Hide My IP

There are plenty of free online services that do the job, but cripple the functionality and speed of some sites and display annoying ads and pop-ups. There are also a few anonymizers out there that vary on functionality, user friendliness, and efficiency in keeping the user safe and anonymous. Hide My IP is one of these programs that aim to solve these problems.

Here is a full review of Hide My IP:

With just a small file-size, Hide My IP installs very quickly and is clever in detecting known virus scanners that may hinder the performance of the program. It has wide support covering all the NT supported operating systems all the way to Vista. The small file-size makes it great for placing in portable flash drives.

Hide My IP makes the interface surprisingly simple by putting all the needed options on the main window. There are only two buttons, one leading to the advanced settings and the other responsible for hiding the IP address. Even without changing any settings you can quickly start hiding the IP just by the click of a button. The IP changes in just a few seconds and conveniently displays it on the program window.

The system tray icon is a fine addition with a great right click menu allowing you to change the IP or copy the existing one on the fly.

It would have been a bit better if the font of the IP address is more readable and if the button for hiding the IP address was bigger and in the form of a graphic. Otherwise the user interface is great for any newbie user.

Hide My IP does exactly what the title says, it hides the IP without any complication. When the program is activated, popular IP services like whatismyip.com display the proxied IP instead of the actual one proving that the software really works. It has good support over plenty of browsers including the 4 popular browsers - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape and Opera.

There are 4 useful settings found right on the main program window that can greatly aid in the anonynimity of the user.

The first option is a setting that lets you change the IP at a specified interval to increase the security even more. While most people may not need this setting, it is still a welcome feature nevertheless and can be beneficial to those wanting some extra privacy. The cookies can also be optionally cleared whenever an IP change is made which can be great for getting into forums that you are banned in or signing up in unknown sites.

Those who want a US based IP address will be happy to see the option displayed as a checkbox. There are plenty of IP addresses being stored in the Hide My IP server including a good set of US ones.

What is a good IP program without an option to let it launch on system startup? Hide My IP implements this feature so that the IP can be hidden right away.

Hide My IP isn't very feature rich and would have been nice if it had a field where you can put your own discovered proxies, but the core features are all present and work very well.

There is a great high-speed premium service for just $7.00 a month that lets you use high-speed proxies with enhancements like 128-bit SSL encryption and firewall bypassing. The premium service is perfect for those who want to expand the program usage to e-mail clients and popular instant messenger clients.

The trial version allows only 1 anonymous IP to replace the current IP which isn't bad, but the software itself is heavily crippled allowing only 3 days of usage. On the upside, it is easy to activate by means of serial and costs just $29.95 to obtain a key.

Hide My IP isn't the most advanced solution, but it is a fully working anonymous solution that is lightweight and very easy to use. It contains all of the basic options and a couple of advanced options that you would expect from software of this nature, however it could be improved upon.