How to use proxy

The Internet is becoming a very important part of people's lives. With that the number of criminals increases. It becomes necessary to protect your personal information. That when we need the help of proximate services.

What is a proxy server

When using the Internet in normal mode, the device connects directly to the application servers and websites. Because of this servers are able to recognize IP-addresses and other data. User looses anonymity completely. Sometimes providers or application owner can restrict access to them.

Instead of connecting directly we can use help of proxy. Proxy forbids access to user's data for server's owners, which is why they cannot identify IP-address therefore they can't restrict access as well.

IMPORTANT! Proxy doesn't guarantee complete anonymity online, only partial.

PC can still be traced. However, special equipment and skills are needed to do so. Essential advantage of proxy is it, it grants access to blocked or restricted websites, while hiding IP-address.

How to use proxy

To use proximal server it needs to be connected to a separate device. To do that, you only need to know IP and proxy port. After that you need to add that information to operational system.

How to set up proxy on Windows 8 and 10

Setting up proxy on Windows 8 and 10 is very easy. Follow these steps:

  1. in “Start”, find “Settings”
  2. Find “Network and Internet”, a panel will appear on the left side of the screen. Choose “Proxy-server (usually the last on the list)
  3. New page will appear, there find “Manual setting”. In that block choose use in manual mode.
  4. Insert necessary data and push “Save”
  5. If, for some reason, you need to turn it off, you just need to turn off the proxy-server function.

How to set up proxy on Windows 7 and older versions

Process of set up is significantly different from Windows 8 and 10.

  1. First open “Control Panel”
  2. there open “Internet options”
  3. in the new window open “connections” tab.
  4. in the tab find “LAN settings”
  5. Tick “use a proxy server”
  6. enter information and click OK
  7. if you need to cancel, turn off “use a proxy server”

How to set-up proxy on MacOS

Although devices on Mac operational system are different, the set-up of proxy server is much the same.

  1. go to menu and find and “system settings”
  2. click on “network”
  3. now highlight active connection and choose “extended”
  4. a window with tabs will appear, choose a “proxy” tab. Next, a panel will appear, where is a list of proxy servers types. You need to pick those that will be used on the device.
  5. insert data for all chosen types and submit.
  6. if you need to stop the work of proxy servers, remove all marks from chosen types of servers.

How to set up proxy on Android.

Most devices on Android have different interfaces and functions. Some of the names may be different.

  1. choose Wi-Fi setup, there pick “active connection”, this will help fins context menu.
  2. next in the menu choose extended network settings.
  3. then find an item on the list about proxy and choose manual setting mode.
  4. insert data and submit
  5. to stop the work of proxy, enter the same item of menu and turn if off.

How to set up proxy on iOS

Often, after the setup of proximal server on iOS it only works in browsers. If the user needs to use it for apps, you should look of instruction on the official website.

  1. go to Wi-Fi setting. Then press on circle icon next to active connection.
  2. then choose “prosy setup” and tick manual setup
  3. now insert data and save
  4. to turn it off follow same steps. Go to “Proxy setup” and press “turn off”

How to setup proxy on separate websites

If you need to setup proximal server so that it only works on specific websites, you need to install special extension “FoxyProxy”

After you install go to setting of the extension. There click on “Add New Proxy”. A window with tabs will appear, find “Proxy details”. There insert IP and port number, also tick SOCKS Proxy function.

After that user need to choose “URL Patterns” tab. There add patters of website, where the proxy will work. To add a new pattern:

  1. click on “add new patterns”
  2. enter web address, put * on both sides.

When “FoxyProxy” will be turned on in the browser, only the chosen sites will open through the proxy server, others will open directly.

Where to get proxy

There are a lot of websites, which offer free proxy. If you decided to use free ones, remember, they have serious downsides:

  • bad speed
  • limited settings
  • unstable operation
  • no safety guarantee

IMPORTANT! Open proximal servers are dangerous to use while working with sites where you need to enter personal information.

An extensive list of free proxy servers can be found by simply doing an online search. But a ot of them can be not functioning or very slow. Remember that almost all major and popular sites restrict access to free proxy fast enough. Sometimes open proxy are created to gather person information of users and commit fraud.

Most people prefer not to waste time and py for quality proximal server with stable operation. Usually they can be found at online stores. Sellers of the private proxy provide technical support and help correctly set everything up. Also, you can always get a replacement for not functioning proxy.

IMPORTANT! When choosing proxy server, you should pay attention to “anonymity” index. The higher the denominator the better.

Not many proxy are used permanently, but sometimes, knowing why need it can help. For example, the in the situation when the provider restricted access to a website.