Using proxy servers

Using a proxy server to change your IP address. This is one of the most popular and convenient methods of temporarily changing your IP address without losing access to your original IP. A proxy server is a server that lies somewhere in between your computer and the websites you visit. When your Internet traffic is routed through that server, websites only see the IP address of the proxy, and not you. This is more specifically referred to as an "anonymous proxy server". Most Internet browsers (including both Internet Explorer and Firefox) have panels where you can configure your Internet connect to be routed through proxy servers.

Finding proxy server settings:

There are many websites that distribute information on currently available proxy servers. Just do a google search for some keywords like "free proxy list" or "public proxy servers".

Once you find some settings, see the instructions below for configuring your browser to use them.

WARNINGS ABOUT PROXIES

• The first major inconvenience that you'll run into with these publicly available settings is that they are very unreliable and it's hard to find ones that support secure connections.
  
• Because many public proxies lack SSL (secure connection) capability, there is the potential for abuse by criminals who seek to steal passwords or other sensitive information passing over the proxy.
  
• There might some legal permission issues about using public proxies, as it is difficult to know whether the proxy is truly "public", or if it is just a server that a careless admin left open, or if the server is open due to a hack or virus.
  
• Given these issues, you may eventually want to consider subscribing to a service that offers private servers with SSL connections. An example is: http://www.iprivacytools.com