Free Proxy Servers

[galowgala]

Ive been told that you can enter a proxy server on your computer say a uk proxy server for free and it protects your computer from web sites sending you junk etc, this is totally legal ive been told, will that also mask where an email you send has originally came from, for instance if i sent an email to the UK from Thailand would it still show that that email was sent from the UK if my proxy server was a UK one. im not sure that ive explained it too well ? im not a computer expert as you can see

[lopburi3]

Forum rules

9) Not to discuss proxies or other methods of bypassing government blocking of websites.

[thaimite]

Ive been told that you can enter a proxy server on your computer say a uk proxy server for free and it protects your computer from web sites sending you junk etc, this is totally legal ive been told, will that also mask where an email you send has originally came from, for instance if i sent an email to the UK from Thailand would it still show that that email was sent from the UK if my proxy server was a UK one. im not sure that ive explained it too well ? im not a computer expert as you can see

Proxy's will hide your location from most people. They will not prevent you receiving spam, they also have other uses that I believe are not legal in Thailand. People receiving your emails and doing an IP trace will only get as far as the proxy location without further help (enforced or voluntary) from the proxy server owner.

[Mario2008]

Using a proxy is illegal in Thailand.

[surface]

Using a proxy is illegal in Thailand.

I'm pretty sure that using a proxy with the intention of accessing a site blocked by the government is illegal. I can't imagine how they would prove that in court though. Anyone know if it's been done?

[surface]

For the OP, sending an email using gmail's web interface will not divulge your IP. Sending from your gmail account via IMAP (and possible POP) does include your IP.

[Oneman]

if i sent an email to the UK from Thailand would it still show that that email was sent from the UK if my proxy server was a UK one.

Respecting the forum rules, I will stay carefully on the topic of sending emails.

The answer is, yes, your email will look like it was sent from the location of the proxy server.

So if the server is in the UK, your email will look like it was sent from the UK.

The location of your computer (and you) will not be shown at all.

There are easy ways to verify email headers to be sure that is the case, and I have done so.

Now a warning:

Some free proxy servers are "honey pots" for Internet criminals.

There is lots about this on various security web sites.

Far safer to pay a small monthly fee for a recognized service, than to risk a free proxy server.

In accord with forum rules here, that's all I will post in public.

Anything further must be in private messages or email.

If you send me email, don't be surprised if my email reply appears to come from Melbourne, or Toronto, or even London.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

[BlueSmurf]

A WARNING if you use any proxy server do not use it to access your internet banking! I did and someone tried to get funds from my account in the UK.The bank said they only caught the people trying to get money out as they had had another customer robbed before me..It was a paid for proxy server.The bank also said they did not know if the people were within the company or from outside but it only happened because I used the proxy...Hope that is of help if and when you use one..

[Crushdepth]

Using a proxy *is* legal if you use it for legitimate reasons. However, it can be risky - don't assume the proxy was set up for your benefit, it may have been set up to harvest logins etc. passing through.

[monty]

Using a proxy *is* legal if you use it for legitimate reasons. However, it can be risky - don't assume the proxy was set up for your benefit, it may have been set up to harvest logins etc. passing through.

It's a gray area at best Crush.

The Thai Internet Crime act specifically states that hiding your IP address in any way is illegal. Which is exactly what a proxy does.

The specific thing the Thai internet police wants to be able to do is tracing back exactly which PC/person has been used to do something on the internet. Which a proxy makes difficult to impossible to do. Which is why they have forbidden the use of such things.

[Oneman]

A WARNING ... internet banking! I did and someone tried to get funds from my account in the UK. ...It was a paid for proxy server.... it only happened because I used the proxy.

Valuable warning from 'davidwright'.

Bank access back home is essential for many expats here.

What to do?

Staying within forum guidelines, I will carefully focus on email and banking only.

I have some experience with finding a proxy service, because I recently changed to a new one.

Perhaps my experiences will be useful to others here in Thailand who need banking access.

The proxy I'd been using for several years, started getting slower and slower.

I don't know why.

A paid service.

