Prerequisites for Using Google Chrome proxy extensions 

It is highly recommended to talk about some salient points to consider when using proxy extensions on your browser of choice.

To begin with, go with the ones that provide you with a simple user interface. It ought to be supporting all websites that you access on every day but are not capable to do it because of the geo-location restrictions.

These websites may consist of Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and more. Also, you must consider speed if you opt to utilize one of the proxy add-ons extensions for Chrome below.

Having above-mentioned points in mind, you will find the most popular proxy extensions/add-ons for Chrome web browser.

Let’s take a look at some of the most useful I was able to find. If you know others feel free to share them in the comments.

1. ibVPN

ibVPN is a proxy extension provided as an additional service from the VPN provider. It simply connects the browser to proxies from different locations, thus changing the visible IP address. The search of locations is nicely implemented as you can even look for streaming channels to unblock.

You may create a 6-hour free trial account in order to test the service before creating a subscription.

2. TunnelBear

TunnelBear is a beautiful proxy extension that you can easily use to change your IP address and unlock streaming channels. Also, it reduces websites and advertisers ability to track you and secures your browser on public WiFi. It is one of the greatest Chrome extensions for anonymous browsing.

3. Free Web Proxy

This extension exposes a web proxy list that will keep you hidden at all times from network monitoring. You can unblock popular social networking sites such as Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and many other sites. It offers free web proxy, anonymous web proxy. Free and simple to use.

4. Proxy Switchy!

Proxy Switchy! is an advanced proxy manager for Google Chrome, it allows users to manage and switch between multiple proxy profiles quickly and easily.

Proxy Switchy! allows you to:

– Manage and switch between multiple proxy profiles.
– Change the proxy configuration of Chrome and IE in one click.
– URL based switch rules.
– Change LAN and VPN/Dial-up proxy settings.
– Quickly add rules for currently active websites.
– Quick proxy switch between two profiles or cycle all profiles.
– Online rule list support (AutoProxy compatible).
– Export switch rules as PAC/RuleList file.
– Backup/Restore options.
– Proxy change monitoring.

5. Easy proxies

Easy proxies use proxies from Proxy.org. It’s simple: write address, select proxy and go!

+1:  Chrome SwitchProxy

This particular proxy calls for several clicks, the minimum being six in order to start the proxy.

You can do this by simply –

1. Go to Tool menu >
2. Then Options >
3. Under the hood >
4. Change proxy settings >
5. LAN settings >
6. Use proxy > 

You can run the entire process by simply clicking on your mouse. Furthermore, it likewise enables end-users to edit, modify, or configure the proxy server to suit their online browsing needs.

To conclude, if you want to change or hide your IP address while browsing the Internet with Google Chrome you need an extension that easily provides access to proxies. Choose one from the above list or directly from the Google Web Store. Enjoy!

By using a proxy you are able not only to hide your IP address (and location) while browsing the internet, but you are also able to unblock restricted sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.

The first step is to find a good proxy. You may subscribe to private proxies or you can search for a free one on sites like SamAir.ru or Proxy4Free. The free/open proxies are quite slow, but some of them offer enough speed for regular browsing; not for watching videos on YouTube or unblocking Hulu.

Setup a Windows Mobile Proxy

Next, set up your phone to work with the selected proxy.

Step 1. Select Settings and then All Settings.

Step 2. Go to Connections tab and click on Connections.
Step 3. For your active connection (or the one you are using to connect to the internet; it may be the one provided by the service provider or a local network) click on Set up my proxy server.

Step 4. Next check This network uses a proxy to connect to the Internet
Step 5. Click on Advanced …
Step 6. In the next screen click on HTTP.
Step 7. Then enter the proxy IP and port and if you are using a private/paid proxy enter the username and password.

Step 8. Go to your browser and visit XMyIP to check your IP address.
Step 9. You are done! When you don’t longer need to browse anonymously make sure you un-check the This network uses a proxy to connect to the Internet option.

Note: The screenshots were taken on an HTC Touch Diamond 2.

Sometimes you need to browse with US IP address. Most sites allow users that have US IP to see their content unrestricted but may block users from other countries. Or maybe, you are located in the US and you want to change your existing US IP to another one. Just to post on forums with another identity.

11 motives to get a US IP Address

Below you can read several motives to get a United States IP mentioned by our readers:

1. Internet security / anonymous browsing / keep my data private – a very important reason nowadays taking into account Internet threats.
2. To access WiFi networks securely – useful when traveling.
3. Download using torrent/P2P and Rapidshare.
4. Visit websites blocked in my country / bypassing China GFW.
5. Access and visit US-Only restricted websites (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Pandora, Veoh, ABC, CW) from outside of the United States.
6. My office blocked my favorite sites, so I want to unblock them.
7. To stop viruses, my computer was off the air once for a month because my computer was hacked.
8. Keep my ISP and others from doing DFI on my data.
9. Use the account to access billboard.com, AOL, and CBS radio, and listen to music there.
10. Living in the UK is awful internet wise! I want the services US folks get, dammit! I miss discovering new music on Pandora, and I’d rather not download a whole album just to see if I like it.
11. I want to use it for accessing all non-academic sites blocked by the crazy administrator of my dorm.

