LAST EDITED ON Sep-17-10 AT 07:52 PM (PST)
 
This thread is a good basic guide to using proxies for SEO and IM.

See Post #10 below for the guide.

I've tried a bunch of different proxy services, programs, etc, and finally found one I like:

http://hidemyass.com/vpn/

"HMA" is $11.52 a month, and you can subscribe using Papal, so you can cancel easily if you need it.

It's easy to use and let's ALL your net programs use different IP addresses, not just a browser. And just as important, it's easy to "turn off".

I haven't tried it with gmail yet, but should be good for most submission and profile creation type activities....