Best Free Proxy in the World | Anonymous Browsing | HMA VPN
The simple way to hide your IP and browse anonymously
A free proxy service is good, but a VPN is even better…
A VPN not only gives you internet freedom but it also helps keep you secure and private online. So, proxy and VPN. What’s the difference? Check out our handy table for all you need to know.
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Once you connect you’ll be given a new IP. Your own IP address? Hidden. Meaning you can hide both your identity and your location.
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Access specific government and geo-blocked sites by choosing to appear virtually anywhere in the world.
Stop all ISP tracking
Protect your entire browsing history from being tracked and stored by your ISP.
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Connect to specifically located streaming servers so you can access US TV shows using your paid subscription services.
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With an encrypted connection you can surf safely even on unsecured public Wi-Fi
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is an anonymous web proxy?
An anonymous web proxy enables you to access blocked websites and appear anonymous at the same time. It does this by hiding your IP address (which is essentially your online identity) and providing you with a different one by routing your web activity through different servers and IP addresses.
When should I use a free web proxy service
Using a web Proxy server allows you to access content that may be blocked or restricted by local governments. You can use one to gain access to these websites and content. It also allows you to surf the web more privately meaning what your browsing (in that tab only) cannot be tracked. However, your connection is not encrypted unless you use a VPN.
What does ‘hide my IP address’ mean?
Your IP address is a unique set of numbers that identifies your computer online. Think of it as a home address for your computer. Using a free web proxy or a VPN service allows you to hide your IP address by giving you one of theirs. This means your IP cannot be identified and tracked.
How do I use the HMA! online proxy?
Simply enter the URL of the website you want to visit and in the connection setup menu choose whether you would like to allow cookies, remove scripts and encrypt the URL. However, please remember that encrypting the URL will only hide the address itself. If you want an encrypted connection you’ll need a VPN.
What sites can I access with a free web proxy?
Web proxies can be used to access sites that may be blocked due to your geographical location or censorship blocks at work. Many internet surfers use a web proxy to access sites such as Facebook or YouTube if they are unable to access them in their home country. However, there are no guarantees that any particular website will work with a proxy.
Can I use a web proxy to stream my favorite TV shows?
Nope, you’ll need a VPN for that. While a proxy can allow you to appear as if you’re located elsewhere, it only allows you to choose from a small number of servers. In order to stream global content from your paid subscription services you’ll need to be connected to specific VPN streaming servers. Have a read of our streaming guide to find out more about how you can do this.
Check out the other free tools you can play with
DNS leak test
A DNS leak happens when you’re using a bad VPN. So see if yours is up to snuff.
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WebRTC test
Check your WebRTC isn’t revealing your actual IP address.
CHECK MY BROWSER
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Do proxies really provide anonymity? – Server Fault
Do web proxies really provide anonymity?
I mean, without someone asking for logs in a web proxy server for who/when connected, is it impossible to know who was behind that IP address?
I’m asking this because I heard somewhere that some technologies (like “flash”) bypass personal IP information for requests or something like that.
(I’m a noob in server configuration and concepts like DNS and proxies. Thanks! )
splattne28. 1k19 gold badges96 silver badges147 bronze badges
asked May 7 ’10 at 18:43
No, just setting a proxy within your browser not make you anonymous.
Your browser and flash is likely to have cookies that will identify you.
If you wanted to be truly anonymous you would probably need to fire up a new browser from a livecd or in a VM, set the proxy, and then browse. To maintain your anonymity you must not login to any site that has your name.
You will probably also need to make sure the browser/OS you are using does not make DNS requests to a local DNS server. If you do not configure the proxy correctly your machine make make DNS requests for the sites you are visiting to the local network.
If the proxy you are using is not using SSL for transport your ISP or someone on the local network will still be able to see what you are doing. Even if they are using SSL your ISP will know you are contacting that proxy.
If the an evil person cannot get the logs from the proxy machine to get the logs. if they are able to monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic they still may able to identify you just by looking at the flows of data.
Something like TOR does the best job, but even with it you must be very careful that you set it up properly and that during your session you never reveal any information that would unmask you.
It depends on what you’re trying to obscure and how it’s configured. Proxies aren’t meant to hide people; they’re meant to cache data, and later they started scanning content to filter it or protect people on the inside from malware. Anonymous proxies act anonymously by promising to not give out or retain logs (you have to trust them on that) and anyone trying to trace where the request is coming from is stopped at that hop if the proxy strips data out of the request that is personally identifiable.
Basically, the proxy has to be configured specifically to strip out identifiable data.
If the request or post information has your ID or personal information or something like that embedded in it, then that kind of defeats the purpose too.
If the request has to get back to your computer somehow, there is definitely a trail that leads back to you. Just depends on how obscure it is to trace. Commercial anonymizers just promise to stonewall by purging logs and stripping data from the request (if you trust them), and networks like Tor obscure your request by bouncing it all over the place (more info on their website) to obscure it and make tracking extremely difficult.
If you run a proxy at home, it doesn’t take a forensic expert to know that there’s a very limited number of people that could be making web requests from that home network.
But if you were truly 100% would the data get back to you?
answered May 7 ’10 at 18:53
Bart SilverstrimBart Silverstrim30. 9k9 gold badges62 silver badges87 bronze badges
I run a squid server at home, with a very basic/default setup, and I’ve seen websites identify me by my internal address. I’m not sure if the website is getting from my browser or the proxy, but it definitely can be found with my particular setup.
Knowing your internal IP addy really isn’t a big deal. NAT (or proxies that accomplish the same thing) violates the principles of end-to-end routing in the first place, since there are now computer connected to the Internet (through a NAT router) which do not have a “routable” address. I wouldn’t call your IP personal information, not anymore than the street address on the front of your house.
