Free Proxy Sites

1) To keep you anonymous. Browsing anonymously is safe. Using a proxy to browse the web will reduce your risk of being infected with trojans, viruses, worms and other malicious scripts by putting an anonymous filter between you and the web site you are visiting.

2) Many websites restrict access based on your geographic location. Using a proxy will keep your location anonymous and will show you content that would otherwise not be shown to users in your geographic location.

3) To block undesired sites. If you search the web from your company's office, school or public library, you have probably already realized that many of the most popular web sites have been blocked. Web sites that have been blocked can include Myspace, Youtube, Facebook your favorite forum and even many entertainment/gossip sites. If you want to take back your web and once again regain full access to the internet, you will have to unblock web sites.

4) To bypass security/ parental controls. Many computers have employee or parental monitoring that restrict access to sites based on content.

5) To log / audit usage, i.e. to provide company employee Internet usage reporting.

6) To speed up access to resources (using caching). Web proxies are commonly used to cache web pages from a web server, storing a local copy of the data for quick access instead of having to retrieve the data each time from the server.

7) To scan transmitted content for malware before delivery.

8) To scan outbound content, e.g., for data leak protection.

This little map keeps me updated on the locations my visitors are from. Cool, right?