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AutohideIP

While doing normal web surfing, I came across a tool which states to change your IP (Internet Protocol) address and surf anonymously. Naturally, I am interested. While reading their site, I learned that if one is a webmaster and posts an honest review of the software, you will get one (1) license key. Sounds good to me. As I have not received said license key, this review is based on the TRIAL version only. When I get to play with the full version, I'll modify this review.

According to their website, http://www.autohideip.com , their utility will change your IP address which will mask
your true identity, allowing you to “Surf Anonymously, Protect Your Identity, Guard Against Hackers”. Why would you want to do this? Several governments actively censor the Internet and using a proxy service is one way to get around said restrictions. When I was on vacation in Canada, I decided to catch up on some TV watching that had built up. I had watched one episode with no problems at my home. However, in Canada, I was not permitted to view the content because the DRM (Digital Rights Management) said I was not in an appropriate country. Having this tool would have allowed me to get around that silly restriction.

Installation

Installing AutohideIP is pretty typical of what you see nowadays. A legal screen that we all must agree to but never really read. It asks if you want to install a toolbar. Yes, you can choose not to install this, but the default is to install it, so one must be careful. You are permitted to change the installation directory. However, AutohideIP automatically installs flash player without your asking! As one who does not like flash, and knowing what this AutohideIP does, I am not certain why flash was installed nor why it is used. Maybe this was addressed in legal. But as I said, no one really reads these legal briefs.

Configuring

Configuring AutohideIP is fairly simple. Once you install the program, it simply works. Being a techie, I understand all the jargon and the settings that the program is giving me. However, if you do not understand what a proxy service is, do not worry. This program handles all of that boring minutiae for you.

But does it work?

Naturally, that is what we all want to know. As you would expect, they offer their own tool:

Their tool

That's nice, but I want independent verification:

Another tool

That's a good start, but I want more proof:

A real test

As you can see, if one is careful enough, one can tell that a proxy server is being used. So the proxy is not fool-proof, but it is sufficient for normal surfing habits.

Enough of the mumbo-jumbo, how does it work?

If you have tried proxy servers in the past, they are slow. Very slow indeed. The trial version of AutohideIP suffers from this as well.

Time Outs

As you can see, even pages that should load quickly may time out under a proxy. Now to be fair, I should have tried during other days. But the trial version is only for a day and I did my testing on a Saturday.

Suggestion

I can offer one reasonable and simple to implement suggestion: a mouse over or a tray icon which indicates if you are using your real IP address or a proxy server. This way, one can tell by simply glancing what they need to know.

So is it worth it?

That's the $30 question, isn't it? That's up to you. Public proxies are so slow and time out so often that you might as well not bother. Websites which offer website anonymity are too limited in scope to be reliable. They are OK for a quick session, but nothing more. Based on the trial version of AutohideIP, I found too many pages would time out; doing so about half of time. Granted, this is better than what I've experienced using public proxies. But this too leads to more frustration than glee that I have an 'internet mask' on.

The auto-switching of IP addresses every X minutes sounds like a nice feature, although I am uncertain how that functions. It is not available in the trial version.

One nice feature is that you can choose the country you wish to identify as. Useful for bypassing DRM restrictions. And to see how the Internet in Cuba is and what does China block actually? But again, those are features not available in the trial version.

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