To your larger question about proxies providing anonimity. Cookies can uniquely identify you with or without proxies. Websites can also do a browser fingerprint on you, and that basically uniquely identifies you without a cookie.
answered May 7 ’10 at 18:48
2
>Anonymous proxies do many things, such as change an ip address, encrypt information, and most of all ensure a person’s safety. A proxy will supply you with a fake ip address in place of your old one. This will keep anyone from knowing your true identity on the internet. The key behind how anonymous a proxy really is, is owning a proxy under a reliable company. Everything you do on the internet will go through the company’s proxy first, so the company could just be out to steal your personal information.
answered May 14 ’10 at 19:58
Anonymous ProxyAnonymous Proxy
The best answer I can give is “up to a point”. Even if the proxy is configured to strip out anything that might identify you, the operators are scrupulous and the system is impenetrable against hacking (as if! ), depending on local laws it may still be required to maintain logs that can identify your machine. It may sound a bit altruistic but I think an operator that disrespects the law should probably not be trusted to respect your privacy.
answered May 15 ’10 at 0:07
John GardeniersJohn Gardeniers26. 9k12 gold badges52 silver badges108 bronze badges
yes elite proxies will provide anonymity. The rest not so much.
answered May 15 ’10 at 0:12
LarsLars1132 silver badges8 bronze badges
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Anonymous Proxies Explained: The Beginner’s Guide – Technology Org
It is almost impossible to discuss online security without mentioning the use of a proxy or a virtual private network (VPN). These two tools provide you with anonymity as you go about your regular internet activities. Both tools share similarities in the way that they make you anonymous online. Proxies and VPNs work by rerouting your internet traffic via their servers thereby masking your internet protocol (IP) from the web host and your target website. As you explore the website, the web host only sees the IP address of proxy or VPN server while yours remain hidden.
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Although proxy and VPN anonymity tools may share a common concept, they do have major differences. This article will take a closer look at anonymous proxies to help you decide whether it is the right anonymity tool for you.
Anonymous Proxies Explained
Whenever you type an address on your browser, your device will send a request to the web host of your destination website. Once the web host receives the request, it will send the web page of your target website back to your device.
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The web host can only send the page back to you if it knows your internet protocol or IP address. As you may have already guessed, you also send out your IP address along with your request to browse a website. This means that your target website knows the general location from where you are browsing. It is also likely that the web host may be able to access your ISP account name through your IP address.
How Anonymous Proxies Hide Your Identity
Anonymous proxies, or simply proxies, are computer servers in various locations around the world. These proxy servers act as relay stations for the internet traffic of users. Any request that comes from the device of a user goes to the proxy server instead of the web host of the target website.
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Once the anonymous proxy server receives the request, it will send it to the web host of the target website. The web host of the target website will then respond to the request and sends back the web page to the proxy server. The proxy server then relays the web page back to the user. This process effectively hides your identity from the web host as it only sees the IP address of the proxy server and not yours.
The Advantages of Using a Proxy Server
Hiding your IP address whenever you surf the internet has numerous advantages. The most obvious plus to using proxy servers is that it gives you some semblance of privacy. Since a proxy server essentially substitutes its own IP address in place of yours, it allows you to bypass geo-blocking.
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For example, a video streaming website may allow access to viewers from certain countries and block requests from other countries. You can bypass this restriction by connecting to a proxy server that is located in any of the countries where users can access the video streaming website.
Public Wi-Fi at some universities may prevent you from browsing certain websites. Using a proxy server will help you get around this restriction. Some internet service providers (ISPs) may also censor website content or the website itself. Connecting to a proxy server helps you circumvent this kind of browsing restriction.
Keep in mind, however, that using an anonymous proxy server for this purpose carries a very high risk. It is a risk that underscores the major disadvantage of using a proxy server, which is its lack of encryption.
The Disadvantages of Using a Proxy Server
The transfer of data between your device and the proxy server, unlike VPNs, does not have any encryption. This means that your ISP, the government, law enforcement agencies and hackers can view, intercept and log the data that is passing through the connection. In other words, you may be able to hide your IP using a proxy, but not your internet activities.
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An anonymous proxy is a poor tool choice if you want to hide your internet activities from prying eyes. For this purpose, you are better off using a VPN. This anonymity tool encrypts your internet traffic from your device to the VPN server making it considerably more difficult for anyone to spy on your activities.
When to Use a Proxy Server
An anonymous proxy is enough if your purpose is to hide your identity from your target websites. Proxy servers are also helpful in allowing you to bypass geo-blocking and online censorship.
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Proxies are also helpful in preventing search engines from logging your queries. Search engines use information from your search history to inundate your future query results with “relevant” advertisements.
If you think that you need more privacy and security than what anonymous proxies can give you, then you’ll be better off using a VPN or a Tor browser. While these tools offer better online privacy and security, read up on them to help you pick which tool works best for your online privacy and security requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions about anonymous streaming proxy
Does using a proxy make you anonymous?
No, just setting a proxy within your browser not make you anonymous. Your browser and flash is likely to have cookies that will identify you. If you wanted to be truly anonymous you would probably need to fire up a new browser from a livecd or in a VM, set the proxy, and then browse.
Are anonymous proxies bad?
An anonymous proxy is a poor tool choice if you want to hide your internet activities from prying eyes. For this purpose, you are better off using a VPN. This anonymity tool encrypts your internet traffic from your device to the VPN server making it considerably more difficult for anyone to spy on your activities.Jul 19, 2019
How do I make my proxy anonymous?
To enable the anonymous proxy service, go to Configuration > Objects > Applications > Anonymous Proxy. To enable the anonymous proxy traffic classification, go to Configuration > System > Setup > Monitoring.