anonymous proxy servers

in a related thread, the topic of "anonymous proxy servers" came up and sparked my interest. Do most / any / some of you reading this use one of these?
I did a few searches on TSG and the Net in general, and seem to get mixed reviews.
If a few of the more "revered" names on TSG were to give their quick opinions on this it might help me to know whether I should pursue it or not.

 

if you can find one that actually works its a good idea..theres a program called "ghostsurf" which bounces you through various hubs and a lot more stuff but its not freeware,although there is a trial version.

 

Its heaven and hell with the free ones.
You can connect through them and your activity is secret.
But you dont know who runs the proxy.

So it could protect you from a hacker, but it could also be run by a kid in his basement whos monitoring your passwords.