How to get a US IP address

Here are some guidelines on how you can get a US IP address:

1. Use Web Proxies

The main advantage of a web proxy is that you don’t have to install anything to change your IP. Just find a web proxy hosted on a server in the United States and you are done. These proxies are usually used to unblock sites like MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, etc, but you can access any site you want. You just have to type in the URL and press Go or Submit button.

The main disadvantage of web proxies is that they have a short life and usually get blocked by sites or servers. So, you have to find new ones all the time.

Must read: Risks of using a proxy site.

2. Manually change your IP proxy lists

Another simple, but not very comfortable solution, is to manually change your IP address.  Simply, go to a site that lists proxies (like SamAir.ru or Proxy4Free), find a proxy from the United States and then change your browser’s settings to use that proxy.

If you don’t know how to manually change your IP you should check these posts:

• Firefox: How To Hide Your IP While Browsing Using Firefox
• Internet Explorer: How To Manually Change Your IP Using Internet Explorer
• Safari: How To Manually Mask Your IP Using Safari
• Microsoft Edge – How to Setup a Proxy for Microsoft Edge

3. Use Firefox add-ons

If you are using Firefox there are several add-ons that help you change your IP. Further, you may need your search for proxies by yourself but it is, for sure, faster than manually configuring your browser.

Here some posts on Firefox add-ons that change your IP:

• How To Hide Your IP Using SwitchProxy Firefox Add-on
• Browse Anonymously Using FoxTor Add-on (Advanced)
• How To Hide Your Search Trails Using TrackMeNot Firefox Add-on

4. Use a VPN Service

VPN services are probably the best way to change your IP address to one from the United States. There are several free ad-based options and a lot of commercials alternatives. Here is what I recommend:

• NordVPN
• HideMyAss
• ExpressVPN
• ibVPN
• PureVPN

Are you not happy with the VPN speed? Learn about the things that may impact your VPN connection.

To sum up, it is not difficult to browse with US IP address. Just choose one or more of the above solutions and here you are. Happy surfing!

A: There are different websites that offer access to a list of proxies (take a look at our recommended list).

You will see that in the list there are different categories of proxies:

• transparent
• anonymous
• high anonymous or elite proxies

The best proxies for hiding the IP address are the high anonymous proxies or elite proxies. This is because they offer the best anonymity on the web. We will show you in the next paragraph how the high anonymous proxies or the elite proxies actually hide your IP address.

When we are visiting a website – without using any proxy server – the web servers that are hosting the website that we access can retrieve (collect) the following information about us: our real IP address, if we are using a proxy server or not and the IP address of the proxy in use, the browser that we are using and the language that is currently used. If your IP address is revealed that other details about you can be revealed. Consider reading What is an IP address? and What Does Your IP Address Reveal About You?.

So in order to hide the IP address, we should use proxies that do not reveal the fact that a proxy is used and in this way your IP address is protected. The only proxies that are able to do that are the high anonymous proxies or elite proxies.

The transparent proxies are not to be used because they show that a proxy server is used and they told the web servers that you are using a proxy and your IP address. So transparent proxies are not to be used for hiding the IP address. They can be used for other purposes that we will discuss later on the blog.

The anonymous proxies can be used for hiding the IP address BUT some of the web servers might be able to detect the fact that a proxy is in use and in this way your IP address can be detected. So using anonymous proxies can be used for hiding the IP address but their accuracy is not 100%.

A: SOCKS is a protocol that allows nearly every type of application to be tunneled through it while HTTP is specialized for HTTP but can sometimes be used for other stuff as well.

Also, HTTP proxies can be used to increase or decrease the anonymity and privacy you gain through them as they can change parts of the content that is transmitted, SOCKS is just plain data transfer without adding or removing anything of the content transmitted.

SOCKS uses a handshake protocol to inform the proxy software about the connection that the client is trying to make and may be used for any form of TCP or UDP socket connection, whereas an HTTP proxy analyzes the HTTP headers sent through it in order to deduce the address of the server and therefore may only be used for HTTP traffic.

The following examples demonstrate the difference between the SOCKS and HTTP proxy protocols: [Via Wikipedia]

SOCKS

Bill wishes to communicate with Jane over the internet, but a firewall exists on his network between them, and Bill is not authorized to communicate through it himself. Therefore, he connects to the SOCKS proxy on his network and sends information about the connection he wishes to make to Jane. The SOCKS proxy opens a connection through the firewall and facilitates the communication between Bill and Jane.

