Setting up and using Proxy server
Introduction
Basically a Proxy Server is a computer that will allow you (client) to connect to sites indirectly ie instead of you connecting to the site ,the proxy server will connect to the site and then pass the data onto you.
Now you must be thinking if all it does is make indirect connection’s then why would you want it, well there is a huge list of things you can do with this :
Caching the Pages :
When you type in a URL(website address), a caching proxy looks for the resulting URL in its local cache. If found, it returns the document instantly(think of speed @ LAN and saves up on bandwidth too ,considering we guys here have limited usage plans
). Otherwise it fetches it from the remote server, gives you the page and stores it in its cache for future use.
Interception :
More or less used by companies and educational institutions to block out certain website’s . Generally used for inforcing company policies and block ahem *cough* (po*n sites
)Sometimes these intercepting proxy’s are setup in a way that you wouldn’t even know that they are at work.It is often possible to detect the use of a intercepting proxy server by comparing the external IP address to the address seen by an external web server, or by examining the HTTP headers on the server side.
Anonymity:
People often use proxy server’s to hide there identity by using proxy server’s. The website at the other end wouldn’t come to know your IP address instead it will get the IP address of the Proxy server.
There are many more things which you can use a Proxy server for (cant really type all that can i
) . wikipedia would be a nice way to start if you want to know more about Proxy Server.There are a lot of Proxy server(software) out there which you can use to setup your own proxy server, listing a few of them:
1) Squid (unix based, there is a project on sourceforge for windows ported version(
2) WinGate ( may not be the best one but it sure is the easiest one with loads of feature)
3) HTTP-Tunnel (for windows)
4) Proximitron (famous for its on the fly rewriting of pages)
Setting Up a Proxy Server
Now lets setup a proxy server of our own
.We will setup CCproxy , a Proxy server software from YoungSoft , the reason which I have chosen this over the others is because its features are not limited in Demo version except for the fact that only 3 users can use this (but if you are using for home use , just ask them to give u permission for a few more users if you want that )and its quite easy for people to get hang of it.
Get the Software from here http://www.youngzsoft.net/ccproxy/ccproxysetup.exe
Just install the software , do all the necessary next button clicks
Well as soon as it powers up windows firewall will prompt you to whether block it or not , choose unblock
Your proxy server is now ready to use , just note these settings as you might want to pass on to clients(people connecting to your proxy server) so that they can assign the correct ports for correct services ïŠ . to get these settings click on options.
To allow certain sites that need a specified port to access them you can use port map feature. Just click on the little button which has E written over it.
Click on the advanced section to setup the cache settings , log info . protocol select ,etc..
To block users from a particular IP address or to give them certain permissions use the account manager. In this menu itself you have options to block off sites or traffic from certain ports (for e.g. blocking of emails).
Bypassing Site Blocks :
Almost forgot this little nifty feature that these proxy servers have (you might want to try this out if your company blocks you out from certain sites
)Setup a SSL Proxy server at your home computer and now @ your office computer open up your browser and enter the proxy settings and voila no more restrictions as your traffic flows through your home computer (it has to be connected to internet while you are tryin this ) and not through the company’s server which was blocking it.
Why must we use SSL for this ?? huh ?? .. well what SSL will do is encrypt the data between your computer so that the system administrator doesn’t have a idea of what you are doing all he will see (if he intercepts packets) is some meaningless encrypted data
hyeah: visit for more info : How to Bypass Most Firewall Restrictions and Access the Internet Privately
Read this if you want step by step instructions of the entire setup, i dont think i can better on that article (except maybe copying it
)Before finishing up the article I am gonna post some pics here which will show you how to setup your browser so that you can make use of a proxy server.
Client Side Setup of Browser
Setting up FireFox:
Go to tools -> Options
Now select the Advanced tab -> Network -> Setting
The menu should look like this
Now select manual proxy configuration and enter in the details
For setting up more applications please view the help option in that CCproxy it has simple instructions to setup some popular software’s
Well I think that’s about it
. This is my 2nd review here(i hope it is better than the 1st one, modz please consider this as my entry sorry for the earlier stuff :ashamed: )
Your suggestions , flames ,reps and replies are welcome
Source's :
Google ( Keywords you can use : "proxy server" ,"ssl proxy server","proxy server software download" ,"free proxy list" ,etc)
Wikipedia (better visit this to get more info
)My little experience
