Posted on September 01, 2009 by ProProxier

What are Public Proxies?

In a nutshell, public proxies are special websites that provide so-called “Proxy” function. You can treat “Proxy” as an agent or middleman of your Internet access. It sends the requests to the end server for you and passes the results back to you.

For more details, you can visit What is Proxy.

Why Proxy?

Why do you need a proxy as a middleman? Why don’t you visit a website directly? There are many reasons, such as:

• Bypass firewall to access blocked websites.
• Make your IP address invisible to end server.
• Reduce the waiting time of accessing certain websites.

To find out more, you can take a look at Why Should You Bother About Proxy.

Why Public Proxies?

Traditionally, to get a proxy service, you have to install a software or adjust your browser settings. It might take you anywhere from half an hour to half a day. And the pain is, once your computer changes, you have to redo it from scratch.

On the contrary, public proxies offer you an easiest way to use proxy. No installation, no configuration, you simply visit a web proxy (e.g. 2UnblockSites.com), type the site URL you want (e.g. Facebook.com) in its address form, and click a button. Everything is done!

Do You Need to Pay for Public Proxies?

The good news is many of public proxies are actually free to use. But you may expect to see some ad banners (or Pop-ups) because those provide proxy owners some revenue to continually offer free proxy service.

On the other side, there are some so-called premium public proxies (e.g. Proxify.com). Usually you need to pay a membership fee. In return, you would see fewer or no advertisements and experience faster service.

Where to Find Free Public Proxies?

There are many places you can get a list of free public proxy servers, for example:

• Proxy.org
• Tech-Faq.com
• Proxy Online Groups
• Proxy Topsites
• Search Engines

For details, you can visit How to Get Free Public Proxy Servers List.

Are Public Proxies Safe to Use?

It depends. Just like any other websites on Internet, public proxies may bring issues such as spyware, virus, or identification loss. To reduce the risks, you may want to:

• Only use the ones with complete Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimer.
• Ignore sites with ugly layout, excessive ads, and distracting contents.
• Avoid proxies from certain countries infamous for Internet crimes.

In fact, the safest way to use public proxies is to use you own proxy site.

How to Build Your Own Internet Proxy Server?

It is actually very simple to do. You just need:

1. Free Proxy Script
2. Domain Name
3. Proxy Hosting

You can follow my step-by-step tutorial on How to Create You Own Web Proxy Site.

Can You Make Money from Public Proxies?

Yes! Proxy is actually a big industry on Internet. As an experienced proxy business owner (Pro Proxier), you may expect to earn $500-$3,000/month. To find out more, you can check out Your Road Map to Successful Proxy Business.

To find out more about proxy business, especially about how to become a Pro Proxier and make money, you can sign up for my newsletter here.