Proxyway

Intro

Proxyway is an interface program designed for locating, testing and implementing proxy servers for anonymous web surfing. Anyone who has ever manually entered or tested proxies from a list can tell you what a time consuming process it can be without a little helper program. Proxyway is useful in that it allows the importation of proxy lists that can be found via Google or your favorite search engine. As of 9-2004 here is one such example site stay invisible or if that does not work try samair.You can load this page into the program for easy proxy list downloads.

Start

Once you have imported a list of proxies the program tests them and returns such useful information as proxy functionality, response time, anonymity level, protocol, port, IP number and country of origin. This allows for the quick deletion of proxies that would be unsuitable for quick anon web surfing, which unfortunately is the majority of proxies. The proxy list manipulation is performed under the tool heading proxy lists.

Run

To set a proxy in motion the user goes to service manager, chooses the proxy to implement on the left and pushes it to the right. Click OK at which point Proxyway tests the proxy again and stops it. To begin press the start button at the bottom of the screen. Once the proxy is confirmed running it is a good idea to check whether it is working. Sites can be located online that will do this. The sites above will check for you Samair or SI.

Other Features

Proxyway also covers a major hole in most browsing anonymity, the leaking of real IP info via java script, applets and the J2SE platform. Users go to the security setting icon to block these holes and also have the option to restrict other browser leaks. Additionally the program has both an ad and cookie blocking feature. Finally the program generates logs so the user can view the program's activity which can be helpful.

Issues

Bugs within the program seemed minimal, but there was one recurring issue that was problematic. When using the service manager to load proxies, the only way to get the proxies to successfully run on a repeated basis was to select the proxy and then check it as default while deselecting anonymous. For unknown reasons doing anything other than this method caused the proxy to run but not successfully hide the real IP. Additional issues for the extremely security oriented is the close integration of this one vendors software into the host machine seeking anonymity. Obviously to download and run the program means the user is accepting any risks in the code or possible tracing via the software vendor's program. (Just a reminder to the extremely paranoid!)

On a closing note while the program supports Netscape and Explorer, tests run using Mozilla repeatedly leaked IP info that was blocked in the other two browsers. Another concern of the program is its failure to block a total system scan known as shields up. You can test that here Shields Up!. Finally to chain proxies the user must locate SOCKS proxies, which are much less common and often reported as bad (erroneously) when located and scanned by this program. An internet search on socks proxies can offer more illumination on tunneling and ways to overcome sock proxy issues with Proxyway.

More Info

This program is available from this website Proxyway and is shareware. After a 15 day evaluation users are expected to cough up some cash if they plan to still use the Proxyway. If you enjoy this type of thing look around the net, there are many interesting proxy applications both free and commercial for a variety of functions and operating systems. The turnover of sites collecting IP proxy lists is constant, as pressure to portray those of us seeking privacy as malicious hackers is too common. Supporting the availability of proxy list collections is imperative to successful anonymous browsing for those who seek it.