An open proxy is a proxy server which is accessible by any Internet user. Generally, a proxy server allows users within a network group to store and forward internet services such as DNS or web pages so that the bandwidth used by the group is reduced and controlled. With an “open” proxy, however, any user on the Internet is able to use this forwarding service. Most of the time the owner of the proxy server doesn’t know that he/she is running an “open” proxy because of the proxy software misconfiguration. I still remember that the first IT company that I worked in 10 years ago had a Microsoft Proxy server in the network and it is an open proxy.
Open proxy is most commonly used to mask the user’s IP address. It could be to bypass censorship, privacy, or even to avoid detection. To be able to use the open proxy, a software such as Internet Explorer must support using proxy server. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Connections tab > LAN settings. Check “Use a proxy server for your LAN” and enter the proxy IP address and port. Now when you surf the web, the site can’t see your original IP address. Check out the animation below. I visit www.cmyip.com to view my original IP address. Then I configure Internet Explorer to use an open proxy. Refreshing www.cmyip.com website shows the open proxy instead of my original IP.
Unfortunately not all software supports proxy server. If for some reason you need a software to go through a proxy server, here are some third party software that you can use to tunnel windows applications through proxy servers.
There are some freeware such as FreeCap, Hummingbird and SocksCap which is able to redirect connections from programs through SOCKS or Proxy server. I am not going to talk about the free proxy tunneling software because some of them can be really tough to configure for a basic computer user.
However, the paid ones such as Proxifier, ProxyCap and WideCap are way easier to configure and use. So let’s take a look at it.
1. Proxifier
- Proxifier is a program that allows network applications that do not support working through proxy servers to operate through an HTTPS or SOCKS proxy or a chain of proxy servers. With Proxifier you can easily tunnel all connections on the system or separate applications. By default, Proxifier will tunnel all connections automatically after the installation. No configuration needed, however you’ll need to look for open proxy servers and add them to proxy settings. The latest Proxifier v2.7 cost $39.95 for a single user license, but it has been cracked by MAZE (Proxifier.v2.7.Cracked-MAZE)
2. ProxyCap
- ProxyCap enables you to tunnel Internet applications through HTTP, SOCKS v4, and SOCKS v5 Proxy Servers. You can tell ProxyCap which applications will connect to the Internet through a proxy and under what circumstances. This is done through a user friendly interface, without the need to reconfigure any of your Internet clients. ProxyCap provides flexible rule system and allows you to define your own “tunneling” rules. After installation, you’ll need to add a proxy server and then set a rule whether to allow all or specified programs to tunnel through the proxy server. The latest ProxyCap v3.15 cost $30 for a single user license but has been cracked by NJOY from Revenge Crew (ProxyCap.3.15.Crack-REV)
3. WideCap
- WideCap is system proxifier. It was created as an extended version of FreeCap program with a fully rewritten proxy engine to handle reloading everything on-the-fly. WideCap is fully functional Winsock Service and Namespace provider. That means simply integration into your network subsystem. FreeCap uses injection technology which could cause errors and incompatible problems with some firewalls and anti-viruses. WideCap acts as virtual network driver covering all your TCP/IP activity. No launchers – just run your program as usual and work via proxy. I spent half an hour trying to get WideCap to work because I was unable to get the rules working. Finally I found out that I need to add ANY for address that should go through Proxy. The latest version of WideCap v1.4 cost $20 for 1 license but also has been cracked by lord_Phoenix from Revenge Crew (widecap.1.4.0.539.read.nfo.cracked.exe-rev).
[ Download WideCap ]
Proxifier is the easiest to use with no configuration needed while WideCap is the most advanced proxy tunneling software if compared with the other two. Do take note that WideCap conflicts with other proxy tunneling software. I had to uninstall Proxifier and ProxyCap to get WideCap working.
i have a question in there if i can use these software to boost the connection 0f a cellphone modem we know that the cellphone modem connection is very slow?? thank alot in your consideration
somebody can tell me how i can make IE 8 work with proxyfier? Firefox it work great but not IE 8. i have nice sock5 proxy. i pay in every month for them.#### Raymond######## can you help me please?
Thanks for the information :).
thankz a lot, u r great.
Thanks for the recap Raymond and some of the pertinent comments, especially that it\’s going to slow things down and it is hard to find a reliable decent one.
I have been using various VOIP programs for as short while now such as X-fire (which I don\’t like), Team Speak (which is OK) and my favourite one Ventrilo commonly called Vent. You can rent a Vent server quite cheaply or you can run one yourself if your connection is good enough to handle it and the game. (Go to their site download the server and client, search youtube for a how to guide if you are unsure how to set it up ).
The problem is that if you run a vent server yourself you have to give your IP address and vent port to who ever you want to chat to. This is OK for trusted friends but not for some random person you meet on a gaming network. Probably nothing bad will happen but I would rather err on the side of caution than see if my security holds up for real.
A reliable fast proxy would get round this but there aren\’t any I know of that are going to handle usable VOIP even if using a data light codec such as Speex.
Does anyone have any thoughts on a solution apart from pay up and rent a vent server?
thanks Raymond ,, but i could not config proxy using any of the three applications
well exactly, i agree with few users that say “why would you tunnel info throw proxies if their slow?”
In my opinion, i personally use SSH(Secure Shell) and tunnel all my connections through SSH.. i have a paid shell tho :)
hey raymond this is the first time i am writing here.
i like ur blog coz i get a lot of info about computer that help me (a basicr computer user) a lot.
thanx.
(you share ur knowledge that is freeware ofcourse)
thnks raymond for the article…
but the problem is .. ( i have been using these proxy stuff + proxifier for long time ) that the open proxies taken from various sites are not reliable..
the connection becomes pathetic slow at time…
i have heard that Arabian proxies are the fastest .. but the restrict the net access and filter too much.. and more over there are loads of problem using proxies…
may be privacy isnt lost .. but at what cost ???
slow speed , Google search wont work properly , since it will assume ur proxy is a spammer…/ bot…
please do share ur thought on these issues.. and can u write a article on how to setup a proxy for personal use… thanks
hey raymond,did u know that u r god? if not,lemme tell u,
u r da god of computer tricks :-)
Hi Raymond
Love all your articles.Great stuff.
However this one about open proxy servers doesnt work on my vista home premium.My ip adres stays the same.Is it just for XP?
thanks raymond
thanks raymond for your detailed information….
How do we find a list of open proxies?
i know the reply will be ‘find through google’, but most of the ‘free open proxies’ in google are outdated?
thanks a lot, Raymond. useful info.
thanks ray,
thanks Dear Raymond.
I assure that you guys will figure this out. I do have Firefox but I use IE as an example.
it confused me as well. :( nice one tho Ray!
soon am gonna figure this things out.
How can you stand the IE….
Get firefox!!
@webcadre: Like I said using a proxy hides your original IP address. Proxies are definitely slower than direct connection. Although using an open proxy is something that we don’t normally do but it is a knowledge that I am sharing with you so you might find it useful someday.
Very soon I’ll be posting an article that has something to do with this and you’ll know that it’s all worthwhile.
@sunkumar: The knowledge that I share with you is free ain’t it? Unfortunately this site is not ALL about free software. I share what interests me. If you’re looking for sites that promotes only freeware, there are tons of them such as SnapFiles.
i donot like this article as all the examples are of paid softwares
its confusing me, why people want to use proxy if you just have a direct access to the net, then as i read in other forum proxy makes your connections slow, right?
Great tip, I was looking for this stuff a while back and found proxifier, which works really well.
Nice article. I always found that trying to find proxies was the hardest. I settled for Tor which is another good service. Nice info, Raymond!