Fox Fact: a group of foxes is called a skulk. 

Happy Monday once more, Fox Fans. You may have noticed us make the announcement last week that we’ve removed anything from our website that involved tracking or data mining.  This includes things like analytic software and social media buttons.

Sure, this is going to make things a little harder for us in some regards, but we think it’s a fair exchange for us to be able to honestly say we’re looking out for your privacy.

“Well duh, you’re a privacy company,” you might say. Exactly, friends.  You might be surprised at who uses data tracking, and to what extent. Then again, you might not be.

We asked company founder Eric Jung about his decision to remove all the tracking bits from getfoxyprofxy.org.  Here’s what he had to say.

Why has FoxyProxy removed all analytics and tracking tools from its websites?

We’re a privacy company, and it’s simply disingenuous to use such tools.

FoxyProxy has been around for many years. Why do this now?

How will you know which ad campaigns are working?

How will you track visits to the FoxyProxy website over time?

* He has viewed many different Lego packages on various shopping sites over the last 3 years, so he probably enjoys Lego-building (contrast that with someone shopping for Lego during just one month–that person is probably shopping for presents for a birthday or holiday of a relative or friend)

Usually here is where we put in a goofy conspiracy video to round out the post, but we’re skipping that this week.  As it turns out, you really are being constantly monitored.

Fox Fact: The arctic Fox can survive in temperatures down to -58f. 

A happy Monday to you all!

Chances are, a good amount of you are heading back to work today. And some of you likely own, or make big decisions in, the very office you’re occupying while reading this.

Did you know that FoxyProxy has a bunch of applications for a corporation? (Don’t worry. We’ll still have some fun and ridiculous links for you this week. Probably also another conspiracy video.- ed.) Using proxy software can help you test out geographically based marketing campaigns, gauge competitor pricing in local markets, and much more.

If geo-filtered content or marketing solutions are what you need, reach out to us and we’ll be happy to work with you. We can even create a custom package, tailored to your needs.

Here are some comments from some of our corporate clients, in case you need a bit of convincing:

“The most surprising thing was the great customer service.  From the moment we switched to a corporate account, there has always been someone available to help us right away.  And when we needed proxies that were not available, a FoxyProxy agent kept an eye out and provided all three that we requested without us ever having to follow up.”

“We have staff who login from various countries in the world to our backend which is geo-filtered and have local offerings by territory. We need the ability for our staff to login to our systems from various regions to test local settings on our backends.”

What was the most surprising thing about using FoxyProxy, and what is the best aspect about using our service? “Personalised corporate service, approachable, and on demand customer solutions.” 

What could we do to improve our service for you? “Literally nothing…its great!”

“We use different proxies so that we can view our competitors’ pricing for customers outside of the U.S.”

“I can’t think of a way that your service could be better.  We are extremely pleased with the service we receive.”

And now for some links for your Monday Procrastination! 

The NSA has shut down bulk phone surveillance  But don’t worry, they’re totally still going to be watching us. Hi, NSA.

Warfare is going digital  Good news for all you Cyberpunk fans out there! Sorry to dash your hopes for a Mad Max style apocalypse, but information warfare is the next big thing in meting out righteous justice upon thyne enemies. Still, feel free to wear those shoulder pads and chaps. It’s a good look.

Researchers have created a cyborg rose A cyborg rose, but sadly not a cyborg Rose from The Golden Girls, which would be even better.

Amazon released more delivery drone footage Drones flying around, dropping things in people’s yards. How could this go wrong? The future is going to be weird.

Proof that the NSA is working with the Illuminati! It’s all right there in the logo, folks. Right there for us to easily decipher, from an apparently not-so-secret secret society.

Fox Fact: foxes use the Earth’s magnetic fields to hunt

Good morning, everyone. It’s Monday again, which means a lot of you are back at the office or back in class, doing your best to look productive.

What better way to start the day off than with some interesting things which cannot possibly wait until after work? You’d better start checking these links out, it’ll make your Monday better.

Once you’re through with these links, you can carry on with your creative procrastination by browsing some TV or websites from another country! Head over to our website to download our free software, or purchase our proxy/VPN service.

The DarkWebInterNet is scary!  Let’s all point and giggle at the wonderfully alarmist local news reporting going on here. For The Internet is dark, and full of terrors.

BitTorrent doesn’t equal piracy  An ISP defending the privacy rights of its customers? Sort of. While Cox’s stance here is probably more about winning a lawsuit than bravely standing up for your rights, it’s a step in the right direction. Just using a piece of technology doesn’t make you guilty of anything.

