Negative
May 25th, 2002, 02:32 PM
The Proxomitron.
1. What is The Proxomitron?
The Proxomitron is an 'on-the-fly' web page-transformer written by Scott R. Lemmon. Using special HTML-filters, the Proxomitron can change most anything you wish.
Proxomitron monitors the incoming stream of HTML as you browse the web,
and "rewrites" it to your liking: it can detect many kinds of ads and other annoyances, and "remove" them from the HTML that your browser sees. You still have to download the HTML, but you DON'T have to see it. And, since the HTML often contains annoying and
slow-to-load GIFs, your browsing is greatly speeded up since you don't have to download all those ad images.
2. Do I need The Proxomitron?
Go to iNet Police (http://inet-police.com/cgi-bin/env.cgi ) . If you think you're giving out too much information, you might consider getting The Proxomitron.
I wrote a simple PHP-page (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php) that should give you the same results.
Tired of those fancy new HTML-features you browser supports? Tired of blinking banners, pop-up windows, nosy Java-scripts, pop-up windows, frames,....? Enter the Proxomitron.
3. Where can I get it?
This (http://www.proxomitron.org/download.html) contains The Proxomitron with Installer. And yes, the Proxomitron is free!
4. Installation.
Just install the Proxomitron to the directory of your choice. The Proxomitron does NOT change your registry-settings and does NOT install anything in other directories.
5. Set-up.
Start the Proxomitron.
You have to set up your browser to re-route everything through the Proxomitron.
In Internet Explorer: Tools --> Internet Options --> Connections --> Settings. Check the 'Use a proxy server for this connection'-box.
Fill in the adress-field: LOCALHOST, and set the port to 8080.
By doing this, you re-route everything through the Proxomitron. This means that your browser won't work without the Proxomitron anymore.
Therefore, make sure to add the Proxomitron to your Startup-folder.
The procedure should be the same for all browsers.
6. The Proxomitron.
Active Filters:
Use Remote Proxy
First off, check the Use Remote Proxy-box under Active Filters if you want to use an external proxy-server. Now click Proxy under Edit Filters. Fill in the box (proxy.xxx.xxx:8080) and click OK. Safe this configuration by clicking File --> Save Config File. Safe it as Default.
Web Page Filters
Check the Web Page Filters-box to apply the Web Filters. You can change the filters by clicking Web Page under Edit Filters. The standard settings should be more than enough for most users, but of course you're free to apply
whatever filter you want, or even create your own filter.
Some important Web Page Filters:
Hide Browser's Referrer from JS: this is by far the most revealing data sent out by your browser.
This info is normally revealed in a HTTP header named "Referer" but JavaScript can be used to grab this information as well.
This filter can be edited to send back any URL you want. With the filter highlighted, hit the Edit button and in the bottom "Replacement Text"section change the URL to whatever you like.
Kill Nosey JavaScript: note that by applying this folder, you might not be able to acces Hotmail anymore.
Outgoing Header Filters
Check the Outgoing Header Filters-box to apply the Header Filters. You can change the filters by clicking Headers under Edit Filters.
Some quick tips:
Go to the PHP Headers-checker (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php) . Under HTTP_USER_AGENT it should show the browser you're using. Here's how to change that:
In the HTTP Header Filters-menu, check the User-Agent: Netscape Mac 68k (out)-box (both in and out). Click OK, and refresh that page. This is what it should show now:
HTTP_USER_AGENT Mozilla/3.01Gold (Macintosh; I; 68K)
Want to fool that page so it thinks you're on a GameBoy?
First, uncheck the User-Agent boxes you just checked.
Now, click on New to create a new filter. In the HTTP Header-field, fill in 'User-agent: Gameboy' (The Proxomitron does not use the text after the ":", it's only used for comments). In the Replacement text-field, fill in Gameboy (or whatever you want). Click OK. Now check
both the user-agent: gameboy boxes from the rule you just created. Click OK. Refresh that page (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php) again, and you should see something like this:
HTTP_USER_AGENT Gameboy,powered by Nintendo.
Now, let's that a look at that page (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php):
REMOTE_HOST
REMOTE_ADDR
REMOTE_PORT
Don't even think about changing those values, because you can't... (using Proxomitron, that is).
Why not?
Well, Remote-addr is found by looking up the IP address used by the TCP/IP connection itself. This is required information: Without a real IP address the web server could never send the page back to you. Proxomitron alone cannot change your IP since it's running on your own computer and its IP address is the same as your IP address. The only way to change this is going through a remote proxy.
REMOTE_HOST comes from doing a "Reverse DNS lookup" on your IP address: the web server takes the IP address of the connections and asks the DNS system what hostname is attached to it. Normally your ISP's DNS server will respond with the answer. It can't be filtered, unless you run the DNS server with authority over that IP, since the info doesn't come from your PC to begin with.
HTTP_VIA, HTTP_FORWARDED, and HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR as the names indicate *are* in fact HTTP headers. The problem here is they're not ones normally added by your browser but instead by an intermediary proxy server. Normally the connection "chain" looks like this...
+--------------------+ +--------------+ +------------+
|Browser->Proxomitron|-->| Remote Proxy |-->| Web Server |
+--------------------+ +--------------+ +------------+
(Your PC) (Proxy host) (Web host)
Since the headers are added by the remote proxy after leaving Proxomitron, you can't filter them out. You can however add headers of your own beforehand which may possibly confuse automated scripts. It should also be noted that, by default, these headers aren't stored in most web server logs anyway.
