FreeProxy Helps You Circumvent Restrictive Firewalls

They are part of an application that manages multiple monitors like MultiMon.

mja1ajm

hey a bit off topic but what are the two buttons after the minimize one in the screenshot?

The really sad thing is that having decent Internet access is like having the world's biggest library at your fingertips, and then most companies want to block it. I'm not terribly sympathetic with addicted FB users - but as a techie, cut off my Internet access and you might as well tie both hands behind my back.

The short-sightedness of companies who'd block stuff to that extent just boggles the mind. How can any IT person get anything done in that environment ?

If you set this up on a port your work/school/whatever proxy allow, such as 80/TCP, there is really no way for them to block it. Since you are connecting to your own computer, it won't be a known 'proxy avoidance' IP. The only way to auto-block this would be using a device that does some sort of layer 7 inspection, but even then, proxy traffic and regular HTTP doesn't look that much different.

send9

Absolutely crucial you use authentication. An open relay proxy is a gold mine for spam / hackers.

I tunnel mine over an encrypted SSH session so that no one can sniff traffic. Eg: Secure browsing at a wifi hotspot.

johnsmith1234

I'm looking for a program that forces a program to send data through a proxy? does anyone know a good one?

kirbyhood

Considering that lifehacker is a site that occasionally dabbles in giving questionable career guidance, this article ought to be pulled down. Using a tool like this is a firing offense at just about any company that has internet blocking installed.

24fc

@Nitrokart: I forgot you can't see the actual URL. Basically, I just change http to https. Works for Facebook too. (But I'm so addicted to FB that I need to access it at school.)

My school uses Barracuda. It's hilariously easy to get around. For example they blocked Dropbox's web interface stating that it was "file sharing" (which it technically isn't). Anyways, to access the website, I just go to [getdropbox.com.] I guess Barracuda is just the basic blocking features built-in to many routers.

@framitz: Oh, lighten up :)
What harm does browsing lh on your break do?

@Ben Cowen: No, this sets up a proxy on -your- computer. Grab a free redirecting domain like .co.cc, and use that. If it's blocked, get a new one :D

@Phoshi: I used to use ztunnel, but then too many people started to use it and it got blocked. My school uses 8e6 Technologies and that thing is so strict. It even blocks lifehacker! I went there a few times, and now it won't work. The websites that these blockers chose to block are ridiculous.

wakebordr

@ddthesm: Ya, my teacher said that if she found anyone using one, that they would be dropped from the class.

wakebordr

@Ben Cowen: To circumvent OpenDNS you have two options. Either learn the IP Adress of an http proxy by head or find a way to change the DNS servers of the PC.

People bypass this kind of thing all the time it seems and despite the overly-macho threats from the frustrated net admins (I'm lookin' at you framitz :) )I doubt work places and school networks will ever be secure again. Think of all the private use of laptops that happen outside the corporate net that just connect the next day - way bigger risk than outbound proxy violation.

However, one really useful feature of this is to defeat geolocation (just another form of artificial restriction I have no quarms in defeating). I travel a lot internationally and get annoyed that I can't access services I have paid for when abroad. Using the proxy on your home server / machine will allow you to get around this. There you are - useful and legit :)

Arkay71

@Willy Thong: You don't need to use an exe for this?

@Donkey_Pasta: EDIT: Sorry -- meant you prob don't have Admin rights at school.

Donkey_Pasta

@Ben Cowen: OpenDNS has a filtering category for proxies -- doubtful. One way to circumvent OpenDNS is by manually assigning static DNS addresses in the TCPIP settings. Then you might have to flush DNS from the command line. Of course you can only do that if you have Administrative rights which you probably don't at home. Otherwise you could bring in a Linux distro on a jump drive, assign the DNS addresses and run Firefox off it or something.

Donkey_Pasta

Working with IT for the financial sector, this would be equal to signing my own resignation :-)

Varming

@Willy Thong: Woah are you serious??? Thats really extreme. At my school you can use .exes, basically the whole computer is not locked down or anything, but instead on a virtual drive which purges itself after relog.

lbrtdy

I wonder if this will work at my school, they have OPENDNS and I can't find a way around it anymore... Im the reason we got OPENDNS too..

