When you get into proxy surfing, this is when the request you send into the browser goes to another service, then that other service sends your request from another location and pulls it back to you.  Most of the time this is used to provide a means to deny access to certain URLs in a blacklist, thus providing content filtering.

Firefox does deliver a fix though with several add-ons you can install…

• MM3-ProxySwitch
• httProxy
• gladder
• Proxy Toolbar
• Environment Proxy
• SwitchProxy Tool
• ProxySel
• FoxyProxy
• BlockStop Proxy
• PhProxy
• QuickProxy

FoxyProxy is probably the most widely used, but the others have advantages too.  Which one is your favorite?

Here are a few more details about CallingID Link Advisor:

CallingID Link Advisor verifies the links you see in Firefox and Thunderbird are safe before you follow them. When the mouse is placed over any link a risk assessment and the full details of the site owner are displayed, helping you evaluate the site before visiting it. If the site is assessed as high risk or its owner is located in a ‘problematic’ country, you will be notified and advised to ignore the link.

Read more about it on their official web site.

I haven’t tried it on my own yet, but it does look promising.  SiteAdvisor has gone down hill – and WOT looks to be the replacement (in my eyes) but who knows, a few years down the line CallingID might be kicking both their browser protecting rear ends.

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