Fun:How to use proxies

Users sometimes find themselves in the unfortunate position of being unable to edit, or even enter, parts of the internet because their IP address is blocked for some reason. For example, Communist China has frequently blocked all access to Wikipedia.

In order to get around these restrictions, users have learned how to use "proxy servers". This article will give a brief explanation about the use of proxies.

Warning! If you live in a country with a tyrannical government, your police can trace you even if you use a proxy. You will need to take further measures to hide your activities.

Idiot's guide

 * Visit: http://www.proxy.org
 * Click Go.
 * In the proxy server page that loads, enter your destination URL.
 * If the proxy server page doesn't load, just close the window and try again. Eventually, something will work, and you'll get to know which types are better than others.

If it works, you'll see a bar of tools at the top of the page, which you can ignore. Work through this stuff and you're away on a hack! It's all pretty simple.

Notes about working through proxies
Proxies work by simply routing your surfing through another site, which donates its own IP address to the destination, meaning you are to all intents and purposes 'unidentifiable' — your own IP is removed, and to the destination site you appear to be at the IP address of the proxy server. However, as with almost all computer security, nothing is in actuality that anonymous — your own IP address may be unknown to your destination, but the proxy server records know exactly where you are. So don't go thinking you can't actually be tracked and start doin' anything borderline criminal or anything. Of course we're all good people at RationalWiki. We wouldn't consider doing anything borderline criminal-for example, no-one here would do anything that the FBI would be interested in.

Many proxy servers don't work well at all, may be very slow, or may strip stuff out of the data, making them unusable—you'll know either in seconds when it doesn't load properly, or when you try to edit at CP and it doesn't work.

You are strongly advised to turn on pop-up blocking in your browser and whatever ad-blocking software you can get your hands on. Proxy servers are often way-sketchy parts of the internet, and you'll certainly want to stop the mushrooming windows problem at many of them.

Because of the above, proxy servers come and go, popping into and out of existence all the time. It's like Whack-A-Proxy out there. Don't expect one to be there the next time you try,

Once the IP address of a proxy is blocked, you can mostly consider it dead for future use at a particular site. You've just killed a useful resource, and now must start over at another proxy server. Be careful when this happens that you don't just suddenly pop up again in front of the attack dog — since you now have a new IP address, you've just exposed yourself as an 'internet traveller'.

So — to avoid compromising many others, if active sysops are around, after you create your sock, do some 'good works', write a proper article, make an uncontroversial edit, or simply do nothing. Wait. Patience is power. All good things come to those who wait.

The really smart way to use a proxy is: once you find one you like, stick to that one for that sock account, and NEVER use another proxy or IP address. So — bookmark a proxy per sock, and be strict about usage. If you run multiple socks, it can be most amusing to have multiple proxies open in multiple tabs, with all your characters arguing with each other on Talk pages and undoing each others work. Ho ho ho.

If you're writing a major screed at a site via a proxy, copy and paste the text before hitting Save — it can often disappear and all that cleverly worded spleen-venting will be for naught.

Proxy.org is only one directory providing proxy sites—there are a vast array of others which you can discover on your own. Posting this article quite likely means that all proxies listed at proxy.org will shortly be 'used up' as lots of people use them and get banned.

Conservapedia-centric crap
At Conservapedia, you're strongly advised to avoid editing via a proxy since most sysops have "checkuser" rights (a MediaWiki extension which allows them to see your IP address) and watch like a hawk for proxies and block in an instant. Amusing sidebar: when you get banned via a proxy, your blocker will often claim the ban reason is that you're a sock of a vast array of other folk—maybe none of whom are you—because you've just outed an army of socks who were using that proxy. This is why you need to be careful when Karajou is around, as an unwise posting may well end up in the banning of multiple other users who are doing good works in the name of the Lord.

Tor
Tor is the greatest tool known to circumvent censorship. Tor is the mighty God of Thunder who smites the jötnar with a rotating IP address that can be changed with a click of a button. However, using it slows down page load speed and it can be confusing to set up without using the ready-made Tor Browser Bundle. Start getting it at this web site.