Proxy Servers & Anonymous IP Services - How Do They Protect Your Privacy Online?

A proxy server is a server that sits between a client and a real server. The proxy server intercepts requests to real servers to see if it can take care of the requests itself and, if it cannot, it forwards the request to the real server.

For example, a user requests a web page via his browser. The proxy server first checks the cache to see if the page is already there and can be served to the usually. If not, it passes the request for the web page from the browser to the web server.

Since proxy servers provide indirect access to web servers, your IP address and other somewhat identifying information (e.g. browser type, location) can be kept passed onto the real server. A proxy server used specifically to remove identifying information from the client's requests for the purpose of of anonymity is called an anonymous proxy server. There are a number of anonymizer services available on the Internet today. Some of these are free, but most of the better and more reliable services will cost you.

It may be that masking your IP address may be all you feel you need. However, it is possible to be even more anonymous using proxy servers.

For example, chaining proxy servers can offer a higher degree of separation between you and the end server, making it harder for people on the server to track you down. Of course, as each hop gets closer to you, more information can be used to trace you.

Encrypting your data right from the start also offers much higher degree of protection. While a proxy server may very well encrypt the data once it receives it and before passing it on, a proxy server receiving unencrypted data leaves that data vulnerable. Most free anonymous proxy servers do not encrypt data. You will need to pay for this type of service and it may very well be worth it to you.

Also be wary of proxy servers that you discover randomly. Some are deliberately set up as open proxy servers to trick people into using them...then stealing confidential data as it passes through, including unencrypted user names and passwords. If you want to use an anonymizer, make sure you use a well known service with a posted privacy policy and only after you have checked online as to the service's integrity.

Finally, do not assume that using a proxy server will completely protect your privacy online. It w will not. If someone wants to badly enough, they can trace you and your activity. Just keep in mind that this will help safeguard you to a certain point.

It is also important to remember that using proxy servers do nothing to protect you from someone who has direct access to your computer from snooping on your activities. In this case, you will need to take safeguard actions like clearing and deleting cookies, cache and web search history from your web browser and toolbars.