Using a proxy server

i've just arrived in china where i am spending the next year. it's hot here.

i know there are some pretty savvy computer users on this site and wondered if anyone has any knowledge of setting up a proxy server on a mac. so i can use the websites blocked by the great firewall of china?

i was hoping to use facebook to stay in touch with the family and stuff but failed to get this sorted before i left.

any help much appreciated.

thanks.

If you had a PC i could help a bit more as i am a Mactard.

You could try a proxy website, loads exist but many are pretty unreliable.
Try google language tools (just convert from english to english), as it is basicly a proxy site.

Or manually enter the proxy into your browser (which i dunno how to do on a mac), just search for a proxy list on the internet, find an IP address (e.g. 127.0.0.0:80) from outside the country (i'd say USA is the best).
If you find the option to Manually configure the proxy, apply it enter the IP address remove the Colon and the numbers after the colon and apply it to the corresponding port feild, save, click OK and it should work.

If, not try using https instead of http at the start of the website your trying to get to.

Hope it helps.

is it a crime to use work-a-rounds? maybe just do without for the year for fear of incurring any wrath from the Chinese government.

I'd do it. Go here:
http://www.blackvpn.com/

Use the invite code 'LastChance'. Doesn't require any extra software, just follow the instructions for PPTP with a Mac. Use the server in the Netherlands.

fox, how does blackvpn compare to tor?

is it a crime to use work-a-rounds? maybe just do without for the year for fear of incurring any wrath from the Chinese government.

i would think so, but it would become a political shit storm if they tried anything on a foreign citizen from a country with any clout.

thanks facebook works just fine now. and wikipedia and youtube.

i would think so, but it would become a political shit storm if they tried anything on a foreign citizen from a country with any clout.

He is from the UK.

It's been over a year since this thread got some love. So what's new in the 'trying to watch tv in other countries' world? What are y'all using?

ssh + SOCKS tunnel. Plenty of easy guides online if you have a ssh client (putty works well for windows ) and a ss account in what ever country you want to work access.

Hey Tommy, thanks for that. What's an ss account? I'll google ssh and SOCKS tunnel to see what comes up. You heard of any decent ssh clients for macs (don't judge me)? :)

Using ssh as a SOCKS proxy on Mac OS X

Mac should have one built in. What country are you trying to watch TV in?

I set-up my computer for my girlfriend to ssh into from Hong Kong land, but there are people offering ssh accounts all over the place.

ssh = secure shell

The gide I linked to makes the firefox bit more complicated. I used this guide

http://wiki.freaks-unidos.net/weblogs/azul/firefox-ssh-tunnel

Configuring Firefox to use the Tunnel
On Firefox click on the menus Edit > Preferences. Pick the Advanced tab and click on Settings next to Configure how Firefox connects to the internet. Select Manual proxy configuration, enter localhost in the SOCKS Host text field and enter the port you used for your tunnel. Close the dialog to apply the settings.

At this point most the traffic from Firefox will go to the port selected, where the SSH process will pick it and send it encrypted to your SSH server, which will in turn establish the actual connections to the web servers. There are two exceptions:

Hosts listed in the No proxy for setting. By default this setting lists localhost and 127.0.0.1. You could add other hosts or IP addresses if you want Firefox to connect to them directly (instead of using the tunnel).
Firefox will still do DNS lookups for the hostnames.

OK, I'm going to read up on this tonight and resurrect this biatch if I'm still clueless. At work at the mo and was kind of hoping for an instant solution so can't really look into it properly until I get back home. I'm pretty computer-savvy and can follow instructions so I should be OK. Cheers for sorting out where I needed to look though, Tommy. Appreciated! :)

Ok, how does one find an open http proxy? By the way and for the record - I'm typing these words and they mean fuck-all to me. Don't assume I know what you're on about! :)

A bit overkill for trying to watch TV, isn't it?

It's easier just to find an open http proxy and setting your browser settings accordingly.

probably but it's the way I know and it's a way that works. It was a method I learnt for other means so just use it for everything.

I dropped 10 euros on 4 months for a VPN account. I couldn't get decent results with free servers - way too much lag for TV.

I use my work VPN when I'm outside Britain. Was very useful in China, or when I want to watch MoTD from abroad.

Doesn't really help anyone else though...