Looking for a computer geek to help me find a decent proxy

petkow

Someone must be able to help me with this. I keep hitting a brick wall!

Can anyone tell me a decent site which lists reliable UK based web proxies! If this is insider info, please just send me a PM! I have spent the last week trialling many, but just cannot get them to work. In the past I had a lot more luck with this!

Thanks in advance!

andy · 06-03-2009, 02:08

Not just UK

I haven't used this, only just heard of it this minute: foxyproxy, looks like a plug-in for Firefox, and says it can for example let you use BBC iPlayer from abroad ...

PhotoJim · 06-03-2009, 02:28

I use Foxyproxy to proxy home if I want to keep my web browsing confidential (I proxy through an SSH connection).

petkow · 06-03-2009, 11:06

Thanks guys. I actually have had foxyproxy installed for a while, but I am struggling to find proxy addresses to feed it with. It really is an amazing bit of plugin, but it still cannot help you for finding proxies. Is the only way out to pay for a reliable proxy?

Jayzon · 08-07-2009, 10:08

Try kproxy.com or proxy-list.org

PhotoJim · 08-07-2009, 20:33

The best way is to pay, for certain. That way you know you will have something reliable.

I have a US-based VPS running Linux and I use it for backup mail serving and name serving as well as proxying. I exchanged an account on it for an account on a UK-based one (a friend I trust) so that we can proxy on each other's VPSes. Total cost to me, $5 US a month.

petkow · 09-07-2009, 15:27

Thanks. Sorry, I think you might have got too tecnical for me. I have many friends in the UK who run PC's 24/7 some even as servers. Is there anything I can put on one of those to run me a proxy? Will I not eat their bandwidth if I start streaming video for example, or does the entire traffic not flow via that system? Sorry, as you can see I have little idea about this and how to set somehing like this up.

I used to use foxyproxy in order to be able to watch BBC iplayer over here in Spain, but I am not so lucky with it any more. (Incidentally before some over zealous net policeman jumps on my head for infringing on UK TV licensing, I'd just like to point out that I do own and pay for a full UK TV license..)

PhotoJim · 09-07-2009, 16:43

Let me explain proxying to you and it will probably make a lot more sense.

A proxy lets you connect to Internet services from somewhere other than where you actually are. Think of it as a relay.

So let's say you want to appear you're in the UK, for example to watch BBC streaming video. You can use a proxy located in the UK to allow you to appear you're in the UK. Essentially, that UK machine gets the content for you, and forwards it to you.

If your UK friends have running machines and happen to be running Linux or BSD and are prepared to give you a shell account (i.e. text login access), you can connect to their machine using ssh (Linux or MacOS) or PuTTy (Windows), and if you configure it appropriately it will allow you to forward proxy requests. You can then configure your web browser (e.g. by using FoxyProxy on Firefox) to forward some or all requests to that proxy.

If you do that you will be using some of your friend's bandwidth. Whether you use too much depends on how much bandwidth their provider lets them use, and how much you use while proxying.

Watching streaming video occasionally will not eat up a lot of bandwidth.

So here is what would work, although there are other possibilities.

You need:
- a UK friend
- who has a machine running 24/7
- that uses BSD or Linux (Mac OS X is a form of BSD so it will work too)
- that has an ssh server running (most Linux & BSD servers do, I think you have to enable it on OS X)
- and the friend has to give you a login account
- and his ISP has to give him a static IP address that doesn't change (or you have to learn how to work around dynamic IPs using services like dyndns.org; I have static IPs so I don't have to do this).

If you can get all that to line up, you're good to go.

If not, get yourself an inexpensive UK VPS (Virtual Private Server). Essentially you are buying a little Linux machine (a virtual one running on a machine running many). This will give you a Linux environment in the UK and you can run whatever you want. You only need to run an ssh server to let yourself do what you want to do.

You can find cheap VPSes via sites like Low End Box Hosting Websites on Bare Minimum VPS/Dedicated Servers.

I'm not sure which provider my friend is using, but I can ask if it's helpful. It's based in London. He pays about 4 pounds a month for it I think.

PhotoJim · 09-07-2009, 16:45

Oh, one more option...

If you have access to a friend in the UK with an Internet account, you could simply buy a Slingbox and install it at their home.

You could then watch the Slingbox's output remotely, from anywhere in the world with a decent Internet connection.

This lets you watch live TV, so it's different from watching BBC video content.

petkow · 09-07-2009, 17:53

PhotoJim, Thank you very much for that very detailed explanation! I have finally awoken to the wonderful world of Proxies. As you can see I have never really understood them much though I have used them before (I used to mainly use one based in a University in the UK).

I think by the look of it I will consult my geeks back in the UK to see if any of them have a BSD/Linux machine chugging away in their basements. However, the VPS option does seem like an affordable alternative solution for some pukka british TV and Jeremy Paxman!

Thanks also for the Slingbox suggestion. About a year ago or so I did get close to buying one but it's a fair bit of an investment to make. I then went down the route of fiddling around a with my satellite dish to try and get the free BBC signals off the Astra 2D beam though unlike most satellite footprints, it has a very tight footprint around the UK. You can still get its signals here (my neighbours do), but you need a dish upwards of 1.8m which is also extremely pricey! Mine is 90cm but I still manage to get a few odd UK channels on that but no BBC!

Anyhow, thanks once again!

