There are quite a few problems with using a web proxy. One big problem that you’ll come across is many of them are littered with ads, especially full screen banners and popup ads that make the browsing experience difficult and annoying. Another difficulty is that some of them have self-signed certificates which make it almost impossible to visit a new webpage. Also, if you use a proxy server that is based in a region that uses a different language than you, you might find yourself faced with problems when trying to use the web, since results come up for that area, and in that language, rather than your own.
Another major problem that some experience is that the proxy servers are blocked by their corporation or educational institution. If you are trying to tunnel using a proxy server to access sites that are blocked by your internet policies then you may find yourself switching proxy servers a lot as more and more proxy sites are added to the block list. While it is true that new proxy servers are added and listed on the internet daily, it can be difficult to find servers that don’t have a large number of popup ads and are able to be used for browsing.
Yet another problem with proxy servers, at least for people who are concerned about families, or system administrators seeing where they visited on the web, is that the sites visited still exist in the browser’s history. This can easily be deleted on most machines, but there are some companies and schools that don’t permit computer users to delete the browsing history and therefore the sites that you visit will show up. On some, the site’s name may be in the URL visited, or it may be coded, but some coded URLs will still show the webpage favicon and name in the history.
Do Proxy Servers Really Protect My Freedom?
The short answer to this question is yes, they do protect your freedom. However, there are some things that you should be aware of when using a proxy server, so that you are as well protected as possible. For one, your browser history will hold the proxy server name and any URLs that you visited within it, which may even include the site name, in your history unless you delete it. Also, you cannot do everything with a proxy that you may be able to do with your regular computer, such as watching YouTube videos.
There are other disadvantages as well. With anonymous proxies, all data has to pass through the server without encryption, which means that if you are sending sensitive data while using a proxy server, then you may be at risk of someone being able to access it. Also, proxy servers are often slower than using your computer itself, which can be inconvenient and if you are using a proxy server at a school or other institution they may find out and block the server from being used, which may cost you your computer privileges, or at the very least, force you to find another proxy server.
Does the Government Watch People Using Proxies More Closely?
Normally, governments do watch proxy servers closely, as they are something that criminals and terrorists use to access information on the web. However, an ordinary person that is simply accessing material that is blocked by their school or company does not usually arouse the governments suspicions. Some people believe that proxy servers are an effective method of keeping government officials from finding out what they are doing, but this is generally not true, as even with the most effective encryption methods, the top level IT specialists working for the government can easily crack.
Generally, internet monitoring and email watching by the government is done by seeking out certain words or phrases that may be linked to terrorist activity. However, since this level of security is not accessible by the general government it is not clear exactly how much the government sees or does not see when monitoring email communications and web searches. However, the fact is, that if you are doing nothing more than trying to watch YouTube videos from work or from your school, you are probably not in danger of being flagged for watching.
