Every time you spend some pleasurable moments surfing the web, you are actually exposing your own data to the rest of the world. This can occur when you are least aware of and does not require a virus or malware. Specifically information that is easily available online includes your IP address, your country (and often more location information based on IP address), what computer system you are on, what browser you use, your browser history, and other information. There is more; should your computer be able to support programs such as fingers or indents, the situation can get worse because they can now get hold of your name and other data you really could not afford to reveal.

Just how do they get all these information?

It is easy; every time you visit a website, some data will be collected and stored and every visit to a website actually reveals some form of data about you.Others will intercept this data and use to track your activities.

How do you prevent it?

It can be very relaxing feeling to know that there is a way to surf the web anonymously. None of the recommended ways are totally foolproof but they do offer some form of protection. This is when anonymous proxy servers come to the rescue. Proxy server replaces your IP. This has the effect of masking your IP address and making it much harder for people to track you.

Where exactly do we get these proxy serves? You can purchase a proxy server form vendor. You can also use free proxy services available. Two such products are ShadowSurf and Guardster. One service you can use at no charge is ShadowSurf. There is box where you can enter the URL you want to keep anonymous. There are many others, but here are two that are frequently used.

There is an interesting development pertaining to news about Google filtering its contents for the Chinese government. This company states that it is developing a new anti censorship that allows the Chinese to access to entire contents of the Internet totally free from filters.

Does an anonymous proxy server make you 100% safe? Unfortunately no, but it does offer some form of safety protection. What are other steps to take to ensure a safer surfing adventure? These are steps you can take to make sure you are protected. The first step to take is to use an encrypted connection to hide your activity. You can gain more information, by surfing the web. Make it a habit to delete all cookies after every session. The next thing you can choose to do is to remove all JavaScript, Java, and other active contents such as ActiveX and even interactive Flash applications. This can be good, but it will hinder you from totally enjoying your web surfing experience so select wisely.