American Advantage Online

When a company or a person decides to have an online presence or other internet based project they will use a service called web hosting. This allows individuals and organizations to have their own website available on the internet which may be supplied as part of another package, free or through a fully paid service. The hosting company has a number of servers, or data centers, where each person is provided with varying amounts of space to store their digital media, including websites; others can then access these files (web pages for example).

Many types exist, some provide free hosting but with these types you pay the price of having restricted facilities that usually allow the likes of blogs, email and basic websites to be accessed. There are many limitations to free web hosting services and they are not generally regarded as an option for serious web users as the amount of storage space is limited along with many other functions a web user may require. Hosting packages vary enormously and do not rely purely on the storage capacity available so the decision should be made relative to your particular needs.

Initially, the majority of users decide on paying for a shared server with their hosting company.However, it is often a good idea to see if the company is reliable before this more costly option of a dedicated server is taken. You need to have a registered domain to have a web hosting package otherwise files, websites and other digital information cannot be stored or accessed. The term ‘file’ is a generic name for anything that is uploaded (the opposite of downloaded) to your website with the space allocated normally not less than one half of a full gigabyte but these figures are always increasing.

Of course when you actually have your own domain name combined with web hosting, you are able to have your own email address which uses the name of your domain and no-one else can use it. Many people take you more seriously if you have your own email address and not one supplied free by the myriad of other companies who have an online presence. The amount of data that is viewed on your site each time someone accesses it is called bandwidth; it is an extremely important aspect to consider and the main reason why buying the cheapest hosting package is not always best.

Problems will occur in the form of an inaccessible website if the bandwidth is exceeded so if the web host cannot provide the bandwidth you require you will need to use another company. If you only have a small site that does not have much on it then this probably won’t concern you but as soon as audio, video and hi-resolution images are incorporated, it becomes more of a concern. You may have your own web host in your PC, but that can be too risky; the best option is to settle for paid web hosting, even if you’re new to the internet.

Surfing the web can be dangerous affair-it could actually reveal your identity to the world even when you don’t want to! You do not even need to have a virus or a malware for this to happen. The reality remains that each time you get access to the internet, you reveal your critical data such as your place of origin, your browser history and your personal data that can get you into some serious troubles ahead. Want to know more? Well the situation will worsen if you’re using a computer that allows programs such as fingers and indents.

Amazed at how they actually got this information from you?

Information about you will be collected every time you visit a website.People who have malicious intentions will steal this data and start keeping track of your activities online.

Is there a way to prevent it?

First of all, it is possible to surf the web anonymously and thereby stopping a trail for others to find. These are not foolproof ways but they do bring some peace of mind knowing that you are doing something to overcome it. Proxy servers let you remain anonymous. The anonymous proxy server replaces your Internet address for its own. This will mask your internet address and uses its own in its place.

How do I get an anonymous proxy server? There are many vendors who sell anonymous proxy servers. There are free proxy services on the Internet. Two such products are ShadowSurf and Guardster. Try ShadowSurf, it is a free service. Access the site and enter a URL that you want to keep anonymous. Those are the most widely used tools to help you remain anonymous.

Another interesting product, given the recent news about the Google search engine filtering its findings for the Chinese government, is Anonymizer. What is interesting, this organization actually claims that they are currently developing a new application hat will let all Citizens of China to surf the Internet censor free.

Does an anonymous proxy server make you 100% safe? Unfortunately no, but it does offer some form of safety protection. Are there any other steps to consider when privacy becomes a concern? You can follow these there steps if you desire more safety and peace of mind when surfing the Internet. First, you can use an encrypted connection to hide your surfing. There is a lot of information on this technology, so do surf the web to find out more. Te second step is to delete cookies after every session. Sometimes you can remove JavaScript, Java, and active content to reduce the risk. This can be good, but it will hinder you from totally enjoying your web surfing experience so select wisely.