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2011-01-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

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2010-05-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Proxies for Iran: A walkthrough

2009-06-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Over at Austin Heap a project has been started to create proxies so demonstrators in Iran can get around government filters in order to organize on the web. It took me a bit of tinkering and wandering through the comments to get mine up and running, so I decided to add some detail to their walkthrough to help folks along. I try to assume as little technical aptitude as possible.

First up, a disclaimer: I know enough about computers to be able to figure out how to get something like a proxy service up and running, but my security knowledge is not great. Please read the Austin Heap warnings about security.

So lets get started.

1) Download Squid for Windows

2) Extract that zip archive, and move the “squid” folder to the root of your drive (probably C:\).

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3) Create a folder named "cache" in the \squid\var directory.

4) Navigate to the \squid\etc directory. This directory contains the four default squid configuration files. They are named "xxxxx.conf.default". In order to function, they must be named "xxxxx.conf". Make a copy of each of the defaults, then remove the .default portion of their name to make them usable

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5) Download This mostly pre-configured copy of squid.conf move it into the \squid\etc directory, replacing the existing one. This conf file is set up to only allow Iranian IPs to access your proxy

6) Open the squid.conf with notepad

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7) Configure the DNS name servers on the line that says “dns_nameservers” to point at your ISPs DNS servers.

DNS servers store the IP addresses that correspond to the domain names in a URL. For example the IP address for www.yahoo.com is 206.131.36.158. Since IP addresses aren't handy, computers rely on DNS servers to convert domain names users can remember into IP addresses a computer can use to communicate with another computer.

To find your ISP's DNS addresses, see the section below called Connection Information

Hit ctrl-f to bring up the find menu and type in "dns_nameservers". It should bring you to a spot just above the line we need to edit.

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The squid.conf file will not actually have the bracketed text as in the image above (I had to remove it so i could complete the install). The DNS servers already listed are a couple I have memorized. They should work, but it is better to use your own.

8) Now search in squid.conf for "acl TRUSTED". There will be a long block of lines beginning with "acl TRUSTED src" followed by an IP address.

If you are directly connected, change the first IP address (192.168.1.100) to your external IP address.

If you are connecting through a router, change the first IP address (192.168.1.100) to your Internal IP address, and add a line immediately below reading "acl TRUSTED src xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" with your External IP address. See Connection Information if you are not sure what your internal and external IP addresses are.

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9)Save squid.conf and close it.

10) Open start -> run, and enter cmd in the dialog box. At the command prompt type "c:\squid\sbin\squid -D -z" and hit enter. Be careful to enter the command exactly as typed above - Im pretty sure it is case sensetive. This will cause squid to prepare to install by creating swap directories.

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When it finishes creating swap directories and returns to the command prompt, type "c:\squid\sbin\squid -i" and hit enter. This will install the squid service on your computer. We're almost done!

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Now your squid proxy service is installed, but we still need to turn it on.

11) Right click the "My computer" icon and select "manage"

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Select services on the left pane, scroll the right pane down to "squid", right click on it, and select start.

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You should now have a working squid proxy on your computer. The proxy address will be xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:3128, where the x's stand for your external IP address

12) Testing your proxy: to be added soon!

Connection Information:

There are three pieces of information about your internet connection that you will need while configuring your proxy: your ISP's DNS servers, your external IP, and your internal IP (if you connect through a router).

Open start menu -> settings -> network connections. Right click on the connection you use to get online and click status. Click on the support tab and click the details button.

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If you are connected directly, the second line of the details pane (IP address) contains your external IP, and the second line from the bottom (DNS server) contains your ISP's DNS servers.

If you are connected through a router, the second line is instead your internal IP, and the second from the bottom should be the address of your router.

To get your External IP and ISP DNS information, you must browse to the router's configuration page (consult your router manual for details) and select the "connection status" or "router status" or similar pane. The IP address and DNS servers listed are the ones you need.

Here is my router configuration page as an example:

Striving

2008-07-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

I am an optimist. I believe in the power of human creativity, and I believe it can be harnessed to meet every challenge we face. I don't believe this because of an abundance of evidence supports it; an examination of human affairs yields far more examples of failure and folly than success and wisdom. There are times, however, when wisdom, persuasion, leadership, and a bit of moral courage can overcome the many calamities that beset us.

Our challenge is to create those times.

I read a quotation today that hints at the foundation of my optimism:

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.

Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1864-1912)

The impulse to better ourselves is inherent in the human person: we are set apart from all other things in that we alone can overcome nature. To develop and grow, to accumulate and improve, to create and recreate is to celebrate humanity. It is critical to reach always for something just at or beyond the limits of our ability. The near impossibility of our goal ensures that we will always have something to strive for, and if we should reach it we know that we must have become better than we were before.

To forgo working toward some noble end simply because it is remote or unlikely misses the transformative effect of our efforts. It may be that working towards the impossibly great is the only way to achieve the good.

Cross sections of a wandering mind

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Proxies for Iran: A walkthrough

Striving