An anonymous proxy also known as the anonymizer makes a users’ internet activity undetectable. It helps in protecting the users’ identity by hiding their private information. This type of web proxy is considered to be most useful depending on the user’s purpose.
The anonymous proxy will conceal the users’ IP address to a server; however, the server will still determine that the connection was created through an anonymizer with the additional information sent together with each user request.
Basically, a user is considered to be like a ghost in the internet, because an anonymous proxy server does not send information about a users’ IP address. Users’ location will not be determined and with this, illegal connection won’t be established to their computers to steal any information.
Benefits of Anonymous Proxy
An anonymous proxy offers benefits to its users by protecting a user’s personal information from getting disclosed. It also protects the users’ computer by concealing its identifying data while they connect to the internet and removes their traces from a website they visit.
In addition, an anonymous proxy can also protect users from using a website to installing plug-ins into their web browser. There are various social advocacy groups using anonymous proxy to report both human and animal abuses, and other civil abuse which includes unethical behaviour and business malpractice.
How does an Anonymous Proxy work?
Anonymous proxy works by hiding the users’ IP address source. It protects users’ identity and prevents anyone from unauthorized access to their computer with the use of the internet. It forbids anyone from knowing a user is surfing the web.
There are two types of anonymous proxy, the networked design and single-point design. A network design anonymizer transfer users’ request through a network of internet computers between the user and the destination website. While a single-point design lets a user pass through a single website to protect his identity.
On the other hand, both types of anonymous proxy shares a variety of design features that helps users filter a website so that links main animosity while they access it.
There are also protocol-independent anonymous proxies that efficiently tunnel web traffic between the user and the server; these protocols include PPTP, SOCKS4, SOCKS5, OpenVPN, and others.
However, the security of an anonymous proxy is not 100 percent guaranteed. There are instances where a server hosted by specific countries that requires companies to hand over users’ data that may be at risk on the hands of law enforcements. On the other hand, malicious hackers can also be tracked down who use anonymous proxy for wrong doings.
An anonymous proxy may differ slightly with a distorting proxy; the former conceals the user’s IP address completely, while the latter changes the user’s IP address from the web.
Advantages and Disadvantages of using an Anonymous Proxy
Advantages:
- An anonymous proxy can prevent user identity theft.
- It can also help a user avoid legal or social consequences.
- It can also help users within a business or organization to avoid getting fired from their jobs if they participate to become whistle blowers against their managers or the company policies.
- Anonymous proxy is also being used by people who want to receive impartial information with the growing target marketing over the internet niche.
Disadvantages:
- Anonymous proxy can also be used in doing malicious activities like protecting the identity of users who make slanderous acts against others.
- There are anonymous proxy services being offered free but also has its downside and there were times when administrators use user data for their advantage.
- Most malicious hackers and spammers set up proxies within a free anonymous proxy services.
It is always advisable to ask other users for feedbacks and recommendations to find a reasonably secure, trusted and reliable anonymous proxy services. There are also anonymizers who do not offer their services to people who have intentions of doing illegal activities and will turn over user data if needed.
Users must keep in mind that unless they are using an encrypted method to the anonymous proxy, all their communications can be intercepted anywhere from their computers to the servers. However, there are anonymizers offering encrypted communications as a solution to that problem.
