Proxy servers are considered to be:
  • "anonymous" if they hide details about your IP Address, and do not identify the fact that you are using a proxy server.
  • "transparent" if they pass details about your IP Address through to the connections they make.
  • "distorting" if they hide or change your IP Address, but they do identify the fact that you are using a proxy server to make your connection.
  • "open" if they accept connections from any IP Address, and make connections to any Internet resources or web sites.
  • "closed" if they require some sort of authentication (ie. ID and password) before allowing access, or only allow access to a pre-defined set of IP addresses.

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    Open proxy servers are sometimes setup with the intention of allowing anyone access to them. They are likely more often setup improperly or unintentionally left open, with the result being that they are closed to public access if/when the owner becomes aware of this fact. In some instances proxy servers are launched on computers that have been hijacked by a virus/worm/trojan, with the computer's owner not being aware of this. There are also "honeypot" proxy servers left open intentionally, so that someone can study the traffic that flows through it. The speed, reliability, and safety of proxy servers is thus always a question to anyone that wants to use one.

    iPrivacyTools offers an easy way to hide your IP Address, by adding a Toolbar to Internet Explorer, with a drop-down list of Proxy Servers in various countries. You can edit this list to change IP Addresses of Proxy Servers to your choosing.

    Featured Article from indymedia.org on Tor (an anonymizing Internet communication system) and Privoxy (a free, open source web proxy with privacy features): TOR and the Birth of Cypherspace

    According to wikipedia.org, a proxy server is "a computer that offers a computer network service to allow clients to make indirect network connections to other network services. A client connects to the proxy server, then requests a connection, file, or other resource available on a different server. The proxy provides the resource either by connecting to the specified server or by serving it from a cache. In some cases, the proxy may alter the client's request or the server's response for various purposes."