Please note that Google Voice is only available for sign up in the US.

And, if you click on the activation link you get the following message:

This means that if you are leaving outside US you have to use a trick to activate your account.

How to activate Google Voice outside the USA

Here are the steps necessary to activate your Google Voice account:

1. 1. 1. Get a free USA incoming number as described here.
      2. Use HideMyAss, ibVPN, HideIPVPN, Hotspot Shield or Ultrasurf to get a US IP address. A US IP address is an IP address that is allocated by an ISP from United States to US residential homes or US data centers. The services mentioned above simply rent servers in data centers located in the US and then offer access via VPN or proxy technology.
      3. Next, delete your cookies and open the Google Voice invite activation link in your web-browser.
      4. Login using your Google account and you follow the first step to choose a number.
         
      5. Then you will now need to enter a PIN code.
         
      6. During step 3 you will get prompted for a USA phone number where you can receive the call and confirm your account. Enter the free US phone number you reserved by following the steps described here.
         
      7. Click Call Me Now and you will receive the call on your desktop Sipgate softphone.
         
      8. Press the “Accept” button.
         
      9. Then activate the Keypad/Dialpad and enter your confirmation code the two digit confirmation code from Step 6 above.
         
      10. And … you were able to activate Google Voice outside the USA.
          

[Via Megaleacher.net]

———————

I’m glad to be the first blogger that writes about a new tool that can be used to browse anonymously by hiding your public IP address. NotMyIP is a new hide IP tool, and the best thing is that it’s FREE!

Privacy-Gateway.com has released, NotMyIP, a new and free tool that can be used to hide your IP address and browse anonymously. The product is straightforward, similar to other free tools like UltraSurf or GPass.

From the press release:

The simpler it is – the better it is! Internet users do not have to spend time learning complex strategies to achieve their purpose. They only want to hide IP. Is this too much they’re asking? “Not at all!” thought Privacy-Gateway when started developing NotMyIP. Only press one button and the real IP is hidden. A new (fake) IP will guarantee users anonymous web surfing while hiding IP. What can be easier that this? And to make it even better, it uses an exclusive list of premium proxies in order to provide a new IP.

Getting started

First, you have to download it. The installation is straightforward, follow the instructions. After the installation is completed you will see the following screen:

To hide your IP, the only thing you have to do press the Change IP button. To check your new IP address visit XMyIP.com site. That’s it! It automatically configures all browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, and Safari. No need to worry about this anymore.

When you what to browse with your real IP address click Restore IP button.

NotMyIP Pros and Cons

Here is the list of pros and cons I have come up with:

Pros:

• It is FREE!
• It hides your IP address and allows you to surf anonymously.
• Very simple and smooth UI. Suitable for beginners. No user guide needed.
• It provides fast, premium, quality HTTP proxies.
• It works with all browsers tested: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Chrome, and Safari. No need for manual configuration.
• It does not need any add-ons to run with Firefox.
• It overcomes censorship.

Cons:

• The proxies are from the US only.
• There are only three proxies available. More in the commercial version, called Anonymity Gateway.
• Only English user interface is available.
• Not suitable for P2P applications. If you are interested in anonymous torrenting, you should check some P2P VPN providers.

To sum up: It’s great to have another excellent hide IP software on the market. Let’s hope more proxies will be available in the next versions and they will continue to be fast.

Ultrasurf vs. NotMyIP

Ultrasurf and NotMyIP are two very similar tools to hide/change your IP address. Because Ultrasurf is very well known and consequently blocked by many security products and filter, NotMyIP has gained a lot of popularity lately.

On Privacy-Gateway.com, the home of NotMyIP, I have found an interesting comparison between the two free hide IP products. From the very beginning, Privacy-Gateway team declares that NotMyIP was not built to replace Ultrasurf but more as an alternative when Ultrasurf is blocked.

Further, here is the comparison as found on Privacy-Gateway.com:

NotMyIP vs. Anonymity Gateway

Both applications are practical tools for hiding your IP address. The functioning principle is the same: they use proxies to protect your real IP address. These proxies drive your traffic, and you are not identified correctly by the sites you visit. It’s that simple!

Let’s see how several features that may help you compare NotMyIP and Anonymity Gateway:

What do you think about NotMyIP?

To sum up, is NotMyIP useful? Is it working for you? What features do you think should be added?

Let us know in the comments below.