Not everyone knows what anonymous surfing online is, or why you should do it. I found out a few years ago when I moved to China. I've since learned that not just people in China can make use of software to make your IP anonymous, and not just travelers can benefit from anonymous surfing software. There are a number of names, and just as many users for this kind of stuff. Here's the basics of what I'm talking about.

Change your IP in China and elsewhere

One term often associated with anonymous surfing is "change IP address". The IP address of your computer is like your home address. It shows where you're from, and can actually be used to find out a lot more than that. That's another story. The point here is that when you're in China, you have a Chinese IP. When you're in The US, you have an American IP. Where your IP address is from can change how the internet appears to you. For example, in China Facebook is blocked. In The US, downloading torrents could get you in trouble with the DMCA. Wouldn't it be cool if you could make your IP address look like it was from a different place? You can.

Unblock sites at work and school

Firewalls are great when they're protecting you. They suck when they block sites. On some networks, firewalls can block content. Sometimes fairly, like blocking Facebook at work, or porn at school. Sometimes unfairly - internet filters aren't always accurate and you may find that some sites are blocked for no apparent reason. Either way, by hiding your real IP address from firewalls, you can bypass them. It's like taking a detour around the wall to your desired destination.

Protect your privacy in public

It's shockingly easy to spy on people over public networks. I'm sure it doesn't happen all that often, but the point is that it does. If you're worried about your boss finding out what you're searching for (they can check that, even if it's a private laptop/phone) on your lunch break, or if you're sending private data over public wifi, you may want some extra security and privacy for these activities.

Conclusion

As you can see, not just expats looking to unblock Facebook in China can make use of anonymous surfing online. Other terms associated with this kind of software and activity would be: hide IP address, mask IP address, change IP address, anonymous surfing, anonymous browsing, private IP, virtual private network, proxy, and many others! You can search in search in Google for more information on this topic.