Using Website Proxies to Get what you Want
Have you ever found yourself wanting to update your Facebook status message in the middle of a busy day at work, but can’t because the website is blocked? Or how about after learning that your friend just uploaded those highly-coveted photos of your night out the previous day, you want to see them right away, but are unable to do so because you’re hopelessly restricted at the office? Well, fret no more: you can use a Proxy website to get what you want.
What is a proxy?
The word “proxy”, by dictionary definition, is “the function or power of somebody authorized to act for another person”. When you want something done but do not want to do it yourself, you need a proxy. Basically, that’s the same principle with proxy websites. When you’re using proxy, you’re actually asking it to do things for you – opening websites.
What difference does it make?
First, using a proxy hides you from your intended destination – because the proxy fetches the web pages, you are hidden in the process. Your “destination”, the website you are viewing, has no way of knowing that it’s actually you who are requesting the information because it sees the proxy. This eliminates the possibility of that website getting a hold of your personally identifiable information, such as your IP address. Second, it hides you from yourself – that is, your network or your internet service provider. Both will have no way of knowing what web pages you are opening because they see the proxy.
Where can I find them?
Because proxy sites can open other blocked sites, they are often blocked themselves. There are many ways to find unblocked proxies. First, you can do is a quick google search on the keyword “proxy” or websites that provide lists of proxies, such as proxy.org. This will show you the most popular proxies online. The downside is, that since they are popular, your company’s IT department may have already blocked the proxy sites themselves. There’s a plethora of proxy sites for you to try out. However, the downside is the same as above. One last option, which is the most recommended, is just to keep your ears open. Ask your friends or co-workers, “what are good, unblocked proxies?” This method usually works because the knowledge is regarded as a secret – nobody among you will share it to the management or IT department, hence it will not be blocked.
How do I use them?
A proxy website usually consists of one text box – this is where you type in the website that you want to open. Just click “Go” or hit Enter after typing the URL. Aside from the text box, there are also a couple of checkboxes, which control the behavior of the proxy. Two of the most common and useful check boxes are: Encode URL and Encode Page. The first one is useful to ensure that none of the words in the URL of the website you are opening can be read. For example, the text “google.com” will appear instead as a random string of characters, such as “vswe1koo29fhalcba3nr73ncqcn”. The second checkbox does the same thing but to the actual contents of the page. These two are important to ensure that the content filters set up by your IT department cannot detect key words that will trigger the blocking of the websites you are trying to visit.
What are the risks?
Website proxies are great, but they can also provide great risks to the user. Though the website you’re visiting through a proxy cannot see you, the proxy itself can. Your IP address and other information are visible to the proxy. Proxies must never be used when you have to deal with confidential information online.
Now you can finally see those photos that you wanted to see, or watch YouTube clips when you want to relax for a while during a hard day of working at the office – thanks to proxies. With a little patience in finding good proxies and knowledge in using them, you can always get what you want out of the web.
The Increase in the Popularity of Web Blogging in the Internet
A web blog is a specific type of web site that is popularly increasing in today’s recent times. It is maintained by what we call a web blogger. Found in the web blogs are numerous entries of comments, updates about certain popular events that are coming up, videos, pictures, and a vast number of advertisements. Indeed it has gained a lot of buzz and hype, especially in the online community. With regards to type, it has a lot to offer most especially to all web bloggers out there in different parts of the world. So, what makes web blogging become so popular nowadays? How did it originate? Who was the one who invented the word blog anyway? What makes it unique from other forms of online socialization? What is its impact in today’s society? How did the youth respond to the emergence of web blogging? And lastly, is web blogging a healthy online activity in the sense that parents would allow their children to blog even with less parental supervision? These types of questions are arising because web blogging is becoming so popular today it has even reached the ears of the government and of the wide array of people living all around the world. As the discussion progresses, these questions will be given answers and will erase any shadow of doubt with regards to anything that is related to web blogging.
The terminologies used in web blogging are quite colloquial. The term blog was actually invented by Peter Merholz. It does not only refer to the web site wherein you actually put in your entries, it also means the act of putting in the entries that you have come up with. In simpler terms, the word blog may be used as a verb or as a noun depending on how it is used. With regards to the colorful history and the birth of web blog, it has actually evolved from the online diary. Because of that, web blogging became what it is today, a worldwide craze and sensation.
It has been noted earlier that web blogging has numerous types. Its type depends on what inputs or contents found in the web site and the manner in which the inputs or contents are expressed in the web site. One of the types of web blogging is personal blogs. Personal blogs are probably the most common type of web blogging. Personal web bloggers post their blogs immaterial of whether someone in the internet will read them or not. They post about their experiences about life in general, their points of view about politics, and pretty much everything within the realm of their interests. The most important thing to remember about personal blogs is that it is based on the preference of the web blogger. It is the web blogger’s expression of his or her feelings through shout-outs and commentaries found in the web site. Another type of web blogging is classified in terms of the genre. It may be focused on politics, tourism, sports, music, fashion, and many more. Web blogs are also classified in terms of what electronic device is used as a medium in the composition of web blogs and in terms of the type of media used in the web site. It may be with the usage of videos, pictures, and many more.
Web blogging is, in fact, unique in its own right because an individual can make his comments and opinions be read by the millions of people in the world. It is like making a diary and making it an open book to the public. Its impact to the society and most of all to the youth is very significant. The youth is now using web blogs to express their feelings and socialize to other people. Hence, it has somehow created a sort of change into their lifestyle. Web blogs are also generally healthy since it promotes the generation of ideas and expression of points of view. Therefore, it only requires less parental supervision even in the case of children. Everyone will surely agree that it is a lot better than allowing your children to just play video games all day. Web blogs are actually a good source of recent news because you now how news easily spreads in the society. As a generalization, web blogs are not only gaining popularity in the internet, it has also made an impact to the society.