The Best Web Proxies
When you surf the Web, your browser makes contact with the sites you visit and shares information about you, such as your IP address, Internet service provider, hostname, computer type, city and country, and the browser you're using. Whether you're wary of Big Brother, attempting to dodge Web filters at work or simply want to evade privacy-infringing tactics that run rampant online, a Web proxy provides a possible solution.
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Web Proxies 101
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The Internet wasn't built with the privacy concerns of today in mind; computers need to exchange addresses to talk to each other, but the amount of data exchanged in ordinary surfing can feel intrusive. A Web-based proxy server, as opposed to a networked or software-based proxy, acts as a middleman: You visit the proxy site and then enter the Web address to which you wish to navigate.
"Best" Web Proxies
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According to Proxy.org, there were 3,237 working proxies available on the Internet in December 2011, out of a total of 42,874 proxy servers. The organization, along with ProxyLister, Best Free Proxy List and a bevy of computing magazines and privacy rights groups, compiles a list of proxies deemed the "best." While the winners aren't identical, a few entries appear on multiple groups' lists, including Hide My Ass!, Proxify, Tor, Anonymizer, Privoxy, Guardster and ProxFree.
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Popular Web Proxies
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Proxy.org and its cousins also keep tabs on the most-visited online proxies, with UltraFastProxy, NewIPNow and Proxy-Open atop the list. Meanwhile, ProxyLister lists FireSurfProxy, CloakShip and Amazing-Proxy among its highest-ranked sites, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center lists beHidden, JAP and Connect in Private, among several other Web proxy tools.
Considerations
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Proxies come and go, but you generally must accept terms of service that may trigger additional privacy concerns. Some websites won't connect with Web proxy servers, while others limit functionality, altering your user experience. Moreover, proxies may track and subject you to pop-up ads before taking you to the intended site.
Other ways to protect your privacy online include software-based proxy services -- many of which come with a fee. You also can avoid logging into Google and other search utilities; thoroughly clean your Internet history with utility software; and/or choose not to enter personally identifying information on any Internet-connected device.
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