Wow, that is a long title! So what does all that really mean? Let's take it apart.

• Anonimizing - means that this obscures your identity from the end server. This is a tool to prevent the servers from harvesting your personal information and tracking what you do. This is a privacy tool.
• Proxy Serving - means that this server makes the page request on your behalf. It is a "middle man" between your client and the server. It is part of the tool that implements the anonimizing feature.
• Web Caching - means that the popular web pages are stored locally (ie: without having to go across the Internet to fetch them). The biggest benefit of using this is speed.

Ok, now we know what the parts are, what does this really do for me?

The primary purpose of this server is to provide our users with a tool to help them retain their privacy. Have you ever wondered how, after visiting a web site, you suddenly were on their mailing list? Well, when you visited their web site, they gleaned your information from your computer. This service prevents the end server from knowing about your computer. Their server will still get important marketing and capacity planning information, like when they received a visit, and what web pages were seen, but they will not get any information about you (like your email address, or your IP address, etc.).

If the web site you're visiting is popular, it's pages will already be on our server, which will speed the loading of the pages because you don't have to go across the Internet and possibly slow servers and routers to get this page. Yes, our caching web server maintains the latest version of web pages, so pages like cnn.com will always be up to date.

What are the down sides?

This is not a perfect solution, there are some problems.

Sites that require cookies to operate will not work with this server. While some sites have valid reasons for using cookies, too many abuse our trust and collect information about us and track what we do. Most e-commerce sites use cookies, and so does HotMail and Passport.

Sites that have coded their web pages for a specific web browser will not work consistently. Some sites try to see what web browser you have and send you pages based on that information. This service does not tell them what web browser you use.

How do I work about these problems?

For sites that cause a problem there are at least 2 solutions.

1. Turn off the proxy settings when visiting the troublesome site. On Netscape, this is clicking a single button.
2. Add the troublesome site to the exception list. The exception list is a list of host names from whom your browser will request pages directly (without using the proxy server).

Is there a charge for this service?

There is no charge for this service, but the service is only available to customers using our network connectivity. You will not be able to use this service if you connect to the Internet through another ISP.

How do I configure my system to use it?

The general answer is that you have to set your web proxy settings to use the server www-cache.netin.com on port 3128. This is done in different ways on different web browsers, but there are some screen shots of Netscape 4.7 below.

First, goto Edit->Preferences. This will open a screen like the picture below. Choose Advanced->Proxies.

Click the "Manual proxy configuration" button, and click the "View" button". You should see a screen similar to the picture below. Add the HTTP Proxy and Port settings as shown in the picture below.

You can also add your exemptions in the "No Proxy for" settings. Again, see the example in the picture below.

To turn off the proxy settings, just go back to the Edit->Preferences->Advanced->Proxies screen, and press the "Direct connection to the internet" button. That's it!