[anon(3641385)]

I've never considered using an IP Proxy before, but Tablet TV, a PB app by Forum member SCrid200 has got me thinking whether or not to get one to enhance my ability to watch/download tv programs from around the world that take my interest (I'm in Aus).

SCrid recommends a particular company, and that's okay by me, I'm not querying his choice or that company ..... what I'm curious about is:

- what exactly is an IP proxy

- are they safe to use in the sense of who knows you're using these - I gather it's in order to block your own ISP's country identity, so the proxy uses the IP address of another country. What does that mean in terms of legalities from that other country's point of view? So if someone uses a UK IP address, even though they live in Australia, does that mean they're accountable to the UK authorities for any usage attributable to that proxy address?

- Where do these proxy IP addresses come from? How are they obtained?

I appreciate that using a proxy is not a new invention so to speak, but by now I assume that a body of law has built up around their usage - and whilst I'm not overly concerned with the nitty gritty of the law, I am concerned about how it may affect me should I acquire a proxy.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

[pacoman03]

Use of a proxy shouldn't cause you any legal problems so long as you use it for the purpose you stated. If you used one to block your IP address in order to defraud someone, that's another story. Using a proxy involves routing your internet connection though the proxy, so any websites that you ultimately reach think your IP address is that of the proxy, not your actual IP address. Thus, it will see your location as whatever the location of the proxy is.

[BigAl_BB9900]

Hi Heavens

This is a good place to start - Proxy server - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (though it is a bit techie....)

Example:

BBC iPlayer (the BBC service that streams BBC TV programmes over the web) only allows users to play video content if they are based in the UK.

How does iPlayer know whether the user is in the UK or not? It knows from the ISP's IP Address which denotes the country the user is in

When I try to access iPlayer from another country (eg not in UK, when I am in Spain, Germany, etc) - I am not able to stream video content as iPlayer knows that I am outside of the UK as the ISP's IP Address shows up as not UK based (eg Spanish or German)

Solution!
When abroad I use a Proxy Server in the UK, which routes all my internet traffic via this UK internet server - iPlayer then sees me as a UK based user (not somebody who is in Spain or Germany etc)

How can you get access to a Proxy Server in a particular country?
Lots of free ones are listed here - Open Directory - Computers: Internet: Proxying and Filtering: Hosted Proxy Services: Free: Proxy Lists

Also... Proxy Servers can be used for the purposes of anonymity by hiding the user's real IP address. Many people in repressive countries therefore use Proxy Servers to hide their activities if they are involved in political blogging, democracy activism, etc

I am not a techie, and I am sure that many CrackBerry users can give you a better explanation, but I hope that my layman's overview is a good starter for 10

Hope this helps

Alex

[anon(3641385)]

Thank you both for your answers.

@Alex, I was thinking through re using a proxy for when travelling and your answer included that info .... thank you, you mind reader you!!!

Yeah - I knew re the proxies being utilised for restrictive regimes, but was still wanted to get a legal feel for getting one myself.

And yeah - BBC Radio works here, but not tv programs unless you use a proxy.

I'm not a big tele watcher, it's more of an experiment for me .... but getting a proxy interests me.

[anon(3641385)]

Anyone know how these companies acquire Proxy IP's?

[Guyzer]

i used to use hotspot shield which was a proxy for watching programs in the states as I am in canada. a friend told me when you install it some nasty stuff like adware gets put on, im no techie so i just stopped using it.

starting looking for alternate solutions and ways I can setup the proxy myself so I can be sure its safe. amazon ec2 servers right now seem to be working well for me. amazon gives you two free instances, one of linux and windows (running concurrently), for one year. [t1.micro]. there may be nominal fees associated the first month when your playing with it and trying to set it up, also if you go over your bandwidth usage which is 30 gigs (15 up, 15 down). though it works quite well and there are many howto's for how to set up a VPN or a proxy.

I currently have a proxy setup on my laptop at home, which is connected to the VPN, in the states. On my laptop Im running a proxy which I force the playbook to use on connect with my home router. This allows me to use Amazon app store as well as pandora and stuff on my playbook. It would also allow me to watch american tv shows from their native websites.

Im in the process of learning how to setup my free amazon ec2 linux instance with a VPN using strongswan. This then allows you to connect your playbook to the VPN natively and also gives you the american ip identity.

INFO on free tier @ amazon
AnalogX Proxy for WIN7 (i have no clue if its safe but it works )
Howto setup playbook VPN w/ strongswan (linux)
easier howto for linux VPN but your win7 machine needs 2 connect then u proxy through win7

[anon(3641385)]

@Guyzer thanks , that's a major concern for me ..... what 'stuff' might the Proxy provider add without my knowledge if I use their product.

[Guyzer]

with hotspot shield you had to install something extra. if your proxy provider just gives you log in details, like server ip port and maybe username and password theres nothing they can add... (as far as I know).

just dont install anything and you should be fine....