Change IP Online

Top Three Reasons To Hide Your IP Address

There are a number of reasons to hide your IP address online. Your IP address is an identifier for your computer or device that allows it to be pinpointed on a network. In addition, the address is tied to all online activity you do, allowing your browsing and searching history to be linked to you directly. Some search providers go as far a storing your searching history for "data" purposes.

1. Protect Your Private Data While You Surf

Your IP address can also be used to tie you to your general physical location, This can be used for anyone who wishes to know your location for whatever evil plot that may be festering in their keyboard.  Identity theft is a serious problem.  It doesn't happen to everyone, but it does happen.  I have had two email passwords stolen and my accounts used for spam, as well as had my credit card number stolen online.  Luckily, my bank though it was pretty weird to spend $900 USD in one go at an online gaming community and froze the card, with no money being stolen.  The point is though, that it does happen to some very unlucky people.  Much of this spam and identity theft starts at identifying your IP and intercepting your traffic.  Have you ever heard of  "session jacking" or a "packet sniffer"? Scary stuff.

Can you imagine someone camping out at your local wifi cafe with a free download or Firefox addon that allows him to watch what you're doing online? And on top of that, he can steal you passwords and login credentials?  This is a piece of cake when you share a  network with someone, just like in a public wifi zone.  Online protection is the BIGGEST reason to hide your IP address online.

2. Get Access To Blocked Sites

In addition, your physical location can be used to determine whether you are able to access regionally restricted content. For example, some streaming videos from Hulu and Netflix is only accessible from inside the United States.  BBC iPlayer is only available with a British IP.  Some countries do the opposite block many sites from inside the country! This is called internet censorship. Countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Egypt, and Iran are just the ones you hear about in the news.  In fact, most countries in the world censor the internet to some degree.  Protecting your citizens from "Online Terrorists" or "National Threats" is a very vague concept.  Germany blocks Nazi sites, America blocks access to sites promoting Al-Qaeda, and China blocks Facebook and YouTube. (China considering Facebook and YouTube as a national threat may seem strange or funny to us, but it is very true, and it's not only China that thinks so).  Accessing restricted content is BIG reason to hide your IP address online.

3. Erase Your Online Footprints

And did you know that advertising companies are following you around the internet? Did you ever wonder how Google ads show stuff from the sites you surfed just the other day?  Did you ever think how you password is still in that password box even though you told it specifically to not remember it?  Cookies and other tracking techniques are used to see where you've been, and what you want to buy.  Google "skims" your emails!  Hulu was recently in the news for using "super cookies" that could not be deleted with regular cookie-deleting techniques.  Companies want your money, and they'll go to the ends of the Earth to get it.  Online Privacy is also a very important reason to hide your IP address online.

Top 2 Techniques to Hide Your IP Address

If you wish to hide your IP address online then one option is to have your router set to assign dynamic IP addresses, meaning it switches the IP address it assigns to your router periodically. While this allows you to change your IP address online, it is still a very limited technique. As there are only specific IP addresses that your server can assign, these IP addresses will all still be tied to your location, and traceable to YOU.

1. Proxies

An alternative is to use a proxy online. A proxy acts by inserting itself between traffic from your computer and from the internet. All traffic requests from your computer are sent to the proxy, then makes requests to the network on your behalf . An anonymous proxy will first strip the IP address of the traffic request and substitute it with its own. This results in your IP addressed being masked by that of the proxy.  This is why its called anonymous surfing.

One of the advantages of using a web based proxy to hide your ip address online is that it requires no software installation. It can be used directly from the web browser, and as such can be used from any device, including smart phones of all types and laptops running any operating system. There are many proxy providers available online, some offer free proxy services while others offer proxy services for a monthly fee.

Generally the proxies that cost money offer more features, provide faster speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and customer support. They are less limited in terms of data use and speed and are more reliable. Perhaps the main advantage of using a paid service, is knowing that they're going to be responsible with your IP data. The attraction of a free proxy is often too much for users to handle, and they unwilling volunteer their private data to a random "free proxy" site.  Proxies are often a source of spam and malware, so be sure to use a proxy provider you can trust.

I use a web based proxy called Securitales.  In a nutshell, this is what makes Securitales worth my money

• Security of knowing they are a trusted service, with years of experience and customer feedback
• There's a FREE TRIAL and a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, which shows incredible belief in their own product
• It's only $6 a month (and even cheaper if you sign up for the free trial first…Hint…Hint…There's a discount waiting at the end of the trial)
• I can us it on my phone and computer
• No installation means I can use it at work (or school if you're a student) without leaving any traces

2. Virtual Private Networks

Alternatively you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which requires a software installation, but is usable by any programs on your computer rather than just the web browser.  VPNs work a lot like proxies in that they reroute your traffic to a server outside your network, and make traffic requests for you.  Your IP address is stripped from the data, and they replace it with a new one, based on the location of the VPN server.  The main difference here is more layers of protection that proxies do not provide. While a proxy will send your raw signal to the proxy server (where it can be intercepted), a VPN first encrypts your data and sends it through a secure tunnel to prevent anyone from seeing your original IP address, or even the fact that you're using a VPN service.  Proxies are often detectible because of this lack of security.

This is why a virtual private network is preferred by users who do online banking, or other data transfers, where security is a must.  It's also great for gamers, because a VPN will encrypt your whole computer or phone, while a web based proxy will only secure your web browser.  Proxies may also be blocked in some areas, which makes a VPN connection all the more necessary.  SSL/OpenVPN even requires the use of "certificates" to verify the identity of the user connected to the VPN, meaning even with correct login and password credentials, any outsider without the right certificates (provided only to you), won't be able to crack your data. Of course, one of the most popular reasons to hide your IP address online is to download torrents and use P2P to get movies, music, and other large files.  Using a VPN for this kind of work is much better than a proxy.

For VPN services, I can recommend two – 12VPN and StrongVPN. Here's why…

12VPN

• Easy installation is great for new users
• 7 day money back guarantee promises satisfaction or your money back
• Simple site design and "all-in-one" packages means you can get started quickly
• Quick, efficient, and friendly support team makes running into problems not so troublesome
• It's cheap, at only $79 USD per year
• Free server switching means you can maintain speed when servers have issues

http://12vpn.com

StrongVPN

• Packages based on region, operating system, and device means you get exactly what you need
• 1 month, 6 month, and 12 month options means you have even more choice
• It's one of the most trusted names in VPN services (operating since 1995)
• It's fast and reliable
• There's live support to solve your issues instantly
• Comes with 7 day money back guarantee

http://strongvpn.com

Both proxies and virtual private networks have their own advantages and disadvantages to hide your IP address online.  With these tips, I'm sure you'll be able to decide which best suits your needs. Click on a link to be taken to the main site for more details.

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