I have never put all of my faith in the Internet service providers I have used over the years. They can monitor my browsing habits at any given time; they can easily hand over my access logs to the authorities or, even worse, marketers; and there is also the possibility of their servers being hacked, or a data leak occurring, both of which have happened to major ISPs in the past. I have also never trusted open wireless access points that have popped up in cafes, restaurants and other public places. Identity thieves can snoop in on your wireless traffic and steal your information at any time since it is not encrypted.

So, what did I do? I tried out a number of anonymous browsing services. A simple Google search will turn up hundreds of free anonymous proxies around the Internet that offer make your Internet traffic anonymous to your ISP and to wireless snoops. These services let you bypass your service provider’s servers and access webpages through their servers. Not only does this hide your browsing history from potential snoops, it also opens up websites that are blocked from your physical location. For example, if your workplace blocks social networking sites and you have an itch to connect to your friends in the middle of the day; these are the sites you want to be best friends with. However, there is a catch: many of these proxies contain spyware and might be unsafe to use if you consider your computer’s security. They also do not protect your computer from wireless snoops, as traffic is still unencrypted.

I craved more security and needed to shield myself when I logged on using wireless hotspots. To fulfill that void, many VPN providers have popped up. These services let you setup an encrypted virtual private network with their servers, tunneling your Internet traffic through a secured connection through their servers. The security of VPNs is almost military level and you can be rest assured that your ISP, or anyone else for that matter, is unable to view your browsing, chatting or other network activities.

IP address plays an important role in online security. Many hackers and scammers can track you down and get their hands on your information using your IP address. In fact, you can be traced to your physical location using only your Internet Protocol address. Websites such as social networks, email providers and shopping websites also track you by your IP, so if it falls into the hands of hackers then it will be extremely easy for them to steal your data; it also gives them the ability to attach spyware to your files without you knowing about it.

This is a major reason why you should change your IP to keep hackers from tracking you down. Proxy servers and VPNs will also help mask your IP and keep you secure. Using the Internet has become a daily activity for us, so it is essential that we protect ourselves before anything bad happens.