You can now play D&D in VR  You’re welcome. Now, excuse me while I go dig out my level 15 Wood Elf Druid and dust off my Boots of Escaping.

The Snowden Guide To Practical Privacy  Some handy tips from Edward, ranging from “Average Person” to “Cold War Era Paranoia.”

And finally, because why not? Be careful with this one, or else you’ll carry on down the rabbit hole of conspiracy videos I warned you about previously.

The CERN project is a gateway for demons.  Don’t believe me? Homer Simpson predicted this years ago.

Fox Facts: with a population of only 320, the Darwin’s Fox is one of the most endangered mammals on Earth. 

Hello Fox Fans! Rather than our usual list of cool internet things, or helpful hints punctuated with sarcasm, today I’m going to tell you all about an awesome charity event that some of our staff will be taking part in.

FoxyProxy has a team for the upcoming Extra Life Game Day 2015! What is Extra Life? We’re so glad you asked. Extra Life is a great way to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals around the country by holding a 24 hour video gaming marathon, with the players being sponsored for every hour they play.

We’re a Proxy/VPN provider, but that’s not all we’re about. We also aim to help people, usually through our open source software and customer service, but we like to branch out when we see a really great cause that fits with our ethics.

Our Team, The Moxie Foxies, will be playing Team Fortress 2 and shooting up the other guys all in the name of raising money for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia!

And now, a word from Brent:

A Personal Note from a FoxyProxy Employee…

Hey all- this is Brent. I’m FoxyProxy’s Systems/Network Engineer; you may have even seen a reply from me in a support ticket you sent.

I had a lot of medical issues when I was a young pup. I mean a lot. I was born with some pretty sick kidneys. However, thanks to medical science and the care of my local children’s hospitals, I’m living a healthy and normal life (30 years strong!). I would have never been able to do this without the type of support that these hospitals provide. There would be no me without projects like Extra-Life and other children’s care fundraisers. And I certainly put a lot of myself into FoxyProxy because of how much I believe in the company, what it does for civil rights, and how much they care for people that may not have the ability or resources to help themselves out. Please- give as much as possible to this fundraiser so another kid can have the same breath of life and chance for living that I did- not only would it mean a lot to the kids that it goes towards helping, but it means a lot to me and the rest of FoxyProxy. Thank you.

With that in mind, we’d love it and appreciate it if you were able to spare a bit to donate to this great event. Your donations go directly towards Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The cause is a great one, and you’ll be making it worthwhile for folks to sit on their rear and do nothing but play video games for 24 hours.

If you can’t donate, you can join the team! Hang out with some of the FoxyProxy team members, play some great games, and raise money for an amazing cause.

Fox Fact: The Fennec Fox is the smallest fox species in the world.

Happy Monday, Fox Fans! Because it’s the start of the work week for most of you, we’re giving a list of interesting stories from across the internet so you can day started right, and procrastinate instead of diving in to work.

If you decide that you want your procrastination on a global scale, you can download our software and purchase proxy services here at any time.

Are you paranoid enough? The answer is probably no.  This is a great article about one man’s slow decent into the realization that the technology we love to surround ourselves with is listening to us and sharing what it hears. Be warned that you may just fall down the YouTube rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and find yourself at 3 am watching videos about lunar waves, numbers stations, and the Dyatlov Pass indecent, nodding in agreement.

EU to US: Your privacy practices are terrible.  The EU courts have decided that the US has terrible privacy safeguards (color us shocked.) They have given the US a meager three months to revamp the Safe Harbor system with the European Commission to ensure EU citizens that their data being transferred by private companies remains safe and secure. We’ll wait patiently, and see what new and interesting rules get formulated from the jumble.

You can buy the rights to name a moth.  By which they mean actually name the species, not just give a moth a first name. What a time to be alive.

Chrome stops being so nosy  Google is finally shutting off the automatic “always on” status for its Ok Google feature. This comes after Google finally figures out that no one uses it, and it’s one of the bigger resource hogging features of Chrome. Have no fear though, you can still turn it on if you like shouting searches at your computer.

Fox Fact: The Tibetan Sand Fox had never been caught on film before 2006, when the BBC filmed  the Planet Earth series.

Online security and privacy are pretty important to us here at FoxyProxy. It’s kind of our thing. However, not everyone gives it as much thought as we do.

So! With that in mind, we’re giving you some nice and easy steps to make your online life a tad more secure.

Use a proxy or VPN service.  We may have mentioned this a few times before, but using a proxy or VPN service isn’t just for catching up on episodes of The Great British Bake Off.  It can also help you skirt around snooping governmental eyes (we’re looking at you, NSA) and insecure connections with ease. Our favorite is FoxyProxy, obviously. We offer both paid service, and free tools if you’re the DIY sort.

