Tuxler is a simple app that installs independently of your browser and allows you to change your IP address to that of another country instantly. Tuxler is designed for those that want to protect their privacy although it can be used to access sites that are blocked in your country.

Tuxler initially runs an installer which takes quite a while to complete. However, once installed, it adds a shortcut to your desktop and appears in your Dock. Once running, it displays your current IP address and compiles a list of proxies in other countries that that you can switch to at any time by clicking the big "Switch IP" switch in the top right corner.

So far so good except that many of the proxies in Tuxler don't work or are only available if you upgrade. And even if you manage to connect to one, you're limited to 10MB of data transfer which means watching something like the BBC iPlayer outside of the UK, or Hulu outside of the USA is virtually impossible with Tuxler.

However, if you just want to use the free version of Tuxler to protect your identity, it's sufficient. We tested proxies in both the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia and the Google homepage was changed accordingly when we reloaded so it does work. Note that as with all proxies, surfing can be painfully slow at times.

Tuxler works with any browser although the lack of working proxies and 10 MB limit in the free version, mean it can be a bit frustrating.