Proxify

There are numerous online proxies out there that are free to use and offer a decent layer of security without any need of installing other software. These online proxies are most useful in getting in sites that are blocked by the ISP or site admin.

Proxify is one of those services that allow anonymous surfing and here we'll take a crash course and see if this service stands out amongst the others.

The design manages to be clean and google-like featuring a recognizable text box with all the common options set so users can start surfing anonymously immediately. The logo is a bit big, but the other site pages can be easily accessed using the simple navigation bar. Design-wise, it is good overall and anyone can start using the service immediately without reading too much.

After directing the proxy to whatismyip.com, tests show that Proxify really works and does use a different IP when the service is used. Logging into forums is disappointingly disabled in the free version.

In terms of speed, Proxify excels greatly over the competition. The page renders quickly without any page breaking and flash content loads well when scripting is enabled.

Users trying out the free services will be happy to know that there are no pop-ups being displayed as the service is being used. There are also no signs of annoying overlay banner ads and an absence of frames that minimize the browsing area. While there is the Proxify address bar and a single banner ad docked to the top of the browsing window, the bar isn't watermarked like some other online anonymous proxies so you can scroll down to hide it from view. One striking feature that does separate it from others is that the bar blends in with the site you are viewing so it doesn't look very intrusive.

The overall browsing experience is pretty good and should be manageable for people hoping to visit some sites anonymously.

Proxify offers some pretty nifty extra's that aren't seen in other competing services. There is a text mode option that allows surfers to view web pages anonymously without displaying any images. This is perfect for those who have slower connections and still wish to take advantage of the Proxify services. It would have been nice to disable more elements such as CSS to make the page load even faster. The only degrading thing is that the other features can only be used if a subscription is purchased.

This is where Proxify gets a beating because their free service is awful and severely crippled. Majority of the people who rely on anonymous browsers use it to access social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster. Unfortunately all of those sites require a paid subscription in order for them to be accessed using Proxify. The second most popular usage of being anonymous is for logging into forums that are blacklisted. However when a log in is attempted, a message asking for a subscription is demanded. In fact you won't be able to use Proxify for free if it involves any kind of web form usage.

If you had the money to invest for this, Proxify could truly be perfect. With no form of ads or anything getting in your way, you can browse safely and securely in all sites and enjoy even more extras like the ability to hex encode URL's. It promises to be even faster and grants you additional bandwidth for downloading big files anonymously. It is quite pricey at $40 for 6 months and could have been better if more plans were introduced.

Proxify isn't very good on its own due to the severe limitations, but paying for the subscription service can give you 6 months of the best and fastest online proxies available. This isn't good for people who want a quick glimpse and is more geared towards people looking for a constant anonymous solution.