Free Proxies for Anonymous Browsing
A proxy server is a computer that stands in between the website you want to browse and your computer. When you browse a particular page through the proxy server, information from the destination site is stored on the proxy server and you access the site via the proxy. In this way, you are viewing the site without revealing your IP address. I should mention however that you are revealing it to the proxy server. Proxies also enable to you visit sites that are blocked by your school or workplace.
UK Free Proxies
For example a UK free proxy is a proxy server which is geographically positioned in the United Kingdom and is available free of cost to the user. I have found that UK proxies are generally popular choice becuase of the freedoms it gives you. Activities such as online gambling are allowed in the UK, and many popular TV services like the BBC iPlayer program operate there. I will add that a free UK proxy is not the best choice and comes with a number of dangers.
Bandwidth is Expensive so how can Proxies be Free?
Since proxies are servers that store large amounts of information, they require massive bandwidth. Bandwidth is expensive so how are providers able to provide UK free proxy servers? This contradiction alone is enough to rouse my suspicions about their safety. At best you will generally find these free proxies are so slow they prohibit you from doing many of the activities you want.
UK Free Proxies are usually Poorly Designed
My least pessimistic expectation of UK free proxies is that they are just poorly designed. Since the owners are not getting much money from it, the protocols and other parameters that are supposed to protect my identity could be substandard and my online security, the main reason I am using the proxy, could be compromised.
Transparent Proxies
I have encountered some UK free proxies to be the major fraudsters. They boast of providing anonymity but in reality some or all information is revealed to the destination site. In my experience these sites make their money from advertising or even by selling your details to the very destination site you are trying to protect yourself from.
Virus and Pop-up Advertisements
My research reveals that one of the ways that UK free proxies pay for themselves is by bombarding the user with pop-up ads so much so that it is almost impossible to view your destination site. Some of these load harmful viruses on your computer like spyware or adware, which capture your personal details and browsing history.
Proxies that Steal
UK free proxy sites are notorious for creating dummy duplicate websites almost identical to Internet banking ones. When you try to access your bank's site through the free proxy, this duplicate page opens and all your confidential information can be stolen. I would strongly suggest that you do not use UK free proxies for any activity like this. This is the easiest way for online fraudsters, credit card thieves and identity thieves to deceive you.
At the end of the day, the key decider is what you are using the proxy for. If you are using it for serious work then make sure you know who owns the proxy, where its located and how reputed it is. Your research will probably eliminate the use of a free proxy. If you are doing something less important like trying to access a networking site from your school or work and annoyingly it's blocked, using a UK free proxy is fine in my opinion.
Always bear in mind however that your personal information will always be at risk with a free proxy and if that's the case, why use it at all? You may be far better off considering a trusted and well respected anonymous proxy service instead.
About the Author
Working as an expat IT engineer in Moscow I got to discover the delights of network attacks on a daily basis. I soon got to learn how to defend myself from such attacks using proxy servers, VPNs and properly configured firewalls. I list some of the uses for proxy servers, and other security software, on my Change-Your-IP website.
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