Ben Cowen

Actually this could be used the other way around too. You could route traffic in order to filter content.

Donkey_Pasta

Not good; apart from anything else, we're not allowed to use .exes at school :(

Willy Thong

@Jereso: Aye, I had a good thing with running a proxy and VNC on my server, but that shut down :(

@righteye: Quite, but there are definately situations this is useful. Like public libraries - lifehacker is not about hacking, goshdarnit!

Use this crap or crap like it on the network where I work and you will regret it all the way to the unemployment office and beyond.

Instant dismissal for gross misconduct. No appeal.

Not worth losing your job over.

Unfortunately (and fortunately from the IT's view) it's getting harder to get around blockers. ALL of the traffic goes through a blocker at my school. Even Tor and VNC is blocked. I miss browsing SomethingAwful.

Jereso

Just a word of warning, proxy's are a great tool for safety and semi-anonymity, but if you use these at work or school you can get in trouble.

ddthesm

Excellent advice in a tough job market. I have many good friends looking for jobs, and I encourage everyone to follow this advice so your position will be free and my friends can interview for your job.

Circumventing the Acceptable Use policy and security measures of your employer is extremely stupid. So are these continuing posts about how to do it.

robdew

@wakebordr : Wow, all my teachers wouldn't know a proxy from a pizza, except my IT teacher, and he doesn't care if I use them (my weapon of choice is an SSH SOCKS proxy). I've been using it for years and still haven't been caught.

dark42

@kirbyhood: Freecap will "wrap" any normal TCP/IP program to go through a SOCKs or HTTP proxy. I found it a little unstable compared to using an application's native proxy facility.

[www.freecap.ru]

johnsmith1234

@Varming: Dude you work for the financial sector, your resignation was submitted like 8 months ago.

Angry Numismatist

Unless, and until somebody does this on YOUR network, most people do not understand the risk. No, surfing LH with a proxy is not much of a threat, but most people who use this will not be surfing LH.

I no longer work for one company. I do contract IT work. And, a lot of it is cleaning up a formerly secure network. Compromised by someone who thought they knew what they were doing. And everyone thought nothing will go wrong.

Like it or not, rules are there for a purpose.
So, experiment on YOUR network.

@Nitrokart: Wow yeah that doesn't sound like a very good filtering system. I'm an IT Admin and I detest people getting on FB at work. OpenDNS has cured that disease.

Donkey_Pasta

@chiggr: Well said.

Donkey_Pasta

@dhuff: Sounds like they block everything except 'allowed' sites? A large percentage would use the web browsing freedom for personal non-work-related things rather than being productive.

Donkey_Pasta

As well as the risk of getting fired, think of being asked at the interview for a new job why you left your old job, and the sort of reference your old employer is likely to give you.

atomic-elk

This looks like the free wifi tutorial on Hak5: [revision3.com]

Not condoning anything, just mentioning options.

@Ben Cowen: Or don't break your school's network TOS by bypassing their filters. It's a great way to end up suspended.

My work blocks all sorts of stuff that might actually even be useful for my job. I wait the requisite "forever" to get an exception listed; I like my job too much to f* around with it.

hometoast

@robdew:

"Excellent advice in a tough job market."

This made me smile. Maybe that was Lifehacker's intention after all.

@dhuff: Yeah, whatever.

For 99% of the world population, Internet access is absolutely NOT necessary.

24fc

@Donkey_Pasta: I'm not an IT admin, and I hate people going on FB at work!

I also hate those filtering systems :(

@Nitrokart: Technically, it IS file sharing, seeing as you're sharing files. Damn useful for sharing your own files between school and home, the block is stupid.

@framitz:

Someone wasn't held enough when they were a kid?

seda

I get to take high schoolers internet access away for doing things like this, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Trey Thomas

@Nitrokart: that doesn't work here. Here it's blocked by https not http. So people can get to the webpage, but not log in.

rattis

@Arkay71: Not all of us are frustrated net admins. If the users were smart enough to not post company property on third party sites, and restrict browsing to breaks and the like it wouldn't be a problem, and we wouldn't need proxies.

rattis

@Phoshi: That's the problem. On break it is fine, off break it is not. Most people can't distinguish between the two.

rattis

Some excellent L7 inspection: www.deepnines.com Coming soon to a school/office near you!