So I selected another proxy.

This new proxy, about 90% of the time wouldn't connect at all.

Trying to solve the connection problems, I went 'round and 'round with tech support at the proxy service.

Lesson #1:

Select only proxies that offer tech support.

They tried to be helpful, but they had no solution.

They explained that I was their only customer having these sorts of problems.

Since I'd only paid for one month, I decided to move on to try a different proxy service.

Lesson #2:

Select only proxies that offer a free-trial, or a short subscription to start, so you can test.

The third proxy service also offered a short, one-month subscription.

And they offered tech support.

Before signing up I sent a few questions to tech support -- response was quick and helpful.

So I paid for a month.

But, even there, could not connect at all.

Tech support at this proxy also explained that I was their only customer, in the entire world, with exactly these connection problems.

Part of tech support is a good forum of users.

Not all proxy services will offer a user forum, but, an active user forum is a huge benefit.

Not only is an active forum a good way to solve your problems, it is also a good clue to a legitimate service, rather than the sort of Internet hackers which 'davidwright' warned about above.

From using the forum I quickly learned that the proxy software I was using (free software), was notorious for bugs.

So I switched to a paid software program, recommended on the forum.

Lesson #3:

Try to find a proxy service that has a user forum.

Now the software worked reliably, but I still could not make a connection to the proxy service.

I just needed access to my bank account to pay bills coming due back home, but still could not.

Finally, on the proxy forum, several users suggested that the ISP in Thailand may block the proxy.

How to find out?

What to do?

My solution was to get a different ISP from a different vendor here in Thailand.

And, suddenly, I could connect.

Lesson #4: Some

ISPs in Thailand may block some proxies.

Now I can access my bank and investment accounts with no problems.

Their computers 'think' I am back in the home country.

Legal in Thailand?

I simply don't know.

Will I have the sort of problem warned about above?

Sure, it's possible.

However, I have done enough research that I think I have found a legitimate proxy service.

What I worry about more is WiFi.

Is some hacker "sniffing" the WiFi signals in my neighborhood -- trying to get banking passwords?

I don't know, but I'd rather take my chances with a proxy service, than trust WiFi.

So, for Internet security when doing banking, I'm placing my bet on the proxy.

Lesson #5: A proxy service

may

offer improved security if using WiFi.

In order to follow the forum rules, more discussion with me only in private email.

I've offered above some lessons learned, to be helpful to other expats here who need banking access.

But I will not recommend specific, proxy services; not even in a private message.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

.

[lopburi3]

I sure don't need a proxy for bank access so it does not apply to all expats who have bank accounts at home. I have regular contact with three banks both directly and through Quicken with no issues.

[monty]

I sure don't need a proxy for bank access so it does not apply to all expats who have bank accounts at home. I have regular contact with three banks both directly and through Quicken with no issues.

Most people will want to use a proxy, an encrypted one, if accessing their banks from public places (wifi hotspot, internet cafe's).

However it is doubtful this is much more secure as the proxy provider would be able to harvest data...

It would indeed virtually block out any attempts within Thailand to get to your stuff.

[lopburi3]

Perhaps it is my age and not being a computer geek but I fail to see any advantage in a proxy for security - only an extra man in the middle to access data - a real security negative.

[SurfRider]

.

If you're interested in or have need for really tight security, look into a VPN

There are free and paid VPNs available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VPN

I don't know what's permissible to post here, but suffice to say, Google is your friend.

.

[Crushdepth]

A few years ago our computer guy set up a webserver in our office and accidentally configured it as an open proxy. I discovered this when I found a massive surge in our website logfiles. We later found out that our 'accidental proxy' had been discovered and publicly listed on some websites and then I presume a whole bunch of people started using it and jamming up our bandwidth.

When I took a look at the raw logfile I was shocked to discover that it contained the login credentials for hundreds or maybe even thousands of sites. We had accidentally captured this huge list of people's passwords without even trying. We just turned it on.

Don't use anonymous proxies if you can avoid it, at least, not for anything important. It might not have been set up for *your* benefit!