Schematic Representation of Proxy: Computer in the middle is the proxy between the two other computers
F irefox as discussed previously many times is the best browser so far! With thousands of its add-on there is only a few thing which can not be done [and nothing while considering Firefox as a Web browser]. We already have talked about many useful Firefox add-on. So now lets extend our discussion to the next level of Firefox add-ons including Proxy Add-ons.
Proxy is basically a computer server in between your Home PC and Internet, that acts as a go-between for requests from clients to another server. In short a middle man between you and the web. The benefits of using proxy is to hide your IP address from basic statistics generating application like Statcounter, Analytics etc and also open up blocked contents on your local ISP [Internet service provider]. To know more about it you may read this article at Wikipedia. Note that unless you are using private VOIP it is impossible to hide yourself properly on net. With the basic proxy add-ons we are going to discuss you will be able to bypass some limits, open some blocked Websites by your ISP and fool some basic stat counters… So here we go
FoxyProxy Add-on:
The best proxy add-on ever. According to the development team of this Add-on it provides more features than any other Firefox add-on. Below are some key features:
- Automatically switches an internet connection across one or more proxy servers based on URL pattern
- Automates the process of Firefox’s default connection settings dialog.
- Lets us define rule to switch between several proxy server based on the loading URL.
- Animated icon shows when the proxy is in use whereas the Advanced logging shows which proxy was used when!
The FoxyProxy is available in more than 25 languages. Download and install it from the link below
QuickProxy:
Equips Firefox with a status-bar button to turn the proxy on and off with a single click. This add-on is designed mainly for Advanced users. This add-on will NOT provide a proxy server for you. It is designed to do only what it needs to switch between a proxy and a normal connection. Get this add-on from the links below
Tor-Proxy.NET Toolbar:
As the name suggests it gives a proxy toolbar to Firefox through which we can surf using the proxy server from any of the services below:
- TOR (tor.eff.org) – https://www.torproject.org/
- JonDos/Jap (jondos.de) – https://www.jondos.de
- I2P – http://www.i2p2.de/
Other features are…
- Encrypt URL for bypassing censorship and content filters
- Cookies, JavaScript and referrer are blocked on the server to improve anonymity.
Download the Add-on from the link below:
SwitchProxy Tool:
This add-on lets you switch between several proxy servers in a second. Note that you will not be able to get Proxy server from this add-on. If you like using manual proxy server then this add-on is for you! Download and Add the add-on from the link below. Also you can use the Proxy Servers below to surf through them…
Free Proxy Lists:
Below are some freely available proxy lists which you can optionally use with the above Add-ons. Note that it is not good to trust free proxies so use then at your own risk!
- Proxy4free.com Browse through the proxy lists
- Proxy.org another trustable Proxy site
Note that you can also use these proxies directly from Firefox. Simply go to Tools > Options… > Advanced and then click on setting under connection field. Then just enter the IP address of the proxy servers mentioned above.
That’s it! These are some ways to surf through the net being anonymous and open up some closed sites from your ISP. Note that using Proxy is prohibited by some ISPs. So use them completely at your own risk! And if you face any problem then feel free to ask through comments.
I believe in Vista you can still just hit windows R (shortcut for run) type cmd and then type ipconfig /all this will give you your ip addy, default gateway, dns ect.