In case you are looking for a free tool to hide your IP address, here is a good news: recently, a new proxy tool was released – Free Hide IP. It’s a small tool that changes your browser proxy settings and redirects your Internet traffic through various proxies.

According to the developer, “It is a lightweight and useful software designed to protect your privacy when surfing the Internet by changing your IP address. The software will protect your Identity and Prevent tracking of your online activities.”

Free Hide IP Features

• Protect and hide your identity through hiding your IP address.
• Changes your IP address.
• Unblocks restricted websites

The usage is very simple: after the installation, a small window is shown that allows you to hide/show you real IP address and to update your proxy list. It easily configures Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Free Hide IP Tested

I have tested it for about an hour and I think it has some potential. It’s simple to use, but there still bugs to be fixed and features to be added.

My main concerned is related to the fact that Free Hide IP uses open proxies, so it’s NOT 100% safe to use it. Open proxies may hide your IP address, but you never know who owns them and whether they monitor the traffic or not.

Before using open proxies you should also read Risks of using a proxy site. As it is said, “Better safe than sorry“.

Update 4/9/2010: After installing the tool, I had trouble with an adware/spyware called MyWebSearch. I’m not 100% sure that it came with Free Hide IP, but it’s highly possible. So, take care with this application.

>> Free Hide IP – No longer available

One of the goals of this blog is to review various hide IP tools that are available on the market and offer useful guidelines for those seeking online anonymity. Today, it’s time to take a look to Hide The IP, an application that I’ve added some time ago in the list of hiding IP tools, but never had the time to evaluate it.

Hide The IP main features

Hide The IP is a nice and effective application that is able to change your real Internet address while browsing the Web. The software delivers fresh anonymous proxy servers every time you activate the program.

Hide The IP allows you to:

• Easily hide your identity.
• Select your IP location.
• Surf the web anonymously.
• Hide your IP in E-mail headers.
• Surf websites which are restricted for your country like Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Twitch, Spotify, Pandora, Youtube.

How to run Hide The IP

Firstly, you have to download and install Hide The IP. If you are running Vista you need to have admin rights for your account. Next, start hiding your IP address.

You’ll get a fake IP address and all browsers configured to use it. The user interface lets you select the type of proxy you want to use (Transparent, Anonymous or Elite) and the speed. In the trial version you can not choose the location/country of the proxy, so you get a random IP address every time you press the refresh button.

Advanced options

Advanced options are also available:

• Surf without cookies
• Hide referer info
• Change user agent
• Disable browser cache

Pros and Cons of Hide The IP

Pros

• Effective hide IP tool
• The proxies are fast
• Works with all browsers smoothly
• There are proxies from various countries like Poland, Austria, Germany, Thailand, Serbia, Jordan.
• Easy installation and user-friendly interface.
• It has a premium service that exposes private faster speed servers.

Cons

• Only 3 days of free trial.
• During trial server/proxy changes are limited and the country location is disabled.

>> Download