
Using Amazon EC2 as a web proxy - cpswan
http://blog.thestateofme.com/2010/10/27/using-amazon-ec2-as-a-web-proxy/
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codexon
This tutorial is missing a crucial piece of information.

Firefox: Go to about:config, set network.proxy.socks_remote_dns to true.

Otherwise you'll be leaking out information on which domains you are visiting.

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jmreid
I believe that reverse DNS still leaks even if this is set in Firefox.

As long as DNS isn't blocked on the network you're on, you could change to a
more neutral DNS provider (4.2.2.1 or Google)

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codexon
I don't believe so. I checked with wireshark.

And there's no point in using another DNS provider if your network is
compromised since they can see your requests in plaintext.

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ronnier
Even better (for me anyways), is to use my Linksys router at home, flashed
with a linux firmware with SSH enabled. I'm already paying for my connection
at home, so why not use it?

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tropin
If you can then place the router in the country you need the proxy to be, and
access it, then yes, your option is probably better.

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logic
I've been doing this for years to prevent various network providers (from
employers to coffee shops) from inspecting my traffic, although I typically
use OpenSSH, and AutoSSH for restarting in the event that I change networks
throughout the course of a day on my laptop:

<http://www.harding.motd.ca/autossh/>

On Linux, they're both obviously available without any drama. On Windows, I
use both from Cygwin.

I used to use a home-based system, but I've been slowly trying to simplify my
"home computing experience", and moving anything "hosted" to external
providers. They can offer much better uptime than I can these days, and with
much less personal frustration, especially if you consider the cost of a low-
end VPS.

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jpmc
This coupled with the free micro instance Amazon is offering right now makes
for a handy/free proxy.

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dustingetz
so at 25c per GB transfered (10c in + 15c out), this would be a couple bucks a
month for all of my mobile traffic. Route SMS through google voice...

wow, I sure wouldn't mind my carrier being out of the loop with respect to SMS
privacy.

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pan69
Don't you also need an EC2 instance?

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mkuhn
I tried this quite a few years ago to watch geographically restricted video
content - e.g. at Hulu - but gave up on it because the IP-ranges got blocked
quite quickly. Is that not the case anymore?

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seldo
If so, somebody should automate this RIGHT NOW. $0.02/hour to watch
British/American TV! (Depending which side of the pond you're on)

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TheAmazingIdiot
Why would it be any good?

Obviously, the local VPN avoiders who would implement this would get
blacklisted, so its a no-go.

And there is the basic fact that Pirate Bay has shows, with no IP screwery.

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GICodeWarrior
I highly recommend FoxyProxy for managing proxies in Firefox.
<http://getfoxyproxy.org/>

You can easily enable/disable multiple proxy configurations and there is a
rule-based mode where you define which traffic should go out on which proxy.

It is great for working remotely when your company doesn't have VPN access or
you don't want to set the VPN up.

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rb2k_
The annoying thing is that e.g. flash will ignore that and try to open a
socket. This means that it will use the regular connection and not the tunnel.

This also means that hulu decides not to work because flash doesn't respect
proxy settings... :(