HTTP

Bill wishes to download a web page from Jane, who runs a web server. Bill cannot directly connect to Jane’s server, as a firewall has been put in place on his network. To communicate with the server, Bill connects to his network’s HTTP proxy. His internet browser communicates with the proxy in the same way it would the target server—it sends a standard HTTP request header. The HTTP proxy reads the request and looks for the Host header. It then connects to the server specified in the header and transmits any data the server replies with back to Bill.

In most cases configuring applications to use a SOCKS proxy is done in much the same way as configuring them to use HTTP proxies. Applications that support SOCKS proxies will have a separate entry in the menu or configuration dialogue where HTTP proxies are configured which let you configure a SOCKS proxy. Some applications will ask you to choose between SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 5 proxy settings, and in most cases SOCKS 5 is the better option, although some SOCKS proxies may only work with SOCKS 4.

Conclusion

You can think of SOCKS proxies as a more advanced version of HTTP proxies, that allow many different kinds of Internet traffic from many different protocols to be sent through a tunnel, thereby bypassing blocks.

As both types of proxies will hide your IP address, you should choose the type that is accepted by the application you need to anonymize. If both HTTP and SOCKS are available, I advise you to use SOCKS as they are faster.

What are Codeen Proxies?

These proxies are up all over the internet, although they don’t have too many supporters behind it. These proxies are mainly used for general purposes like surfing the internet, they don’t allow you to do many things, and the features are limited. The system is completely free to use and download, and there are different services depending on whether you’re a member of PlanetLab or not. All of Codeen’s services are completely free to use, while PlanetLab is for university students.

Are they useless?

The main reason why most people find these proxies useless is that all you can really do on them is surf the web. You won’t be able to download, upload, or post on forums while using them. Most people find that to be the reason why they don’t use these proxies.

How to use Codeen Proxies

If you’re just looking to have a secure connection and surf the web though then these proxies are ideal. They offer great security and privacy for you and your computer. It’s all completely free to use as well, so there is nothing to complain about. I for one don’t use these proxies, but I have a few friends who use them for surfing the web, and they say that it’s great. The connection is really fast usually for them, and they are also not at risk which is the main reason to use these types of proxies.

You will be able to use this proxy if you’re banned from a site too, you just won’t be able to post on topics or comments. I would only suggest using this proxy if you plan on only surfing the web, you won’t be able to do anything else. Since it is a free service I recommend giving it a shot though, you have nothing to lose, and you can see how it all works.

Don’t you know how to set up a Codeen proxy on your browser? Take a look at the tutorials below:

• Google Chrome – How To Hide Your IP While Browsing Using Google Chrome
• Firefox: How To Manually Hide Your IP
• Microsoft Edge – How to Setup a Proxy for Microsoft Edge
• Internet Explorer – How To Manually Hide Your IP Using Internet Explorer
• Safari – How To Manually Mask Your IP Using Safari

High Anonymous

With this type of proxy, your IP will, of course, be hidden. Admin from other websites will also not be able to tell that you’re running through a proxy. This is a good route if you don’t want to give up your IP address to sites, but also want to keep your account with them. It will look like a real browser too.

Anonymous

This option also hides your IP address from everyone, but this one changes the request fields so it’s very easy to detect. They still won’t be able to get your IP address from it or anything but they may decide to ban you from the site because a lot of them don’t like that. It’s a risk using this type of proxy if you don’t want to run the risk of losing accounts.

Transparent

These proxies change the request field also so it’s easy to be detected and banned. This type of proxy transfers your IP though, so it’s a terrible option for security and privacy. It will only be useful for speeding up your network connection, and that’s about it.

If you’re looking for the safest route when choosing your proxy, then I would suggest going with a high anonymous type. They offer great privacy and security while surfing sites, and there is no way to give up your IP.

If you’re looking for a choose proxy list check our Hide IP Tools page.

What can you find on Samair?

With this website I found, you can search for almost anything to do with proxy and SOCKS lists. It has a feature so that you can search for all the newest and up to date proxy and SOCKS sites, this way you won’t have to worry about finding new sites that work.

Regular updates and fresh proxies

The site does this for you and it is updated every day. If you have already found a good proxy and you have the IP address then you can also punch it into the site and it will take you there. If you’re worried about the security of your computer and privacy you can complete searches which will give you information on the sites. Sam Air prides themselves on offering the best up to date security that they can possibly offer for all proxies.

What to choose?

If you need to use a proxy site then you will want to use this site to find out which one is safest and best fit for your computer. I personally use this site almost every day so that I can get to the sites I want too while in school. I also use the proxies they list when I want to have a more private connection to the internet. Sam Air offers this, and best of the entire site is all completely free to use. They maintain the site through ads which is a small price for us all to have to suffer. I suggest checking out the features on this site the need time you have a few minutes of free time.

