Some time ago I posted a question about a problem I was having with my computer. For some strange reason, after I upgraded my computer, I could not access some sites on the Net, specifically MSNBC. That thread did not provide any answers on what the problem may be and how to resolve it directly but I remember a workaround was to use a proxy server, which worked fine. I forgot about the whole thing and have just been getting my news from CNN which downloads fine but it is annoying when I get some other site that won’t download. A recent thread mentioned proxy servers again and I thought I may give it a try again now that I have some time. So, my questions are:
1- How do I configure IE6 to use a proxy server?
2- Where can I find lists of proxy servers I can use?
I remember that last time I tried to do it, proxy servers appeared and disappeared on the net and one had to keep changing. What is the best way to not have to keep looking for new proxies?
Oh, another question: Does using a proxy in any way affect my communication with secure sites like my bank etc?
As to the third, there is a proxy setting (under the above listing), for ‘secure’ or HTTPS traffic.
You do not need to use a proxy for every protol if you do not want. When you click ‘advanced’ on the above listing, you get a few options. ‘HTTP’ is the only one you need for general browsing.
The LAN settings apply only if you have a LAN connection but if you highlight each DUN connection and click on settings there then you can setup a proxy for each DUN connection. In fact, I imagine you can create two DUN connections, both to the same ISP etc but one using a proxy and the other not using a proxy.
Actually, I am using DSL so I am not sure but, since it does not show up anywhere else, I imagine the LAN settings apply?
Thanks for the pointer regarding secure connections.
to get a list of free proxy servers just google “proxy lists”. As you say. free proxy servers do not stay around too long. You need a commercial proxy such as http://www.amegaproxy.com/ in order to have a permanent solution
Use the specific DUN profile and add the proxy info to that. Your DSL connection profile would fall under this and should be an option, actually your default connection. You are correct you can have two profiles, one using a proxy the other not. Clicking the advanced button of the proxy server dialog for the connection you can put in a list of sites you want bypassed. It here where you also specify which connections will use a proxy and you provide the address and port numbers of the proxy server.
Nope. the DUN, as the name Dial Up Connection implies, is only for dial ups. There is no DSL icon there and I assume the DSL configuration would be under LAN.
I am trying to find some way of finding free proxy servers without having to do a long Google search each time. It seems many of the servers you find in the lists no longer exist and you have to try several.
My mistake, I was thinking of a VPN connection which does show up in that list. I believe I used that to connect my laptop to the internet connection that I had active on my server.
I use a proxy server on my work computer, because we’re behind a firewall and you have to use a proxy to get web pages off the public Internet.
What’s the purpose of a proxy server for my home computer, which is directly on the Internet? I mean other than giving sailor a workaround for his mysterious network problem (which sounds like a DNS problem to me)?
You’ll need a cite for that. I seriously doubt the “main use” part, and this kind of attitude leads to infringement of freedoms because of perceived crimes. There are lots of legitimate uses for both internal and external proxy servers that have nothing to do with trying to evade the authorities. If the “conventional wisdom” accepts that the only people who use proxies are criminals then those with legit uses will have little recourse when proxies are shut down. It’s similar to the argument that if you use crypto, you must be a criminal with something to hide.
It may be hard to find a balance in some cases, but you don’t want to let potential misuse get characterized as the only or even dominant use if that’s not really true. Do you shut down P2P because it’s used to trade files illegally? Do you outlaw phones because 98.342%* of criminals use phones in the furtherance of their crimes? Do you outlaw proxies because they can be used to conceal your identity or circumvent filtering?
I obviously made that stat up just to make the point. It’s irrelevant. Please don’t ask for a cite.
CurtC, proxies are used for all sorts of reasons. Getting around firewalls (of all sorts, including censorship) is one and concealing your IP from the site you are visiting is another. I have never used AOL but I have heard people using AOL sometimes need to use them too.
the second part of my reply was tongue in cheek. I forgot the other main use for a proxy server was to circumvent incoming censorship, e.g. the way the chinese authorities try to. But micco, you don’t say of any legit uses for an external proxy. (it can be argued that evading any legal censorship is unlawful, even if the laws may appear unjust to us).
I hate to even stoop to playing that game, trying to justify the existence of something in the face of an attack by the four horsemen, but I’ll give a couple of examples.
[ul]
[li]testing DNS and routing problems. If you’re having trouble hitting a remote site, the problem could be yours or theirs and hitting an accessible proxy lets you debug the problem. This is exactly the problem mentioned in the OP, so we shouldn’t even have to justify proxies in this thread.[/li][li]off-site testing, allowing developers to test network functionality from completely external addresses. There are many cases where you want to hit a local server from a remote address, and going to an off-LAN machine or doing a dialup from your laptop is unwieldy. For example, if you’re configuring router ports or firewall tunnels for remote access, it’s pointless to test them from an internal IP. Hitting an external proxy allows you to do this. [/li][li]approved circumvention of firewalls, using an external proxy to provide a tunnel through firewalls for appropriate use. For example, I may set a corporate firewall to restrict access to time-wasting sites like eBay, but I want to allow certain IT buyers to hit eBay to check pricing. I could set up firewall tunnels, but in many cases this is tedious for a changing list and I may want to keep the firewall pristine. Setting a limited-use proxy in the DMZ or further outside provides a gateway. The IT guys could hit any other remote proxy just as effectively, but I might choose to block the known ones at the firewall along with eBay.[/li][li]same as above, but giving the CEO access to porn.[/li][/ul]
That’s a short list and I’m sure I could come up with more if I were so inclined, but I feel like this is analogous to justifying the existence of cars, phones, and pencils, all of which can be used by criminals and should be threatened by the same knee-jerk reactions that threaten proxies.
Since, as I have explained in the OP, I am trying to resolve a probl;em I have and this has nothing to do with running from the FBI, I would ask you to please restrict your responses to what is asked in the OP and to not get into a discussion of what firewalls may be used for because it is unnecessary and because it might get the thread closed. So please, kindly stick with the subject.
It doesn’t look like anyone directly addressed this yet, so, yes, your DSL configuration will be under LAN settings in IE. To set the proxy server, go to Tools->Internet Options, Connections tab, LAN Settings button. Click the box that says “Use a Proxy Server” and input the address (IP or DNS) of the proxy server and the port number it uses. Then browse to a site that rarely goes down, such as Yahoo, and try to refresh the page to make sure you aren’t getting a cached copy.
For free public proxy servers, just find a web page with a database of them that updates and checks them frequently. I had good luck by clicking the “LAST 100 recently checked hosts sorted by speed” link on Free Public Proxy Servers List. AiS Alive Proxy is another site that seems to update and verify often, though I haven’t tried any of those servers yet.
A couple of years ago I asked a question on proxy servers and I was told by one of the Mods (don’t remember which one) that using a proxy server to access SDMB was one of the things that gets you banned right away, unless you have a realaaaaalllly good reason.
sailor,
I was not answering your question, I was answering CurtCs. Supplementary questions are aften answered in threads, as you should know. As I mentioned in another post above it was a bit flippant and limited, but nevertheless, for a home computer there seem remarkably few ‘legit’ uses for a proxy server. There are definitely legit uses for proxies in a networked system - we ourselves use an external cache proxy server, which tries to decrease costly transatlantic traffic by pooling lots of traffic from many universities.