are adware/spyware programs themselves, so they won’t really increase your PC security.
How can you discern real freeware proxy agents from faked ones? It’s simple - Before you download it, check if the agent has been reviewed in some computer security magazine. Even if it didn’t score many points, it is usually a proof that the program is safe.
