Cheap and Free Ways Of Changing Your IP Address for Downloads & Web Surfing

Ever tried downloading a file from a file sharing service and they keep tossing you around with some *wrong captcha* error message? Well not too long ago, I discovered that this seems to be the status quo for most IPs that aren't US based.

How did I figure that out? I simply took advantage of Easy Hide IP's 3 day trial offer and once I was setup and running on a Florida US IP, the stupid download gave me no more hassles. In fact, some other sites I've been having the same issues with as well, started responding quickly to my requests.

Looks like most file sharing services are shifting focus to only US/Canadian/European web users. Thank God Media Fire still works pretty well and fast too :).

My 3 day trial expired about 2 weeks ago and I didn't bother subscribing for the full service until last night when I needed to download a firmware urgently.

Unlike its competitors which charge as much as $79 a year (HideMyAss), Easy Hide IP is cheap at a lil below $30/year and runs as fast as it did during the trial phase ( Some softwares are sneaky in that they run smoothly during trial and start to misbehave after you've parted with your hard-earned cash. So far so good, Easy Hide IP has been pretty cool)

For those of you who can't afford Easy Hide IP, you could try Your Freedom software which offers a limited free service daily.

Aside from the fact that the free service can be somewhat slow, setting up Your Freedom's free service can be a bit tricky though. If you need help with the setup procedure, leave a comment below with your email in the email field of the comment form and I'll send you a link. (Sorry I can't post the link here as I may be violating Google's many policies.)

Changing your IP Address is one of many ways of surfing the internet anonymously (non tracking of your internet activities) if you’re that paranoid. Personally I only do it when a particular piece of content appears too difficult to be accessed from my Nigerian IP.

So guys, what free or paid services do you use to hide your IP address whenever you’re online? Do you use it every time you go online and in certain situations only? Share with us in the comment section below.