According to some reports, Microsoft Antivirus and Security products ( Microsoft Forefront and Microsoft Security Essentials) started to mark google.com as being a severe threat called Exploit:JS/Blacole.BW on Valentine’s day. A V-day gift for Google.

Surely, Microsoft quickly (4 hours) fixed the issue, and as usual, explained this is another technical issue.

Of course, I was not affected because I am using Avast!, one of the best free antivirus software. We used it for many years without major issues.

I just feel a bit sorry for those who are still using M$ antivirus or internet security software.  If you are using Windows (90% of our readers are still using it on the desktop), you need antivirus for safe surfing as explained in a previous post.

But you … Read the rest

The post Microsoft security update flags google.com as a severe, exploit-filled threat appeared first on Safe Surfing.

One of the major lists of new web proxies is proxy.org and unrestrictedsurf.com. Unfortunately, most of such list sites were blocked by some institutions totally. It means you even cannot access these sites at all.

There are several ways to solve this issue:

• Subscribe to the newsletter. Some list providers also send the latest proxy list through email. So, if you subscribe to such newsletters, you will get new lists from your email automatically, even you cannot access the list site itself. Unrestrictedsurf provides such emails through their Web Proxy List. (on the subscription page, you just select web proxy list

… Read the rest

The post Your proxy was blocked, so what? appeared first on Safe Surfing.

This is not true at all.

Firstly, the web proxy site still keeps a record of your activities. The logs usually can be used as court evidence. Basically, the server that hosts the web proxy sites, by default, will write some access info (usually, your IP, your OS, browser…) in the log file. It is up to the system administrator when to delete or how often to rotate (i.e., delete automatically after how many days) them.

Secondly, some client-side scripts (e.g,. JavaScript) may get your info. Most web proxy scripts (PHProxy, Glype) can re-write Java scripts to avoid information leakage, only to a certain extent. The deliberately-written scripts are hard to re-write. The only solution is to … Read the rest

The post How much can a web proxy protect your privacy? appeared first on Safe Surfing.

People are using web proxy mainly for the following 5 reasons:

• Bypass blocking. This blocking may be placed by your government, or your ISP, or your organization, or even your parents. The intention may be good if contents blocked are not suitable for your age or your religion. But some ISPs or organizations just subscribe to some third-party services and block sites blindly. To access such contents, the only way is to use a web proxy.  Arguing with your ISP to whitelist the blocked sites is usually just a waste of time.
• Surf anonymously. Netizens are more and more concerned about their privacy.  If an ad pops out telling you an event

… Read the rest

The post Top 5 reasons of using a web proxy appeared first on Safe Surfing.

This blog will be a platform for all our users. So, commenting is open for all users (registration is not needed).  We welcome your input on our service, and on any issues discussed in the blog.

If you have any suggestions on this blog and the free proxy service, please feel free to contact us.… Read the rest

The post TheProxyFree Blog is online, again appeared first on Safe Surfing.