Category Archives: Proxy Tutorials

How to Hide Your IP Address in Vuze

The BitTorrent application once known as Azureus continues to be a popular choice as many are attracted by its slick interface and wealth of features.

Follow the directions below to hide your real IP from other BitTorrent users as well as companies that use advanced tracking software to spy on users who download certain torrents.

Step 1

From the top menu go to Tools > Options

Step 2

Make sure “Mode” is selected at the left pane inside the Options window.

Under “User Proficiency” click on the radio button marked “Advanced.” This will give you access to proxy options not available when the lower levels of user proficiency are enabled.

Step 3

Click on the small arrow next to “Connection” in the left pane. This item will expand to reveal subsections. Click on “Proxy” (listed under “Connection”).

In the main part of the window under the label “Tracker Communications” click on the checkbox next to “Enable proxying of tracker communications (restart required).”

Further below under “Peer Communications” click on the checkbox next to “Enable proxying of peer communications (outgoing connections only) (restart required).”

Don’t restart yet; do that later after you’ve entered the required values in the Proxy window.

Step 4

To continue with this step you’ll need to determine which proxy host you’d like to use.

For testing purposes I used a SOCKS v5 host I found on socks-proxy.net, and while this is adequate for very small files the speeds are much slower than paid services.

If you plan on hiding your IP in Vuze on a regular basis and are interested in larger files like most people (movies, music, software), you’ll need to sign up with a VPN service.

Recommended services:

Enter the information provided by a site that lists proxy host IPs (and ports). As a sample to give you a good idea of what you need to enter, I’ve entered the required fields using a publicly available host from Russia in the screenshot.

Most users will want to want to “use the same proxy settings for tracker and peer communications proxy”, so make sure this is checked under “Peer Communications.”

After you’d entered the required info remember to click on the “Save” button in the lower left of the window.

Step 5

Now you can safely restart the software.

Go to File > Restart Vuze (just above Exit).

All Done

That’s it! You’re now ready to start downloading. Load in a torrent and see what kind of speeds you’re able to get.

How to Unblock U.S. Only Videos (YouTube, Hulu, MTV, South Park, etc.)

Being denied access to a video merely due to living outside the U.S. may be one the most annoying problems to plague the web.

Luckily there are a variety of browser plugins, software and services you can use to overcome the barrier.

The catch is that the free options aren’t always quick enough to stream high quality video without hiccups. Virtual private network (VPN) services that ensure flawless video playback consistently aren’t free. A VPN may or may not be worth it depending on how much U.S. only sites and content you crave.

Plugins

If you just plan to watch the occasional U.S. only video and aren’t picky about performance, start with a browser plugin. Just keep in mind you’ll be entering captcha codes to prove you’re human on sites like YouTube, which can get tiresome, because the proxy server IPs are overused.

There are two popular plugins to consider: ProxTube and ProxMate. They work with Chrome and Firefox. These work by hiding your true IP and replacing it with an IP associated with the country the video is allowed in.

VPNs

If you’re planning on watching a fair bit of video on YouTube or Hulu and want the best user experience free of technical issues and shoddy streaming, VPNs are the way to go.

With a VPN you download desktop software, which manages connecting to proxy servers available with the plan you go with.

Generally I recommend these three VPN services:

VyperVPN is super quick and the best overall VPN. The monthly rate is a good value, but you won’t save as much as the others if you pay annually. A three-day free trial is offered so you can test drive the service before committing to a plan. Read my full VyperVPN review here.

PureVPN and StrongVPN get the job done just fine and are dirt cheap if you pay annually ($50 or $55 per year).

Closing Remarks

Hopefully content providers will get more lax about restricting video from being viewed outside the U.S. as time moves ahead. Some of these copyright laws strike me as antiquated and arbitrary. Until then enjoy all the video you can handle with the use of a handy plugin or VPN.

How to Hide Your IP Address in uTorrent

Peer-to-peer file sharing users are becoming increasingly concerned about exposing their IP publicly. As you’re aware, uTorrent shows connected IPs under the “Peers” tab.

More concerning is the ability of film studios for example to plant tracking technology embedded right into the video. This allows them to issue copyright infringement notices through ISPs. I’m not encouraging piracy, merely noting that your IP can be harvested and possibly used against you when you share or download torrents.

The idea behind this tutorial is to replace your real IP with the IP associated with a VPN service.

Step 1

For testing purposes I used JustFreeVPN. Please note that free VPNs are excruciatingly slow especially when downloading huge files via torrent.

I strongly recommend that you sign up with one of the reputable, fast VPN providers below to avoid frustration. Plans are typically $10/month or less.

Recommended services:

Step 2

From the top menu go to Options > Preferences (Windows) or uTorrent > Preferences (Mac).

Step 3

A new window will pop up. Click on “Connection” on the left (Windows) or on the “Network” icon (Mac).

Step 4

Select the proxy server type from the dropdown button as specified by your VPN provider. Check the box next to “Authentication” and enter the username and password you were given.

Windows

There are a number of advanced options here under “Proxy Server” and “Proxy Privacy.” For maximum protection check all the boxes as shown in the screenshot.

Click the “Apply” button.