Wade Dykes

What school do you go to so we can get them a DeepNines box? LOL

Wade Dykes

Yes, not a good idea at work or school. Its my job to defeat these type applications (and I love my job). Go home and twitter or look at porn, or use your phone. Work and school computers/networks are for education and business production.

Wade Dykes

@Nitrokart: Wow, I'm an idiot. I meant to say I'm NOT so addicted..."

@send9 The filtering I've put in place at work blocks the IP ranges of most ISPs, and we don't allow any exe files to be run from the users drive or external flash drives (etc). A normal user can't access the C drive either, so this program would be useless.

SonikaPolar bear

@kseve: those are from a program called ultramon - manages multiple screen setups - I'm pretty sure the program has been talked about here before on LH. I use it - have my HDTV connected to my laptop as an extended desktop - my daughter can watch movies on the TV and I can still work on my comp.

i would highly recommend the program if you are using or considering a multi monitor setup - it has been greatly helpful

breaker400

I've been using FreeProxy for months at school. I even set it up with different users with different privileges so my friends can use it to. I bring Portable Firefox with my proxy settings pre-configured.

AstraNarberth

My company keeps these blocks up for two reasons:

1) Keep people out of trouble (security, liability)
2) Get back to work! (productivity)

Any attempt like the one posted in this article makes you subject to termination and everyone is made aware of that when they come on board. The general rule of thumb is this; one try and they think there is some kind of error, two tries and hopefully they see it is pointless to try to circumvent the corporate security, three times and we submit the evidence to HR and 99 times out of 100, that person is given the perp walk out the door with their belongings.

It's one thing if you ISP is trying to block you, it's quite another when your company is. Don't fight it or try to get around it, just get back to work.

brodiemac

Our school had had this huge announcement that was like "Any Students caught using a Proxy will have there internet connections removed!!!! (!!!!!)" I thought it was dumb. Access to certain things should be restricted (i.e. "Adult" things, Malware sites, etc.), but over all I say unrestricted access is the way to go. I have had a number of School-related things that I have had to work on that have been restricted. I had to wait 'til i got home to use them. I think that our Tech Guys should just block certain sites! (Luckily LH is not block at our school (YET!! :O )

@brodiemac:
1. Routing through your home connection should take care of liability. Security should not depend on the firewall
2. Productivity should be measured by what you get done unless the corporation makes money by harvesting workers' brainwaves

orlo

There are plenty of web-based proxies out there as well. But yeah, I wouldn't use a proxy at work. Whatever you are trying to get to isn't worth the risk IMO.

AlvinaOebalus

this is pretty cool, as it avoids running a proxy program, which is filtered by my school .exe filter. the only problem is that im pretty sure that the school IT guys have also blocked personalizing connection settings, thus making this mode moot. (i hate the IT guys in my 4 years of HS they've gone from virtually no blocking to really hardcore blocking, probably bc of me and my goons haha)

funkyfarmer

Such primitive methods offered by LH. I keep waiting and waiting for them to provide the latest. They've offered UltraSurf, Freegate, Tor, all these years-ago techniques--and FreeProxy is way back there. Oh my! I dearly hope you aren't getting paid for providing outdated and obsolete information.

rainbowsky

o used ultrasurf on school and got suspended for doing so :(

AureliaKlik

Alright, let's go through this one more time...schoolkids, listen up - First of all, your school's filter software is almost guaranteed to not be hosted or managed by any staff at your school. It is most likely a program put in place to cover the entire district and is managed by district-level IT staff. Secondly, the software is in place because of federal law which states that any school district (for example, EVERY school district) that receives Federal funding must have filtered internet access in place. So next time you want to go all Jolly Roger's Cookbook on your school to impress your script-kiddy friends, keep in mind that deep down inside, the school IT crew really doesn't care what bypasses you figure out, passwords you sniff, etc etc because any web-based proxy that gets popular enough at a school will show up in the logs anyway and will eventually make it's way to the blacklist, and you'll just have to wait to get home to play Runescape.

Plus, as a former school-based network admin, I liked having fun stuff like that to deal with, it was better than having to explain to another hapless teacher that their monitor didn't have a virus, it was just unplugged.

c0dek