Whether you have some spare proxies from work or have encountered a legitimate free proxy list, you should put them to good use. As intermediaries between you and the internet, they can change IP address and geolocation, functioning as an extra layer of protection.
People have found some ingenious use cases to improve their home networks. Most use cases don’t require much technical knowledge, and when it does, you can find all the information online. This article aims to be a starting point, giving you some basic knowledge for research.
Improve Your Subscription Services
Most subscription services differ in pricing depending on the geographical region you are from. Netflix’s price in Argentina, for example, is around $4, while users from the United States pay at least $7. However, price is not the only reason to look for a change of location.
Some platforms might be unavailable in your country or block content you would like to access the most. Changing your IP address helps to bypass such restrictions and get the most out of what you pay for subscription services.
Proxies are invaluable for such purposes and can be easily used on PCs or phones. You can simply set up the device to connect through a proxy server. The end service will only see the IP address of a proxy server, which can originate from anywhere in the world.
However, such proxy advantages on smart TVs and consoles are much more difficult to get. Many such devices have complicated settings for implementing proxies, or they are non-existent at all. Often, the only option is to set up a proxy server on your home network.
Most routers have proxy and VPN settings in their main dashboard. You’ll simply need to enter your proxy credentials – IP address, port, and password. Then, all the requests from your network will be routed through the proxy server, including the ones from your TV and console.
Avoid Ads
Fighting ads are getting more and more difficult. DNS blockers, like Pi-hole, are limited because they often block content that isn’t ads. YouTube ads, for example, aren’t blocked by DNS blockers because videos are loaded from the same servers.
Ad blockers on browsers are also in a tough place. Websites cannot block them completely, but they can know when you are using one and ask you to turn it off if you want to continue browsing.
Changing your network’s location can be an effective method of avoiding some ads, but no matter what software your device uses, some countries, such as Iceland, don’t allow any alcohol or tobacco ads. Others, like those in Africa, have fewer online ads in general. Routing your network requests through these countries with a proxy server will help you to avoid ads.
The process is similar to when avoiding higher subscription fees. Just open your router’s settings and enter the proxy credentials. However, it will take time to find where there are fewer ads on your favorite platforms, and there might also be some content limitations.
Content Filtering
Educating your household, especially kids, to avoid malware online takes a lot of time. I find it much faster and simpler to just block dubious websites and safeguard the network that way. As an added benefit, you can also ensure that there is no misinformation or inappropriate content in your house.
Content filtering can be done on each device separately, but you will need to access each device and install content-filtering software. A much better option is to simply block your Wi-Fi router from accessing certain content.
Programs like DansGuardian, Barracuda networks, or Zenarmor can be set up on your router, allowing you to filter what servers users can access. They work by intercepting all requests coming out of the network and loading them on a proxy server.
Then, the filtering software checks whether the connection fits the rules you have defined. If it’s something you want to block, the connection is denied. The process is automatic and, with a good proxy server, doesn’t slow the connection too much.
Web content filtering software nowadays is quite advanced and can filter not just DNS servers but also websites, content categories, or keywords entered in search engines. However, it’s important to keep in mind that more powerful filters will require better proxy servers.
Remote Access To Local Media
Remote access helps users connect to a restricted network from a different location. Usually, it’s used by companies to allow employees to access databases, software, and systems remotely. It’s less known, but remote access points are also useful for securing home networks.
Most applications involve creating a remote connection to media at your home network. This is usually done with media libraries such as Plex or JellyFin. They can store movies, TV series, music, photos, and other media for remote access.
Creating such servers is much easier for your local network. It not only helps you to protect the network but also makes the setup much simpler to manage. Instead of letting everyone on the internet access your media library, you can set it to just a few IP addresses from your proxies.
The idea is that your media library will block all connections except the ones on your local network and of your proxies. This can be done by creating whitelists that allow only selected IPs. Plex, JelyFin, or other media library managers have settings for whitelists by default.
Each time you are away from home and need to access your media, use your proxies to connect to the internet. Setting up proxies is possible in the OS settings of all laptops, phones, and other devices.
Final Word
All these projects will definitely improve your home network simply because you will have more control over how your network accesses the World Wide Web. Whether it’s worth purchasing proxies just for this reason is an open question. But if you can try proxies for these projects, you should do so.