Mac OS X

Check the boxes under your login info as shown in the screenshot for maximum protection.

All Done

Congrats! Your real IP will no longer be displayed in uTorrrent.

How to Hide Your IP Address in Windows 7 and Vista

Surfers seek to hide their IP for a number of reasons. Often it is done to view sites that have been blocked by an administrator at school or work. No matter the reason, it’s easy to accomplish once you know the basic steps to follow.

It would be impossible to browse online without any IP address at all, because that is how web pages can route your requests. Hiding your IP address is actually a process of changing your ISP-issued IP to a new one, in effect “hiding” your old IP.

Although there is a wide variety of ways to hide your IP in different applications such as web browsers, here we’ll be looking at changing the system settings in Windows 7 or Vista to achieve the desired effect.

Note: It’s not recommended to use this method often, as your ISP may have a policy preventing frequent renewal of IPs. If you need to change your IP often, use a proxy server instead by following one of the tutorials below.

Step 1: If you have a router

Turn your router AND modem OFF.

Disconnect the Ethernet cables from your router.

Plug the cable from your modem directly into your computer.

Restart both the computer and modem.

Wait for your Internet connection to become active again.

Launch a web browser to confirm that your internet connection is working.

If you run into any difficulties, restart your modem and computer again. First, disable your Local Area Connection (LAN). Then, enable the LAN connection. Most likely that will bring your connection back.

Step 2: Confirm your current IP address

Visit CheckIP.org to see your current IP address (for comparison purposes later). Paste the IP into Notepad or write it down.

Step 3: Launch Command Prompt

Click the START menu, then type “cmd” in the white search box (don’t include the quotes) and hit Enter.

Step 4: Release the current IP

When the window pops up and prompt appears, type “ipconfig /release” (with a space before the slash) and hit Enter.

Step 5: Reset your modem

Turn your modem OFF and wait 30-45 seconds before switching it back ON.

Wait another 30-45 seconds after restarting the modem. Watch as the LED lights light up.

Step 6: Reset your connection

Go back to your START Menu then click on “Control Panel.”

Click “Network and Internet”, then “Network and Sharing Center” (click the big green text, not the blue links)

In the left-side pane, click the link for “Manage network connections”

Select your “Local Area Connection”, Right-click it, and choose “Disable”.

Wait 10-15 seconds.

Once more, right-click on “Local Area Connection,” and this time select “Enable”.

Wait 30-60 seconds. This is an IMPORTANT step. Do not try to proceed before giving it some time to work.

Step 7: Confirm the changes

Go to CheckIP.org to see your current IP address. Compare the original IP you either pasted into Notepad or wrote down to the IP in your web browser.

Nice work! You have successfully hidden your IP address in Windows 7 or Vista!

It’s recommended that you run CCleaner to clear the cookies from your computer. Otherwise your efforts to shake off trackers will most likely be wasted.

How to Hide Your IP Address in Mac OS X (Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Snow Leopard etc.)

By hiding your IP address you can free yourself from limited access of the internet, view foreign content or simply surf anonymously. Regardless of the reason, configuring a new IP in Mac OS X is a straight-forward process.

Keep in mind that there isn’t any way to literally hide your IP. Without an IP your computer would be unable to view any web pages at all because this is how requests to view content are routed. What you are actually doing is changing your “real IP” to a decoy address.

There is a huge variety of methods you can use to hide your IP with third-party applications. This tutorial will teach you about the most popular methods: hiding your IP address in Safari and Firefox.

Step 1: Confirm your current IP address

Visit CheckIP.org to view your current IP address (for comparison purposes later). Paste the IP into TextEdit or write it down.

Step 2: Get proxy server IP addresses

In order to continue with the tutorial you will need a list of valid proxy servers to pull data from. Be warned that free proxies are unstable, slow are unsuitable for viewing secure SSL pages. Still, the links below will get you started with some of the better free proxy lists. You can always get your own private proxy servers or VPN for the best performance if you’re unsatisfied with free proxies.

Step 3: Hide your IP address in Safari

Go to the “Advanced” tab, and next to “Proxies”, select “Change Settings…”

Next click on “Configure Proxies”, then choose “Manually”.

Tick the boxes for “Web Proxy (HTTP)” and “Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS)”

In the text area “Bypass proxy settings for these Hosts and Domains”, enter “localhost, 127.0.0.1”

In the box “Web Proxy Server”, enter settings from Step 2.

Click “OK” to make the changes.

Step 4: Hide your IP address in Firefox

On the first dropdown menu of Firefox, select Preferences

Go to the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Network” tab.

In the section “Configure how Firefox connects to the internet”, choose “Settings”.

Check “Manual proxy configuration” and “Use this proxy server for all protocols”

In the white text area that says “No Proxy for”, type “localhost, 127.0.0.1” (prevents relaying of internal connections).

For the HTTP Proxy and Port entries, see Step 2.

Click “Apply Now.”

Nice work! You have successfully hidden your IP address in Mac OS X!

It’s recommended that you clear the cookies from Safari and/or Firefox. Otherwise your efforts to shake off trackers will most likely be wasted.

LetMeBy

Tips for Hiding your Identity Online