Anonymous Proxy Lists - A Warning

Nobody likes being snooped on but nowadays there are too many people online doing just that, from governments to identity thieves - lots of people with their own agendas trying to spy on what we do online. This is why so many people look for anonymous proxy lists, thinking that if they just change the proxy setting in their browser that will give them some protection from all people invading their privacy.

Unfortunately it is not quite that simple and let me explain why. An anonymous proxy will protect a little bit of your browsing online, what it effectively does is stop your IP address being logged on the web server you visit. The only address left there would be that of the proxy server, which would make all your requests for you.

Of course this only stops one little part of the trail on the internet, the most comprehensive sits with your ISP which is why the governments of Europe have decided to enforce them to keep their logs for two years. So that's every web site, email and chat session linked to your account and kept to be accessed by whoever. All this information can also be picked up along the wire or via any wireless connection you use if it's not secured. For instance anyone who logs on to a computer network in a hotel would be very surprised to see the information available to anyone who starts a network sniffer. You can learn an awful lot about your fellow guests in a very short space of time!

The anonymous proxy of course will also have a record of ALL your web traffic and what you do online. Here lies one of the main problems with using free anonymous proxies, the simple fact that instead of leaving your IP address on various web servers across the internet, it's all logged on one specific server. Given that these servers are usually just misconfigured internet facing servers they are an obvious target for another internet snooper called the identity thief. All they have to do is log-on on to the server and install a simple sniffer and they will capture all the clear text traffic travelling across the wire, extremely valuable information in their line of work.

Using anonymous proxies which you don't know about is extremely risky, it has been estimated that about 80% of them have spyware infections. But simple stuff like that would be the least of your worries if you happened across one of the faster free anonymous proxies that often appear in the lists, if they are really quick it could be one of the servers set up by one of the many hacker groups across the world who buy and sell personal information.

Protecting your privacy is a good thing just be careful how you go about it. Think, anonymous proxies cost a lots of money to run. Who is paying and why are they doing for free? Read those free anonymous proxy lists with care and be careful how you surf.