	(#1)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	Looking for a computer geek to help me find a decent proxy - 05-03-2009, 20:38 Someone must be able to help me with this. I keep hitting a brick wall! Can anyone tell me a decent site which lists reliable UK based web proxies! If this is insider info, please just send me a PM! I have spent the last week trialling many, but just cannot get them to work. In the past I had a lot more luck with this! Thanks in advance!

	(#2)
andy (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,128 Join Date: 10 Dec 2004 Country:	06-03-2009, 02:08 Not just UK I haven't used this, only just heard of it this minute: foxyproxy, looks like a plug-in for Firefox, and says it can for example let you use BBC iPlayer from abroad ...

	(#3)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	06-03-2009, 02:28 I use Foxyproxy to proxy home if I want to keep my web browsing confidential (I proxy through an SSH connection). CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#4)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	06-03-2009, 11:06 Thanks guys. I actually have had foxyproxy installed for a while, but I am struggling to find proxy addresses to feed it with. It really is an amazing bit of plugin, but it still cannot help you for finding proxies. Is the only way out to pay for a reliable proxy?

	(#5)
Jayzon (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 11 Join Date: 16 Apr 2008 Country:	08-07-2009, 10:08 Try kproxy.com or proxy-list.org

	(#6)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	08-07-2009, 20:33 The best way is to pay, for certain. That way you know you will have something reliable. I have a US-based VPS running Linux and I use it for backup mail serving and name serving as well as proxying. I exchanged an account on it for an account on a UK-based one (a friend I trust) so that we can proxy on each other's VPSes. Total cost to me, $5 US a month. CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#7)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	09-07-2009, 15:27 Thanks. Sorry, I think you might have got too tecnical for me. I have many friends in the UK who run PC's 24/7 some even as servers. Is there anything I can put on one of those to run me a proxy? Will I not eat their bandwidth if I start streaming video for example, or does the entire traffic not flow via that system? Sorry, as you can see I have little idea about this and how to set somehing like this up. I used to use foxyproxy in order to be able to watch BBC iplayer over here in Spain, but I am not so lucky with it any more. (Incidentally before some over zealous net policeman jumps on my head for infringing on UK TV licensing, I'd just like to point out that I do own and pay for a full UK TV license..)

	(#8)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	09-07-2009, 16:43 Let me explain proxying to you and it will probably make a lot more sense. A proxy lets you connect to Internet services from somewhere other than where you actually are. Think of it as a relay. So let's say you want to appear you're in the UK, for example to watch BBC streaming video. You can use a proxy located in the UK to allow you to appear you're in the UK. Essentially, that UK machine gets the content for you, and forwards it to you. If your UK friends have running machines and happen to be running Linux or BSD and are prepared to give you a shell account (i.e. text login access), you can connect to their machine using ssh (Linux or MacOS) or PuTTy (Windows), and if you configure it appropriately it will allow you to forward proxy requests. You can then configure your web browser (e.g. by using FoxyProxy on Firefox) to forward some or all requests to that proxy. If you do that you will be using some of your friend's bandwidth. Whether you use too much depends on how much bandwidth their provider lets them use, and how much you use while proxying. Watching streaming video occasionally will not eat up a lot of bandwidth. So here is what would work, although there are other possibilities. You need: - a UK friend - who has a machine running 24/7 - that uses BSD or Linux (Mac OS X is a form of BSD so it will work too) - that has an ssh server running (most Linux & BSD servers do, I think you have to enable it on OS X) - and the friend has to give you a login account - and his ISP has to give him a static IP address that doesn't change (or you have to learn how to work around dynamic IPs using services like dyndns.org; I have static IPs so I don't have to do this). If you can get all that to line up, you're good to go. If not, get yourself an inexpensive UK VPS (Virtual Private Server). Essentially you are buying a little Linux machine (a virtual one running on a machine running many). This will give you a Linux environment in the UK and you can run whatever you want. You only need to run an ssh server to let yourself do what you want to do. You can find cheap VPSes via sites like Low End Box Hosting Websites on Bare Minimum VPS/Dedicated Servers. I'm not sure which provider my friend is using, but I can ask if it's helpful. It's based in London. He pays about 4 pounds a month for it I think. CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#9)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	09-07-2009, 16:45 Oh, one more option... If you have access to a friend in the UK with an Internet account, you could simply buy a Slingbox and install it at their home. You could then watch the Slingbox's output remotely, from anywhere in the world with a decent Internet connection. This lets you watch live TV, so it's different from watching BBC video content. CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#10)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	09-07-2009, 17:53 PhotoJim, Thank you very much for that very detailed explanation! I have finally awoken to the wonderful world of Proxies. As you can see I have never really understood them much though I have used them before (I used to mainly use one based in a University in the UK). I think by the look of it I will consult my geeks back in the UK to see if any of them have a BSD/Linux machine chugging away in their basements. However, the VPS option does seem like an affordable alternative solution for some pukka british TV and Jeremy Paxman! Thanks also for the Slingbox suggestion. About a year ago or so I did get close to buying one but it's a fair bit of an investment to make. I then went down the route of fiddling around a with my satellite dish to try and get the free BBC signals off the Astra 2D beam though unlike most satellite footprints, it has a very tight footprint around the UK. You can still get its signals here (my neighbours do), but you need a dish upwards of 1.8m which is also extremely pricey! Mine is 90cm but I still manage to get a few odd UK channels on that but no BBC! Anyhow, thanks once again!