When talking about online security, it is not a matter of free or paid. If your online privacy is on the line and it matters to you a lot, you don’t need to hesitate whether you need to use trusted or suspicious service. As the threats on the internet have developed over time, more hackers have made a sophisticated approach to penetrate websites, networks, and even servers to initiate their online crimes.
To prevent your online information ending up to the wrong hands, there have been some effective developed methods to do so. You can use a VPN, TOR, Web Proxy or even proxy server. Each has a different security level but all can provide single to multi-layer security.
The most common thought that always comes to our mind probably is to use a proxy. Since proxies are commonly used and a known method to conceal your IP, it’s become the most convenient way to change your IP, your location and identity online.
But the question is,
- Is it safe to use?
- Are you protected?
- Can they locate you?
- Do they disclose your information?
- Do they save your logs?
- Is your traffic encrypted?
These are very crucial questions that need some sensible answers because it is not a laughing matter if your personal information leak to the hands of people with illegal-mindset.
Is proxy servers safe to use?
The day when proxy has become badly needed by internet users, there had been a lot of proxy providers popped out everywhere. Meaning, you can use any proxy you can find available on the web and use it for whatever purpose you have in mind and replace it with another.
Changing your online identity from time to time is in fact, an ideal approach if you are really concerned about your browsing history or internet activities. There were thousands of different proxy you could use to hide your true identity and make you appear someone and somewhere else.
While we all believe this method is very ideal for many internet users, it’s not always the case. The more accessible it is for public use, the higher the risks it is associated with. This means this can be hacked by online hackers and steal your information or even stalk your online activities.
Are you protected?
Compare to VPN or TOR which encrypt your internet activities to maximum protection, not all proxy encrypts your connection and provide maximum service protection.
Can they locate you?
Yes, since not all proxy encrypts their connection, your online activities are clearly visible to the servers you visited.
Do proxy servers disclose your information?
There is no accurate answer to this. No security service provider will tell you for sure if your data is being disclosed, most likely they will claim it to be undisclosed.
Do proxy servers save your logs?
Why is it important to know? Because you need to know if your data is saved elsewhere or burned after you use it. Proxy service providers have disclaimer information whether they claim, what they do to the data they receive.
If you use proxy more often, you should not use a proxy that saves your data in a hard drive.
Is your traffic encrypted?
The simple answer is it depends. On one hand, If you are using a free proxy, most likely your connection is not encrypted. On the other hand, if you are using a premium proxy, then it is most likely encrypted.
Before you decide to use proxy to conceal your location and online activities, you should look into some of the information mentioned above. While it is not always important, depends on your purpose why you need a proxy, it’s better prepared than never.
