PHProxy is a free Web proxy that provides access to Web sites that would otherwise be blocked.
PHProxy was written in the PHP programming language, originally by someone using the name Abdullah Arif, who stopped working on the project in 2007. Nonetheless, it remains functional and useful and many people have used it to set up their own public Web proxies.
Where can I access PHProxy?
You can find a public PHProxy service by searching for "PHProxy" in any search engine, but someone you know who has space on a Web server with unrestricted Internet access can also set up a custom PHProxy service for you.
(If you have space on a Web server with unrestricted Internet access, you can set up a PHProxy service yourself for use by people whose access is restricted. To do so, you can download the PHProxy script at http://sourceforge.net/projects/poxy/.)
How does it work?
Here's an example that illustrates how PHProxy works:
- Enter the address of the PHProxy service, for example http://www.cship.info/poxy/ , in your Web browser.
- In the "Web Address" box on the PHProxy page, enter the address of the Web site you want to visit, for example, http://www.google.com. You can keep the default options.
- Click "Go" or press Enter.
The Web site you wanted to visit is displayed in the browser window.
To continue browsing, you can either:
- Click any link. The Web proxy is automatically used to retrieve linked pages.
- Enter a new URL in the "Address" box at the top of the page.
Advanced options
Usually, you can keep the default options to browse. However you can choose between several advanced options:
- Include mini URL-form on every page: Check this option if you want to have a form on the proxified Web sites so you can enter new URLs without going back to the startpage of the PHProxy. If you only have a small screen you may want to de-select this option so you have more space for the target Web page.
- Remove client-side scripting (i.e., JavaScript): JavaScript is a technology required by some modern Web sites (like Web mail services). Sometimes JavaScript can be unwanted because it is also used to deliver advertisements or even to discover your identity.
- Allow cookies to be stored: Cookies are little text files with a distinct user ID which are normally automatically stored by your browser. They are required for some websites which need authentication but can be used to track your identity. With this option turned on every cookie is stored for a long time. If you want to allow cookies for this session only, de-select this option and select "Store cookies for this session only" (see below).
- Show images on browsed pages: If you are on a slow Internet connection, you can de-select this option so the Web sites load faster.
- Show actual referring Website: By default your browser sends every website the URL you are coming from. For example if you search on Google for "Internet censorship wiki" the results page will be http://www.google.com/search?q=internet+censorship+wiki. When you then click on the link http://en.cship.org/wiki/ from the results that website will get the Google link which can be stored in logfiles and analysed automatically. For better anonymity you can de-select this option. Some websites may not work if this option is de-selected.
- Use ROT13/base64 encoding: This option will change the way the URL of the Web site you want to visit is transfered. For example, the URL http://en.cship.org/wiki/ will be uggc://ra.pfuvc.bet/jvxv/ in ROT13 and aHR0cDovL2VuLmNzaGlwLm9yZy93aWtpL01haW5fUGFnZQ in base64. Both encoding techniques are well known, so they can not be considered as encryption at all. Still, they can be used to confuse simple keyword filters. If you use SSL encryption (the URL of the PHProxy starts with https) this encoding would be redundant, since the connection is already encrypted properly and hidden from filters.
- Strip meta information tags from pages: Meta tags are additional information stored in many websites to be used automatically by computer programs. Such information may include name of the author, description of the site content or keywords for search engines. You may check this option to avoid presenting this information to keyword filters.
- Strip page title: With this option turned on, PHProxy deletes the page title of the website, which you normally see in the title bar on top of your browser. This can be useful, for example, to hide the name of the Web site you are visiting when you minimize your browser.
- Store cookies for this session only: Similar to the "Allow cookies to be stored" option. With this option turned on, your cookies are only stored until you close your PHProxy session.