Your password probably sucks.  We don’t mean to be harsh, but it’s the truth.  Gone are the days of using your favorite pet’s, or spouse’s, or favorite spouse’s name. Passwords these days need to be hard to hack, and unguessable.  Oh and stop using the same few passwords for everything, you sweet summer child. Here are some nice tips from our friends at the EFF for choosing and storing strong passwords.

Dark Helmet knows how important good passwords are.

You have no idea who is keeping track of your browsing habits.  Don’t assume that you only need to go incognito when you’re looking at “adult” corners of the web. Websites are stuffed with trackers and data mining tools of all sorts. Use a good tracker blocker such as Ghostery or Privacy Badger, and you’ll be shocked at how much your data is being transmitted without you knowing it. Someone, somewhere, knows exactly what porn you look at and for how long, along with everything else you do on the web. Scary? Embarrassing? Yes.

HTTPS is your friend. That S on the end stands for “secure” meaning that your data is being encrypted as it flies through the ether of The Internet. Some websites already have this feature, many don’t. Our pals over at the EFF offer a handy browser extension,  helping you keep your data to yourself.

Good morning everyone. Another week gone, and another FoxyFriday is upon us.

I was going to make this one another light hearted affair. Maybe something about Rugby and funny shaped balls, or touching on interesting sports from around the world, but then I came across this article about how the government of Thailand is quietly laying the groundwork to install a gateway internet. Essentially, a gateway internet makes it much easier for the government to strictly monitor and control  internet traffic coming into Thailand from other countries.

Thailand never sprung to the front of my mind when thinking about internet censorship. China, sure. North Korea, absolutely. After all, how else are they going to believe Kim Jong Un can do things like invent a drug that cures AIDS, Ebola, and cancer? 

But Thailand never struck me as particularly oppressive. In retrospect, that’s a remarkably dumb thing to believe.  But then again I live in the USA, where most of our news cycles focus on bloviating fools with bad hair saying very loud things, and offer very little actual content about the rest of the world.

Thailand isn’t alone in heavily restricting internet access, but it is joining a relatively small group of nations with a single gateway internet: Laos, China, Myanmar, North Korea, so far as I can tell.

I will admit, I mainly use my proxy service to watch ridiculous British reality TV. It has no redeeming value, and really does nothing to contribute much to society. But proxy service can mean so much more to people living behind oppressive internet and media censorship.

The role of proxy and VPN services during the Arab Spring uprisings is well documented, and a little Googling can provide you with numerous articles and papers stating as much. Proxies and VPNs are still being widely used in Iran, Syria, and Tunisia, not only to organize and protest but to simply live life with some modicum of normalcy. Accessing email, sharing cat videos, and posting carefully curated seflies are just as much a part of the internet that people want, in addition to the actual important things.

Everyone deserves Maru videos. 

The fight for free and open internet access is an ongoing and difficult one. Bloggers are getting jailed and flogged,  journalists are being thrown in jail, and citizens are being kept in the dark behind tightly controlled digital walls. Organizations like the Mozilla Foundation, the EFF, and  The Center for Democracy and Technology are all fighting for global internet rights, and deserve a minute or two of your time.

I’ll no longer be taking for granted my ability to sit for hours in a downward spiral of weird Youtube videos. I look forward to the day when anyone, anywhere, can choose to spend hours on anything from meaningless browsing to intellectual dissent.

Hello again Fox Friends. It’s time for another fun filled FoxyFriday! 

This week, rather than a humorous listicle or an informative article, our post is going to be about the experiences of a real life person using a proxy service. Spoiler: that person is me, your blogess.

I’m an American, and my husband is British. Culturally we’re pretty similar, but there are a lot of little differences, like how the Brits consider swearing to be a cherished art form (which I admire greatly), and how Americans tend to be overly forthcoming with things like feelings, opinions, and a burning love for our national flag.

“Why are there so many American flags everywhere? Have you all forgotten where you live?” he said.

When he moved here to the US, it was a bit of a culture shock. Suddenly he was in the middle of Pennsylvania, surrounded by people who insisted on calling him “guv’na” and who decorated their cars, homes, and bodies with Confederate flags despite living nowhere near The South.

He missed home. He missed the comfort of the background noises of home. Suddenly the background noise of the TV became a reminder that he was 3000 miles away from his friends and family. Non-subtle American style humor or dramatic shows awash in blood and violence but yet afraid to swear or feature nudity, punctuated every 10 minutes with sets of loud and brash commercials, only made his homesickness more real.

