Your IP address is like a virtual nametag you wear everywhere you go online. It shows your location, and for the Internet-savvy, can show browsing history and even, (harrowing enough) can give access to your hard drive. As you can see, an IP address isn’t something that just anyone should get a hold of and see. The reasons are numerous and obvious, but here are some major ones why people change their IP address.

1) Bypass IP Bans:
If you have ever logged onto a site in which there are usernames and a forum system where people can put up topics and others comment, you will know they are moderated. These moderators have the power to ban users if they have violated the rules, and sometimes do unjustly; they are only human. They most often block via IP, so every time you log onto the site with your IP address (your nametag; it never changes) they see that it’s you, and reject your access. If you changed your IP address however , through use of an IP changer, you would be allowed to roam and post once more.

2) Conceal Your Location:
As was mentioned before, these IP addresses contain your location, meaning you can be tracked through them. Understandably so, some people are afraid of someone intercepting their Internet activity and possibly finding out where they are from it. Everyone has heard the horror stories of the kids communicating with a stranger online and then getting paid an unexpected visit, but the truth is, they don’t even have to be told the location; it’s right in front of them.

It turns out that a security update done over FireFox and Google Chrome can actually hurt your privacy rather than enhance it. The software hopes to delete all cookies that are trying to be put on your computer and clear cache at the end of every browsing session. This will stop you from being tracked via cookies, and having an indelible source of your browsing history from the cache service, both of which could compromise your privacy.

Once the product was tested however, it seems that it was only detrimental on one’s privacy settings. The privacy product that was supposed to only stop collecting cookies and other identifying bits of data, but according to some tester’s studies, it actually collects MORE of that data!

Through empirical studies, the researchers have found that the software actually stores identifying information like passwords, log-in names, and browsing histories in the central data base of your computer, the hard drive.

The Internet is meant to be a totally free place; void of any censorship or blocks. The most frustrating thing a surfer can encounter is not a random shutdown, or slow loading times; it is being blocked.

IP blocking can happen in a number of ways. On sites that use a username and password system, your IP address is recorded every time you are logged on. After you log on so many times to the site, they establish the IP that is your “home” address, which is basically the one you use the most. Let’s say while going onto the forum part of the site, you say something that the moderators did not like, and you were banned. This is often done so by identifying your “home” IP address, and every time you log on using it, rejecting you. These bans are often subjective and sometimes biased against you. You can easily get around them by using an IP changer. The system does just as its name implies; it changes your IP. The sites block your home IP and not your username usually, so by changing your IP, you should be allowed back on. This is very useful when you need to use the site and the ban was completely unmerited.

The Australian government recently just finished preliminary testing of a new Internet censoring software, that would limit access to limit age-appropriate content for users. They feel that a big problem today is that people are lying about their age online to get into age-restricted sites. Even games with violence or language in them will be blocked! Instead of bothering with teaching these kids not to do this or instating harsher laws, they just decided to restrict everyone from these sites.

This is previously unheard of, and privacy advocates are having quite a fit over it. It is one thing when an authoritarian nation like China or a turmoil stricken nation like Iran has these massive government censoring acts, but Australia is perfectly democratic and peaceful. Some worry it could be a catalyst for other democratic nations to follow suit.

Nine ISPs ran this trial censoring software on their users, but only those who opted in, and reportedly that was only a handful. Out of the people tested, feedback was positive. They say the system blocked everything it should have, and only a couple had minor complaints.

Anyone who is a music fan or Internet user knows all about the battle the Internet is waging over copyright laws. There are people online who set up peer-to-peer sharing programs that allow users to download each other’s content for free. The catch is that this content is often copyrighted, and not up for sharing amongst many people with the proper company given credit and paid. These Internet user try and take off the virtual price tags so the songs, movies, and just media in general can be downloaded and enjoyed for free by the masses.

While this may seem great for the public who are getting all sorts of media and other things for free, the companies that are unknowingly supplying the media are not as overjoyed. Views have been inharmonious; the public loves free things and the companies want money for their productions.

In the “Information Generation”, the zeitgeist and buzzword of today Internet security and privacy; how do I browse anonymously online? While many people are concerned with the matter of privacy, it turns out most people do nothing about it, or what they do is not nearly enough.

It is a scary world these days. British magazines “The Sun” and “The News of the World” were recently accused of doing the unheard of, even for the “gutter press”; they allegedly tapped celebrities phones to find out what they were up to in order to check up on them and have more things to report about. Seems like Orwell is turning in his grave right now. This was a wake-up for the public: while celebrities are famous, they are just people, and if this could happen to them, it could happen to us!

