So you heard about Netizens surfing the world wide web anonymously via their browsers? This article, albeit brief, will highlight conditions on what is truly anonymous surfing and what is not. In addition, it shall overview the risks in using "anonymous" proxies. In closing some links will be provided.

What is anonymous surfing? How can one hide their IP Address?

Each device connected to the Internet has a unique IP Address. Where ever you as the user tells the device to go, your IP address is left in logs all around the Internet. Your IP address is shown in the logs at your ISP, at the routers where your requests hop thru, and finally the destination where your request gets executed.

Its hard to be truly anonymous on the Internet because your IP address is left in logs over many servers. Most of these however roll over their logs in a matter of hours or days. This means usually your information doesn't stay in the logs for very long. But some servers do backup their log files for lawful purposes.

Ok, so you aren't concerned with the in-between routers/servers that log your IP address, all you want to do is simply hide it from the destination web site. This is where "anonymous surfing" comes in for web browsing (and really what this article is focusing on in plain english).

When one sends a request to visit a web site, your IP address is packed into a special header. As this header is transferred from server to server and router to router, the header may pick up another special variable containing yet again, your IP address.

At this time, the header you originally created by the time it reaches its destination containing your request to view a web page, may have what is called the "REMOTE_ADDR" and "HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR" variables. Both would contain your true IP Address, and the web site you wish to see can potentially log both entries.

"HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR" is a special variable inserted into the header you created from using services such as proxy servers. This lets the destination server know that you are the original requester and all information should be routed back to you personally.

Not all "anonymous" proxy servers actually hide your true IP address. There are only a handful that take both the "HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR" and "REMOTE_ADDR" entries and replace your IP address with its own. This means that the destination servers see the request as coming from the proxy server and never sees your IP address. Hence, all requests are sent back from the destination server to the anon proxy server. Thankfully, the anon proxy server keeps information as to who originally requested the web page, and sends it back correctly to you without ever revealing the original request came from you.

But here is the trick of it all. Some of these proxy servers may be unknownighly running without the persmission of the servers owner. Others may be setup by bad folks who sniff every request you send to obtain private information. So even though you may be "protecting" your personal surfing habits and information from the destination web page, you may be unwittingly giving it all to the owners of the anon proxy server for malicious abuse.

This will take detective work on your part to determine who is legitimate and who isn't. And you also need to determine if you are allowed to use the server at all.

You can start by going to such websites as:

1. Multiproxy,
2. Anonymizer

To check if your IP address is truly "hidden" from the destination web site, you can use our special tool called Reveal your IP. It looks for the two fields in the header your system creates and sends.

So what are "transparent" and "anonymous" proxy servers?

A transparent saves your real IP in the HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR section of the special header your system creates. A truly anonymous proxy doesn't send your IP address to the destination at all.