If you are looking for an alternative to VPN, because maybe you want to hide your tracks, not do anything naughty, then a good solution is Jon Donym.
It's a Java client that you download first of all and install. Yes, Java is totally insecure for the web and you must have it turned off. However, the core program of Jon Donym is totally safe as it is not internet facing. You install this first, and then later you install a portable version of Firefox. It's important you use the portable version of Firefox, otherwise it might interfere with your main FF install (if you use one).
Once installed, you then have to fire up the browser. You have a choice of locations from across the world. Jon Donym is basically a proxy. But a proxy with a difference. It works on the principle of 'mixes' and that means it goes through several proxies before it reaches its end point.
All of this is free, but if you want extra security on top, you have to pay for extra servers and bandwidth. It is pretty excellent what you get for free. It doesn't work on all sites as the IP tables are logged (not always). Again, it's a nice free alternative that does what you want, as long as what you want is nothing too nefarious.
Sometimes going through a VPN is just too much hassle. Jon Donym is not a VPN. Not strictly a proxy, either.
Just suggesting it as an alternative. Very often the average user won't need a VPN, just some way of remaining part of the crowd and getting in somewhere without being noticed. Again, not to be used by anyone doing anything bad, especially if they don't want to get caught.
Another tool. Another use. If you don't know it, download it, learn from it. The test pages it gives will teach you more about anonymity and proxy servers than any university course, and it is free.
All this information is strictly for those of us that wish to just browse unhindered and not be tracked. The minute you log in and give any credentials, you might as well put a big sign on your head.
It's a Java client that you download first of all and install. Yes, Java is totally insecure for the web and you must have it turned off. However, the core program of Jon Donym is totally safe as it is not internet facing. You install this first, and then later you install a portable version of Firefox. It's important you use the portable version of Firefox, otherwise it might interfere with your main FF install (if you use one).
Once installed, you then have to fire up the browser. You have a choice of locations from across the world. Jon Donym is basically a proxy. But a proxy with a difference. It works on the principle of 'mixes' and that means it goes through several proxies before it reaches its end point.
All of this is free, but if you want extra security on top, you have to pay for extra servers and bandwidth. It is pretty excellent what you get for free. It doesn't work on all sites as the IP tables are logged (not always). Again, it's a nice free alternative that does what you want, as long as what you want is nothing too nefarious.
Sometimes going through a VPN is just too much hassle. Jon Donym is not a VPN. Not strictly a proxy, either.
Just suggesting it as an alternative. Very often the average user won't need a VPN, just some way of remaining part of the crowd and getting in somewhere without being noticed. Again, not to be used by anyone doing anything bad, especially if they don't want to get caught.
Another tool. Another use. If you don't know it, download it, learn from it. The test pages it gives will teach you more about anonymity and proxy servers than any university course, and it is free.
All this information is strictly for those of us that wish to just browse unhindered and not be tracked. The minute you log in and give any credentials, you might as well put a big sign on your head.