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You need to configure a port on your local computer (a “listener”) that will take any packets you throw at it and stuff it into an SSH encrypted session. Here’s where things get a bit confusing, so read carefully. Type the command exit to close your SSH session. Now that you know you have a working SSH server, you can continue to set up your tunnel. I’ll demonstrate both OS X and Windows versions Linux users can follow along and make minor adjustments where necessary. From there, you can set up an impromptu Web proxy by issuing SSH commands. Once HostGator creates your account, you receive your login information and your assigned server. The company’s basic “Hatchling” hosting package is almost $5 per month, so for three nickels a day you can have your own secure tunnel.
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I personally prefer HostGator, which has a large data center in Houston. (If you’ve ever seen a Hollywood computer thriller showing a green screen and hackers typing away furiously, they’re probably using SSH or telnet, depending on how well the screenwriters did their research.) SSH was created as an encrypted version of telnet, one of the Internet’s original protocols, used to send character information between computers. I prefer this approach because you don’t have to fuss with any firewalls back at home, and you don’t have to leave a computer running when you’re on the road.Īny inexpensive shared-hosting provider will do for your purposes, as long as the company provides access to a secure shell (SSH) server. The easiest way to set up your own secure Web tunnel starts with paying a monthly fee for a hosting company to do all the difficult work of obtaining a server, installing an operating system, and making sure the server stays online 24 hours a day with plenty of backup generator power. Once you are at your tunnel endpoint, your Web traffic travels through the Internet via regular unencrypted methods (again, in red) to arrive at the destination Website.
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In the diagram above, regular users of the coffee shop’s wireless hotspot take the direct route to a Website (in red), but you use an encrypted tunnel (in blue) to shield yourself in the hotspot network.
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