The majority of Linux distros support this right after the OS is installed (assuming you didn’t install a firewall). You just have to be able to remotely log in using an SSH client. I’m assuming the SSH server is already set up. This method leaves my Internet Explorer untouched. I just log into PuTTY, and then open Firefox. I use Firefox for my secure browsing so that I don’t have to worry about constantly reconfiguring my browser. I’ve used PuTTy for years, so it’s my client of choice.įinally, you need a network that you don’t trust, or that you would just like to cover your tracks on. Next, you need an SSH client that supports SSH Tunneling. You can also use a Linux box of some sort on your home network (This is my method of choice.) This will run remotely, you just need to be able to log into it using an SSH client. You can find these anywhere and most webpage hosts give you a login for one when you purchase hosting. To make the change, we need to modify the SSH configuration file.You’ll first need an SSH daemon. It will also encrypt the outgoing traffic. If the SSH server isn’t serving web content, then we can use one of the default ports (Ĥ43 as it expects encrypted traffic by default. Some ports remain open by default, for example, port This is the default port that SSH uses to connect to remote systems. If you can’t establish a connection because of a firewall restriction, then it’s likely that the firewall is configured to block connection to portĢ2. Here are some common issues that you may face when trying to use SOCKS to route traffic. You can learn more about Linux process management from this tutorial.Ĭlosing the PuTTY window should close the tunnel connection. The following command will reveal the PIDs of all the running SSH processes: We need the PID (process ID) of the SSH process. To close the tunnel, we need to manually kill the SSH process. When you no longer need the proxy connection to the SSH tunnel, you can safely disable it from the Firefox proxy settings:įrom the window, select Use system proxy settings and click OK. For example, you can check your IP address from CheckMyIP. Next, open a new tab and try accessing any webpage. Lastly, check the option Proxy DNS when using SOCKS_v5. Then, for the port, enter the port we dedicated for the SOCKS tunnel. Click Settings on Configure how Firefox connects to the internet:Īfter that, select Manual proxy configuration. From the top-right corner, click the menu icon. For demonstration, Firefox is a great example.įirst, open Firefox. Any app supporting SOCKS can use the tunnel. A terminal window will pop up to connect to the remote server via SSH. Here, under the Destination field, select the options shown in the screenshot: First, you need to download PuTTY:įrom the Session tab on the left panel, enter the Host Name (or IP address) of your server. The SSH process will function as intended from the background.įor Windows users, using PuTTY is an easier solution. Now, you can safely close the terminal window. The following SSH command will establish a SOCKS tunnel to the remote server: This guide on configuring SSH key-based authentication demonstrates the process in detail. The SSH key must also be registered to the remote system. On the local computer, we need to configure an SSH key to ensure a secure connection. Setting up the SOCKS tunnel (macOS/Linux).If you’re on Windows, then you either use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to set up a local Linux environment or use PuTTY, an open-source app that can implement various network protocols like Telnet, rlogin, etc. It’s a modern-day web browser that supports the SOCKS 5 proxy tunnel. As we’re using SOCKS proxy, to test the connection, we need an app that can use it. You need to have SSH configured prior to making it work smoothly. Prerequisitesįor demonstration, we used a local machine running Ubuntu desktop and a remote machine running Ubuntu server. This guide will demonstrate how to establish an SSH SOCKS 5 proxy tunnel and route your web traffic through the tunnel. It’s useful when you can’t install the VPN client or don’t trust a VPN provider. Compared to VPN, SOCKS offers more flexibility and control over the network configuration. SOCKS (Socket Secure) is a similar network protocol that allows communicating with servers through a firewall by routing the network traffic on behalf of a client. However, VPN isn’t the only form of a proxy server. All the traffic passes through the VPN server, effectively masking your IP address and location. When it comes to securing your footprint on the web, you may have heard about VPNs, right? VPN acts as a middleman between your computer and the internet.
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