Are Anonymous Proxy Lists the Key to Anonymous Web Browsing?

Well they sure sound like it don't they - pick a server from the anonymous proxy list and direct all your surfing through it. It does give the impression of security but I'm afraid it doesn't quite tell the whole picture and in fact if you're unlucky using this method may effectively give away your identity online.

The key to understanding the role of the anonymous proxy is really understanding what a proxy actually does. You've almost certainly used one at work or school if you have access to the internet. Very basically all your web requests are sent to this server and then directed out at the target site, the proxy server then forwards all the received information to your browser. The advantage is that your work or school can control what goes in and out of their network and has a list of every web page surfed.

When you use one of the free anonymous proxies from these lists that is what you are doing, sending all your information via this one server to forward all requests. The advantage and the reason people use them is that your own IP address is not logged on the server you visit (it logs the proxies address instead)

The disadvantage is that you basically hand all your web traffic to the owner of one server to control, the system administrator of the proxy server can access ALL your web traffic if they wish, as well as log all your activity as well. One of the other disadvantages is that you will almost certainly slow down your browsing substantially, these proxies almost inevitably get overused and it adds another hop to your browsing.

The other significant problem is that these anonymous proxy servers are usually hacked or misconfigured servers, they are often full of spyware and the real owners often have no idea t hey are being used as a proxy! If you use an anonymous proxy make sure you know who runs and administrates this server and that you are not using one owned by a European Hacking Crew!

To be anonymous on the internet you need to do much more than use an anonymous proxy server in any case. All your web traffic and your IP address are accessible across the wire and everything is logged at your ISP (for two years in Europe). HTML traffic is mostly sent in clear text, it's perfectly readable as you'll see if you ever start a sniffer at a wireless cafe or hotel.

I use a solution which combines a network of secure and private proxies (so I can change my location when I need) that is I can appear as a US surfer one minute, then use a German proxy a few minutes later. It also encrypts my connection completely using a military grade cipher called AES so nobody not even my ISP can view my connection. Obviously I have to pay a small charge for this but I would rather stay secure and anonymous and my browsing speed is not affected.

If you want to read about some of my thoughts on using anonymous proxies and how you can surf without being spied on, try the link below.

Anonymous Surfing Proxies

Jim