Why Use A Proxy?
Whenever you surf the internet your ip address is being logged by every website you visit. A simple check of web logs will show the ip address of everyone that visited a particular website. These logs can be kept for years, and can send a trace back to you! It's not a matter of just covering your tracks as most of us have nothing to hide, it's a matter of *privacy*. Your right to privacy is being compromised when browsing without a proxy.
Uses for Proxies
Proxies have many uses that are for legitimate reasons. They can be used to keep your online activities anonymous to keep your personal information secure. They can also be used to circumvent filters so that you can visit website's that would otherwise not be accessible to you. Popular uses for proxies are for visiting sites such as myspace.com and youtube.com as these sites are filtered by schools and businesses as they see them as disruptive to your productivity or learning but some studies have shown that people that have this "escape" in their daily grind perform better in the long run. Another reason that proxies have their uses is because some countries use filters for censoring purposes and as a strong believer in the freedom of information I encourage people from these countries to use proxies to access whatever they want.
Web-based Proxies
A web-based proxy is a service that allows you to bypass your own internet provider and browse using the proxy web-based website. All that you have to do is type the website address you would like to visit in the form they provide, and start browsing. Once you keep browsing using that form, you are protected and your *real* ip address is not being logged. There are many web based proxies to choose from. Start browsing using the featured selection.