Using a Proxy Server for an Anonymous IP

[ZGemstone]

Anyone use them? Trying to gather some information. How I understand it is, you don't connect directly to the internet, instead you go through a proxy server which then accesses the area on the web that you're trying to reach. The proxy server then relays the information back to your client machine. So...when you access a place on the internet, they see the IP address of that proxy server, not your internal IP.

Are these things reliable and is it a good way to hide your IP address? What proxy server(s) do you use? How often can you (or can you at all) change the IP address that the proxy server is using for you? For instance, if the proxy server I'm using is using a specific IP for me, can I change that IP to something else whenever I want? Do they change them automatically after a certain amount of time has passed? Or I am totally off base?

[Hulkein]

http://megaproxy.com
http://anonymizer.com
http://guardster.com
http://nonymouse.com

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Those links were given at another forum I go to, when someone asked the same thing. I personally looked at the first one. You type in the url you want in their website, and what happens is the proxie website visits the destination and shows you the info.. Just take note of the URL when you're using the first one and you'll see what I mean.

[ZGemstone]

Thanks for the links Hulkein, I think I'm starting to get it. So to use one of these, I actually need to browse to their website and access the URL I'm trying to get to through a form on the proxy server's site?

What about areas of the internet that I'm not using a browser to access, like telnetting? Actually GemStone would be one of these examples. Would my IP be visible to them?

[Hulkein]

I have no idea I just copied them from a post in a different forum.

[ZGemstone]

Thanks again Hulkein.

Any of you IT gurus know anything about this?