This scandal followed a recent one, although the latter was not the fault of the press. Photographs, personal information, and even pictures of family of Sir John Sawers, Britain’s soon to be chief spy, surfaced in many gossip magazines after his wife posted them on FaceBook. Obviously, his cover was compromised by an entire nation of peeping eyes.

Right now the world is in a state of change; a metamorphosis if you will. Just as the ugly caterpillar crawls into its cocoon and emerges as a majestic butterfly, the business world is in a transition.  Right now, the economy has taken a turn for the worst, and is scaring even the highest echelons of society. Globalization has always helped spur the economy back to health by expanding business into other regions, but it is not easy. Different countries have different rules and regulations than does the U.S., and sometimes these fall into conflict.

Privacy laws are a prime example. In the U.S., privacy laws are stringent for the public, and many services are available to bolster your defenses even more. In other, less-than-democratic countries, the words “private proxy” or “anonymous IP changer” probably aren’t even in the local vernacular. One specific paragon of this would be online banking. In America, no expense is spared to ensure digital privacy. Everything you can think of; encryption, anti-identity theft, and the use of secure tunnels makes all transactions virtually impenetrable. In other countries, proxies and other privacy software are frowned upon and oftentimes blocked by the government. These places, in their attempts to delete all of their citizen’s privacy so they can be more easily monitored, actually place them at higher risk for online crimes.

In today’s world, the Internet is involved in all aspects of life. Whether it be school, social, or work, you are sure there is some sort of computer involvement. People talk on MySpace more than they meet in person, research reports online more than in libraries, and many Americans can make a fortune working from home on the computer. While this seems all good and dandy, the Internet can be a dangerous place also, but not if you remain anonymous. Every danger you would encounter on the Internet is contingent on the fact that the person who is going to do something bad to you has located you and knows who you are.

This is usually done by identifying one’s IP address. The IP address contains a list of browsing history, and often, one’s location. Sometimes, for a skilled hacker, the IP can be a portal to access the mother load of information; the hard drive. You would think the finding someone’s IP address would take N.S.A. level hacking skills, but it doesn’t; in fact, the IP address is totally public. This means that any Internet surfer can find your IP address, and just by copying and pasting it into Google, can the location of your home. Then all they would have to do is use MapQuest and they would be on their way!

Every mother and father can relate to the concern you feel for your child whenever they do something potentially dangerous. Some parents bubble-wrap their kids on their first bike rides so that when they fall, they simply create a bunch of noisy popping noises, rather than a sizable bruise. Any parent with a child involved in sports can also relate with this fear; are they going to be safe? Imagine your youngest son is going to play tackle football for the first time, and you look around and see the other kids seem to be a bit bigger than him. So you buy him a super-padded helmet, a tight pair of cleats, and a bunch of shoulder padding to make sure he isn’t hurt on a tackle. When he goes out to play, you watch nervously from the sidelines, and watch him like a hawk. While football is inherently a violent sport, gymnastics is not. Imagine your youngest daughter up on the balance beam, about to do a back flip, but looks like she is about to fall. Bells and instinctual alarms are going off in your head; “I have to help her!” You are to late, she jumps and…. Perfect landing. The judges hold up 9, 10, 9, 10. “Nine!” you think. What was he thinking?

While these are all things that every parent worries over, possible their biggest worry is the one they know the least; the Internet. The Internet is overall an incredible and helpful tool. Ten years ago, when a child was assigned a book report on Shakespeare, they had to travel down to their local library and scuttle up and down the aisles looking for the specific book they needed, and maybe even ask the feared austere librarian. Nowadays, lackadaisical high school students can hit their power buttons, do a quick Google search, misspell “Shakespeer”, click the “Did you mean Shakespeare?” box, and be on their way to the rest of their report. Sometimes, there are sites out there that offer to write reports for you for a minimal fee. Everything can be done online these days; some people don’t even leave their house to get their groceries, they just log on, order online, and have them delivered! The Internet isn’t all fun and games though.

You have seen the evidence all around you; friends telling you about phishing e-mail scams, credit card fraud, or perhaps you have experienced it yourself. Everyone has seen the CitiBank advertisements portraying two elderly woman identity theft victims as the two rough talkin’, dirt bike boys who stole their identities. The zeitgeist of today is being protected online, as all of these identity and fraud worries come from careless online travel. The Internet is a wonderful place and a great resource, but criminals lurk here and attack blissful individuals. They don’t go for the ones who are protected because they know they can’t get them, so why not become protected today?

As people have become more aware of their online activities and made strides to protect themselves, the criminals have followed suit. Although criminals are often pegged as uneducated and ignorant, they certainly have to watch what their prey does and match or out-match it. Many people flock to a free web-based IP changer to remain anonymous and surf privately. While they have noble intentions, sometimes they are making a grave mistake.