Being able to watch TV from The UK brings him a little feel of home, but it also helped me grasp his way of thinking a little bit better. British humor can take a little getting used to, and spending time watching my fill of BritComs and panel shows (and my God, do those people love panel shows) did give me a bit more understanding of their wonderfully dry humor.  I am still trying to figure out how a people who consider partial nudity, swearing, and sexual entendre the height of humor can also be so reserved and non-forthcoming in person.

Even hearing TV commercials from home gave him a pause and a little smile, with the occasional humming along. I think if you went into a crowd of Brits and started singing the Fairy Liquid song, they would all sing along, compelled by years of marketing programming.

For just a short while, he would relax and put on some obscure show that I had never heard of, with accents so un-homogenized for American audiences that I would need him to translate for me.  I still can’t for the life of me understand a heavy Glaswegian accent. Even many websites are tailored for your geo-location, so things like the BBC websites present differently when you look at them from a UK address, rather than American.

It’s a small thing, but these little bit of comfort from home, little hour long bubbles of British culture and hearing people who sound like him, make my husband feel a bit better about living in America.

You may have noticed this week’s Foxy Friday is actually Foxy Saturday. We noticed that too, and are looking into the possible reasons that the weekdays were shifted in time.

First off, we want to let you know we’re running a special this month on all new accounts choosing Peru for their service country. Just enter the code nazca-lines and you’ll get 33% off a new account of any duration. Click here to get started.

Secondly, we’d like to congratulate Hugo Burnham on winning our server naming contest with his “tstickle.”  Hugo wins a month of free proxy/VPN service. Use it wisely.

Nice work Hugo, on assuming that we’d go for the low hanging fruit, so to speak.

This week at The Den, we’re giving you a roundup of stories from across the internet which caught our eye this week. Some serious, some frivolous, all interesting.

1. Google Looks to Return to China  Google, Lord of the Internet, eyes a return to China after a five year absence following a spat over censorship. The draw of the almighty Yuan was too much to resist, though, and reports say that a State-friendly version of the Play Store is in the works.
2. Privacy Concerns with the New iPhone  If you want to use Apple’s new “Hey Siri” feature, the mic will be always on to enable Siri to listen for your plaintive cries for help. This means Siri may also be listening in on your delicate situations, or hear you if you’re giving away state secrets. Be careful out there, agents.
3. Africa isn’t nearly as technologically behind as well meaning White People think   Africa is a vibrant, complex, tech loving continent. Good intentions often mask unintentional White Saviour complexes which come with a hefty and unpleasant dose of good old fashioned Colonialism.
4. Zen Foxes   There’s not much else to say on this one, other than that foxes are the best. Take that, cats.
5. Peruvian Rock Band Celebrating Ancient Culture  Uchpa is a band singing in the ancient indigenous language of Quechua, bringing native Andean culture to the stage along with an appropriately rock and roll attitude and awesome headgear.

That’s it for our peek into this week’s Interesting Things From The Internet.  Did you come across something we’d like? Let us know!

Hello Again, Foxes!  Last week, we touched on some cool reasons for having a proxy/VPN service, but let’s face it, a whole lot of you are probably using it to watch stuff you’d otherwise be blocked from seeing.

So this week we’re going to highlight weird TV from around the world to pique your interest. Some of it you may find odd, some of it weird, but hopefully all of it is entertaining.

Weird TV connects across cultural bounds. If any of this strikes for fancy, follow THIS link to get FoxyProxy service!

1. Four in a Bed – (Great Britain)  Despite the name, this show is not about sexy fun bedroom time. Pretty much the opposite actually. It’s a reality show which follows four sets of B&B owners as they stay at each other’s places and decide which among them is best. There is a glorious amount of the polite assholery which the British do so well, as well as more shots of a Full English (it’s breakfast, you guys) than you could ever want.

1. Slow TV – (Norway)  Slow TV is a genre, not the actual name of a show. Norway loves its slow TV though, broadcasting gems like Piip Show, (a live feed of a bird feeder decked out to look like a teeny cafe), as well as knitting marathons, a cross country train journey, and the upcoming week long reindeer migration. This actually sounds pretty relaxing. We can’t lie, this clip looks pretty appealing. Put on the kettle and settle in.

1. Fox News (USA) The jury is still out on if this channel is actually an elaborate, Andy Kaufman-esque satire attempting to critique the absolute worst traits of American society and identify the most terrible people among Americans so that the rest of the country can easily avoid them,  or if it really is attempting to be a serious news channel. Judge for yourself!