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Niwita
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Live USB Proxies?
#12495800 - 05/02/10 08:50 PM (14 years, 20 days ago) |
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Hey folks, I'm wondering if any of you are familiar with a web proxy that can be run off a USB (or CD, if USB isn't possible)in the same way as say, Linux (Knoppix, Ubuntu, etc.) can be run off of an external device? Most of the time that I'm on my laptop I'm on networks that are restricted, and there's some stuff that I'd like to be able to do with more privacy and freedom than is available at the moment.

Thanks in advance...
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illuminati
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Niwita]
#12496106 - 05/02/10 09:49 PM (14 years, 20 days ago) |
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Why can't you just use a proxy as you normally would?
-------------------- I didn't get turned on I just got turned I wasn't as aroused as I was concerned for each one of 'em I've hurt and every time I've been burned I've got a lot to teach but even more to learn
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Max-power
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Registered: 07/25/09
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Loc: The 4th World
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Niwita]
#12496156 - 05/02/10 10:00 PM (14 years, 20 days ago) |
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tor might help you with what you want to do: https://www.torproject.org/
I'm not exactly well versed with the technical ins and outs of this application, but as I understand it, tor is a special anonymous tunnel which makes it difficult for anyone to see what websites your accessing.
The tor software is distributed with an open source proxy application called polipo which is somehow required for tor to work (I think tor requires some sort of external proxy to direct tor traffic to the appropriate place).
This tor setup is very good at protecting your online privacy, and I imagine it'd instantly be able to deliver websites that your network currently blocks you from accessing, but it is slow browsing, and I reckon it'd be damn near impossible to do things like file trading on P2P networks.
I haven't tried this, but you can download a bundle that is supposed to work from a USB drive to enable easy tor access from any public computer. You should find it on the downloads pages on the site I linked above.
I have only tried setting up Ubuntu for the tor network. After a bit of reading of that site I quoted, I got it working very well (with an application integrated with my browser to enable simple push-button activation/deactivation of tor browsing). But, the software is available for windows as well.
Hope this helps.
-------------------- "No pleasure on EARTH is worth giving up for the sake of 5 extra years at the local geriatric hospital." -Rumpole of the Bailey.
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fastfred
Old Hand



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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Max-power]
#12498375 - 05/03/10 11:07 AM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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XBbrowser is a little browser made to run on the tor network. That will work just great from a USB drive. I use it sometimes and it's worked well for me.
https://xerobank.com/download/xb-browser/
Remember that tor is kind of slow a lot of times, but it's totally anonymous with far more security than a simple proxy.
-FF
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Niwita
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: fastfred]
#12498785 - 05/03/10 12:27 PM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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Great, thanks a bunch guys! Do you know if any of this will be visible from the server I'm working on? For example if someone was looking for dirt, would they be able to see that I was using Tor?
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Max-power
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Niwita]
#12499265 - 05/03/10 02:01 PM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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Tor is designed with security and anonymity in mind. It is designed for people behind draconian networks to be able to freely and safely browse the internet (for eg: people living in China).
I'm sure therefore the developers have taken steps to make it difficult to bring undue persecution towards someone who uses tor.
HOWEVER: You're on someone else's network - they essentially have complete control over the data that you transfer through it. A clever admin would be able to devise techniques for detecting tor traffic and (whilst it might be difficult or impossible for them to decrypt and see your traffic) they could find out that you're using tor to communicate with the outside world.
This would be the case using any anonymity system as far as I know.
Read the technical articles about the operation of the tor network to get a better understanding of how the network operates, and what the risks might be for tor users.
-------------------- "No pleasure on EARTH is worth giving up for the sake of 5 extra years at the local geriatric hospital." -Rumpole of the Bailey.
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Niwita
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Max-power]
#12499522 - 05/03/10 02:49 PM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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Much appreciated everyone!
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Alan Rockefeller
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Niwita]
#12500180 - 05/03/10 04:47 PM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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Quote:
This would be the case using any anonymity system as far as I know.
Correct, but some random VPN would be much less suspicious than tor.
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Niwita
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VPN? Sorry I'm unfamiliar with the term...
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Niwita]
#12500292 - 05/03/10 05:07 PM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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fastfred
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Registered: 05/17/04
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So they find out you're using tor... They won't know why you're using it so just tell them you didn't realize it was prohibited. Then they'll be like "well, it's not exactly prohibited". Then you tell them "Thank you for your concern, but I have work to do."
Only the most paranoid employer is going to take the time to figure out that packets are going to a tor chain. It's not the kind of thing that just pops up or is red flagged AFAIK.
-FF
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: fastfred]
#12500385 - 05/03/10 05:25 PM (14 years, 19 days ago) |
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The typical employer with 10000 employees has 3 or 4 tor users.
They are up to no good, trust me.
If its not child porn its regular porn.
Many modern IDS systems detect tor use. I would VPN.
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Niwita
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Wow this stuff is confusing. x_x Thanks!
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Max-power
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Niwita]
#12504757 - 05/04/10 12:33 PM (14 years, 18 days ago) |
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Don't dispair: yea it's all confusing, but then most things are when just starting out right? Think of hunting for wild mushrooms - I still think that's confusing and it's potentially deadly if I make a mistake. At least with IT, you're unlikely to die if you fuck up (well, IDK - perhaps in some countries you may well be executed if a government discovers you're breaking through their Internet barriers, but that's beside my point).
You just gotta keep at it. Where there's a will there's a way. If you're determined enough to beat the admins, you will find a way.
Keep reading, and remember: the admins are trained in this area, they know there are those who will try to circumvent the barriers they establish within their networks, a good admin will continually be improving the integrity and security of their network. You gotta beat them at their own game if you want to bypass their security mechanisms. That's why you won't find a simple "push this button to get unrestricted Internet access for dummies" type solution that actually works. If you seriously want to beat the admin, you'll have to put in the hard yards to learn a bit about the technology and understand it's vulnerabilities and how you can exploit them.
But don't despair: there is a wealth of information out there about this topic, contributed by a huge community of incredibly intelligent people who's passion in life is to understand the technological platforms that host the Internet, and come up with crazy schemes to bypass the roadblocks that admins put in their way.
An incredibly interesting field of study if that's your cup of tea.
Good luck on your quest dude.
-------------------- "No pleasure on EARTH is worth giving up for the sake of 5 extra years at the local geriatric hospital." -Rumpole of the Bailey.
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Niwita
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Re: Live USB Proxies? [Re: Max-power]
#12510326 - 05/05/10 11:53 AM (14 years, 17 days ago) |
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One love and many thanks to all kindly souls who contributed information on this topic.
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