Internet's power is well-known among all sorts of users. It is the permanently changing, continuously improving, largest information database on Earth. Regardless of what you need you will most definitely find it on the Web. The Internet is a gi-normous resource of knowledge and can provide you with the right indications whether it is about preparing the most romantic dinner (no microwave heating involved), building a small bomb (yes, there is information on this, too) or details about the latest groundbreaking technology. It is all there, stored on millions of servers across the globe in almost all the languages on Earth.

However, if you do not take the necessary precautions when surfing the Internet you can end up with an empty bank account or stolen identity. The IP address of your computer shows its geographical address to anyone with little to no effort at all. Suffice to find an IP locator that can accurately trace your IP's address and a skilled hacker can steal all your personal information.

The advantages of hiding your IP on the web are numerous, starting with avoiding the above mentioned situation and ending with staying anonymous and spoil all attempts of tracking your browsing habits.

The Privacy Guard provides the means for stealth browsing without anyone tracking your real IP address for malicious purposes. The application will automatically set your web browser's proxy to show an IP from their database. You should know that the software supports only Firefox and IE browsers. This way your IP will become invisible and your system will benefit from more protection during online surfing.

All the protection ensured by The Privacy Guard comes with a one-time fee of $14.95 and a free test period of 3 days (FAQ page of the application also specifies a limit of 20 proxy changes). All the functions of the software are active and ready for a full testing. During the three days of testing you will find the software easy to use and configure and quite handy, although there are some mischiefs to be taken care of.

Installation is smooth and without issues. At each launch of the application you will be prompted with the trial reminder telling how much of evaluation there is left. I must say that there wasn't too much effort invested in the interface as the looks are not among the best I've seen. However, in this case it is all about functionality and considering that the app minimizes to system tray we can overlook this aspect.

The first window of the interface displays your real IP (if you are behind a router it'll display local IP at first) and the "Start" button which begins the search of the database for the best proxy for you. The state of the software is mentioned right beneath the button (active or inactive) as well as the web browsers it affects (at first only IE is displayed as Firefox proxy needs to be enabled manually).

Searching for a proxy that best suits you did not take long during our testing and the maximum delay in returning was under ten seconds (for more exotic IPs from India or US). After the IP is found your real IP address will be shown at the top of the screen (external IP) and the one you are hidden behind as well as the country of the IP.

However, there is one little problem that may occur. We obtained a United States IP and checking it on various IP locator websites there were some inconsistencies as some of them placed the location in US while others in UK. Opening Google the page displayed was for UK.

It seems that the application is tailored for allowing you to add your own proxies and use them whenever needed. I do not know if it is a bug or a trial version restriction, but in our case the list could not be created. Pasting the numbers would work, but we could never use them as when returning to the list it would always be empty.

Privacy hiding options help you eliminate all the traces of your Internet browsing session. The alternatives permit deleting Internet temporary files, type URLs in IE and Firefox, eliminate cookies stored by the two supported browsers, get rid of temporary files on your PC, remove recently opened documents list in Start Menu, clear the clipboard and emptying Recycle Bin. All these can be achieved with a single click of a button in no time with one condition: all browser windows (IE and Firefox) be closed (in fact you are warned about this).

Options menu of the application allows for a brief configuration. The Privacy Guard can run at startup and you can set the security level of the proxy (transparent, anonymous or elite) as well as proxy speed (fast, medium or slow). Setting the IP to change at a certain time interval is quite an interesting option of the software. Proxy can be made dynamic and display your address from a different location automatically. Just set the time interval in minutes and the application will do the rest. But keep in mind that if you are using Firefox you will have to restart it for activating the new proxy settings.

Menu button in the left hand side of the interface gives access to all the options presented on the interface and permits checking the IP your computer is hidden behind by opening an IP locator address on the web.

From system protection point of view it all sounds good. You can roam the Web with slim chances for your IP to be picked up. But you should know that browsing speed will be affected according to the proxy you are using. You will experience a decrease in browsing speed according to the used IP.


The Good

The application is extremely easy to use and will not pose any problems when it comes to configuration. Main window displays all the menus available and the IP behind which you are hiding.

It works for both IE and Firefox and can be set to change the IP at a user defined time interval. It incorporates trace cleaning options for both supported browsers.

The Bad

Proxy list did not work during our testing and no IP of our own could be added. It may happen sometimes for the assigned IP not to be from the country displayed on the screen (opening Google and viewing the country it detects is a good test).

I wish the user could select IPs by country instead of randomly assigning them. CoDeeN are also indexed in the database.

The Truth

It is a good tool for automatically changing your IP. It moves quite fast and the effort is minimum. However, not all IPs will work for opening any website on the Internet and sometimes you will have to try more of them.

Browsing speed is a compromise you will have to make when using a proxy and the same happens with The Privacy Guard.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: