According to Babylon a proxy is power to act of behalf of another person. Which in the computer world a proxy is power to have your computer to act on behalf of another computer. Refer to the following picture...



You can find many free proxies just by doing a good google search or you can be lazy and use the one here... http://www.stayinvisible.com/index.pl/proxy_list


And btw, who here already uses them? And if you do, what programs do you use them for and do you like it?

Just so you know free proxies are illegal to use. People think that they are legal, but what you are actually doing is illegally using another companies resources due to a user exploiting their misconfiguration.

People who use proxies think that it is ok to use them because they are misconfigured, but in my eyes that like saying its ok to enter someone's house because they left the door open.

On the other hand, pay for proxy services, or public ones are legal to use.

So wait, someone could possiblity use my computer as a proxy without knowing about it? (without I knowing about it)?

In my litle understanding I wuth say YES JL

But couldn't I prevent that by running a firewall?

Another quick question... is a public proxy illegal? safe? good choice?

If you have a proxy server on your computer (whether via a malware or by choice) and it is installed/configured incorrectly to allow outside computers to use your computer as the proxy, then yes they could illegaly use it.

Public proxies that are not designed to be public are illegal to use. If a company is offering a public proxy, they will probably say it on their website or other service offering . On the other hand, those lists that are out there with free proxies..are generally misconfigured proxy servers that people illegaly use.

So basically to make sure I don't get sued or get into trouble I should buy a proxy?

Only get one if you need one. Personally I dont use one as I feel its not necessary