How to set up a proxy

Here is how to use a proxy in order to hide your IP:

• Firefox: How To Hide Your IP While Browsing Using Firefox
• Internet Explorer: How To Manually Change Your IP Using Internet Explorer
• Safari: How To Manually Mask Your IP Using Safari
• Microsoft Edge – How to Setup a Proxy for Microsoft Edge
• How to set up a SOCKS proxy on your browser.

Have you visited proxy list Samair? Have you found it useful? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

This post presents RiccoVPN, an interesting concept and a different approach to VPN. It is implementing an encrypted P2P network instead of relying on a VPN gateway. Keep reading for more details.

Secure your Internet connection – different options

Before talking about RiccoVPN let’s see the options you have when it comes to anonymizing and securing your Internet connection. Depending on what you want to achieve, you can go for one solution or another. But let’s first summarize the options:

• You can either use some proxy gateways that will mask your actual IP address and use its own address. This is the most challenging solution to find as the list of proxies change so often.
• You can also use VPN servers. With such a solution, you can choose the country where you want to land. Those solutions are especially very efficient for overcoming geolocation-limited services like Hulu, unblock BBC iPlayer, …
• Then, for those who want some “random/parallel” network that will hide them: Tor is one solution.
• For those who are more into browser-based solutions, you can find out add-ons that will allow you to achieve some kind of anonymity too.

Except for Tor, most of those solutions expect you to connect you to one gateway; then this gateway will “mask” your connection before forwarding your request to any internet server that you want to see.

RiccoVPN by PrivacyProtector

As I browsed the internet, I stumbled on one concept that seemed interesting (at least at first approach), it is called RiccoVPN, and it is published by PrivacyProtector.

So I checked on their website and found out that they provide a privacy solution that requires you to install their proprietary client. What popped to my eyes is that it comes with a FREE solution that is called RiccoVPN FREE. While it is expected to be a “bait” so that a potential user jumps into the paid version, the features can be of use for standard things like connecting from a public Wi-Fi, from hotels or Airport. The caveat is that the bandwidth is limited to 512 kbps and you can’t pretend to be somewhere else: though the free version isn’t a solution for bypassing geolocation-limited services.

RiccoVPN features

As one would expect, most of the argument is stated in a way that you are pushed to opt for the RiccoVPN Plus solution instead of staying with the free solution. So I checked the Plus option and found out that RiccoVPN is implementing an encrypted P2P network instead of relying on a VPN gateway.

The idea is innovative, but yet has to prove how effective it is. By leveraging on P2P network, internet connections are harder to track indeed (there’s no VPN gateway in the scheme). But since every user in the network is expected to run the RiccoVPN client, I would suspect that if I run the RiccoVPN client on my computer, then it would mean that my computer would also be used for encrypting other people’s traffic.

Conclusion

While this article isn’t a recommendation, I think there’s some potential in that no-gateway concept. With SOPA-like bills, there’s a tendency to find some technical solutions that won’t allow you to be tracked from your ISP or VPN provider. From the “commercial ad,” RiccoVPN claims that “we do not need to know you.”

What do you think of that approach? Do you think it is something that you would try?

But finding a good proxy is a difficult task. Most of them are slow and not reliable. And using a free proxy is a bad idea.

The good news comes from Digital Inspiration. They published a tutorial that shows you how to setup own free proxy server by using Google App Engine. Thus you will browse via proxy independent of your home network and without having to trust a sketchy third-party proxy.  Check out the video below:

Step 1: Go to Google App Engine and sign-in using your Google Account.

Step 2: Click the Create an Application button. If it’s your first time, Google will send a verification code via SMS to your mobile phone number. Type the code, and you’re all set to create apps with Google App Engine.

Step 3: Choose a sub-domain that for your proxy server. Then agree to the Google Terms and click Save. The sub-domain is also your App ID that will uniquely identify your proxy application.

Step 4. Next, you have to create and upload the proxy server application to Google App Engine. Go to python.org, download the 2.6.4 Windows Installer and install Python.

Step 5. Go to code.google.com, download the Google App Engine SDK for Python and install it.

Step 6. Download this zip file from Digital Inspiration and extract it to some folder on your desktop. The zip file contains a couple of text files (written in HTML and Python) that implements the proxy functions.

Step 7. Start the Google App Engine Launcher program from the desktop and set the right values under Edit –> Preferences.

Step 8. Click File –> Add Existing Application under the Google App Launcher program and browse to the directory that you created in Step 6. Click the Edit button and replace “YOUR_APP_ID” with the ID (sub-domain) that you set up in Step 3.

Step 9: Click Deploy and your online proxy server are now ready for use.

[Via How-To Setup Your Own Web Proxy Server for Free with Google Apps Engine – Digital Inspiration]