What is Proxy Software and why would I use it?
Proxy Software can be more effective than free, open, web proxy sites.
In order to use the software you will need to have the option of installing and configuring the software which is not always possible. The majority of the time people tend to need to browse through a proxy is while they are away from home and when software is not an option.
If you are looking for a proxy solution for your home PC or a Notebook and have the option to install the software then Proxy Software is a very good solution for you.
In general, using Proxy Software to cloak your IP address with a different IP is more effective than using a Web Proxy. The compatibility issues you may have with some websites while using a Web Proxy are usually not an issue when using good software.
You may also find that using software will load content much faster than a web proxy. Online Proxy Sites can become really slow if a lot of people are trying to use the site at the same time and the server it’s hosted on is unable to handle it.
There is free proxy software as well as paid proxy software. I will list some good options a little further down.
Proxy Software is only as good as the proxy you use.
Many free proxies can be found but most of them are extremely unreliable. They could work one minute and not the next. They can be fast or unusably slow. You will need to constantly be looking for new ones if you want to use only free ones.
If you would like to avoid the hassle and have a more reliable solution then you can pay for Premium Proxies or sometimes also called Private Proxies.
These proxies are usually assigned to only you or a small amount of users and only the people that are authorized to use them are able to. Once you are assigned a proxy or small list of proxies they usually don’t change. One Premium Proxy is all most users will need.
These proxies are reliable and fast and usually well worth the money (A few dollars a month on average.) depending on your situation and how important these things are to you.
Best Proxy Software
- Foxy Proxy – http://getfoxyproxy.org
Foxy Proxy is a free firefox add-on that makes it really easy to browse through a proxy. You will still need to have your own proxies and insert them into the add-on in order to use it.
- LockFox – http://www.lockfox.com
LockFox is a very simple and interesting idea. It is also firefox based and can be used in two ways. Their Portable Browser based on firefox that automatically makes your browsing secure. Or you can use the firefox addon.
It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
- Anonymizer – http://www.anonymizer.com
Anonymizer is a very good paid proxy solution. Your connection will be very fast, reliable and secure and you’ll have support for the product since you’re a paying customer.