Here's an example of a higly customized rule:
Transform PDF to HTML on the fly (this uses a Google-service, so it may not work for all pages):
In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "URL: Convert PDF to HTML thru Google (JarC)"
URL = "(^*216.239.39.100)*.pdf"
Match = "http://\1"
Replace = "$JUMP(http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:\1&hl=en)"
Web Log
To see what exactly is send from your browser and what comes in, click Log Window. This pops up a HTTP Message Log, showing exactly what goes out and comes in.
Ad-blocker
Go to Config --> Blockfile to customize the ad-blocker. Here's a list (http://www.eccentrix.com/computer/wirrwarr/index.html) of ads you can use with Proxomitron
Included (zip-file) is an alternate setting for the Proxomitron.
Here's the PHP-code for that php-checker:
<?php
print ("Your remote address is $REMOTE_ADDR
");
print ("Your remote host is $REMOTE_HOST
");
print ("You're being forwarded from $HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR
");
if ($REMOTE_ADDR = $HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR) {
print ("You seem to be using a proxy
");
}
else {
print ("You don't seem to be using a proxy
");
}
print ("Your accept language is $HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE
");
print ("Your user agent is $HTTP_USER_AGENT
");
print ("HTTP_REFERRER: $HTTP_REFERRER
");
print ("HTTP_CLIENT_IP: $HTTP_CLIENT_IP
");
print ("HTTP_CONNECTION: $HTTP_CONNECTION
");
print ("HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION: $HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION
");
print ("HTTP_PROXY_AUTHORIZATION: $HTTP_PROXY_AUTHORIZATION
");
print ("HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE: $HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT: $HTTP_ACCEPT
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET: $HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE: $HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING: $HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING
");
print ("HTTP_CACHE_INFO: $HTTP_CACHE_INFO
");
print ("HTTP_CACHE_CONTROL: $HTTP_CACHE_CONTROL
");
print ("HTTP_EXTENSION: $HTTP_EXTENSION
");
print ("HTTP_HOST: $HTTP_HOST
");
print ("HTTP_MAX_FORWARDS: $HTTP_MAX_FORWARDS
");
print ("HTTP_MIME_VERSION: $HTTP_MIME_VERSION
");
print ("HTTP_PRAGMA: $HTTP_PRAGMA
");
print ("HTTP_TE: $HTTP_TE
");
print ("HTTP_UA_COLOR: $HTTP_UA_COLOR
");
print ("HTTP_UA_PIXELS: $HTTP_UA_PIXELS
");
print ("HTTP_UA_CPU: $HTTP_UA_CPU
");
print ("HTTP_UA_OS: $HTTP_UA_OS
");
print ("HTTP_COOKIE: $HTTP_COOKIE
");
print ("DOCUMENT_ROOT: $DOCUMENT_ROOT
");
print ("GATEWAY_INTERFACE: $GATEWAY_INTERFACE
");
print ("PATH: $PATH
");
print ("QUERY_STRING: $QUERY_STRING
");
print ("REMOTE_USER: $REMOTE_USER
");
print ("REQUEST_METHOD: $REQUEST_METHOD
");
print ("REQUEST_URI: $REQUEST_URI
");
print ("SERVER_ADMIN: $SERVER_ADMIN
");
print ("SERVER_NAME: $SERVER_NAME
");
print ("SERVER_ADDR: $SERVER_ADDR
");
print ("SERVER_PORT: $SERVER_PORT
");
print ("SERVER_PROTOCOL: $SERVER_PROTOCOL
");
print ("SERVER_SOFTWARE: $SERVER_SOFTWARE
");
print ("SERVER_SIGNATURE: $SERVER_SIGNATURE
");
?>
1. What is The Proxomitron?
The Proxomitron is an 'on-the-fly' web page-transformer written by Scott R. Lemmon. Using special HTML-filters, the Proxomitron can change most anything you wish.
Proxomitron monitors the incoming stream of HTML as you browse the web,
and "rewrites" it to your liking: it can detect many kinds of ads and other annoyances, and "remove" them from the HTML that your browser sees. You still have to download the HTML, but you DON'T have to see it. And, since the HTML often contains annoying and
slow-to-load GIFs, your browsing is greatly speeded up since you don't have to download all those ad images.
2. Do I need The Proxomitron?
Go to iNet Police (http://inet-police.com/cgi-bin/env.cgi ) . If you think you're giving out too much information, you might consider getting The Proxomitron.
I wrote a simple PHP-page (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php) that should give you the same results.
Tired of those fancy new HTML-features you browser supports? Tired of blinking banners, pop-up windows, nosy Java-scripts, pop-up windows, frames,....? Enter the Proxomitron.
3. Where can I get it?
This (http://www.proxomitron.org/download.html) contains The Proxomitron with Installer. And yes, the Proxomitron is free!
4. Installation.
Just install the Proxomitron to the directory of your choice. The Proxomitron does NOT change your registry-settings and does NOT install anything in other directories.
5. Set-up.
Start the Proxomitron.
You have to set up your browser to re-route everything through the Proxomitron.
In Internet Explorer: Tools --> Internet Options --> Connections --> Settings. Check the 'Use a proxy server for this connection'-box.
Fill in the adress-field: LOCALHOST, and set the port to 8080.
By doing this, you re-route everything through the Proxomitron. This means that your browser won't work without the Proxomitron anymore.
Therefore, make sure to add the Proxomitron to your Startup-folder.
The procedure should be the same for all browsers.
6. The Proxomitron.
Active Filters:
Use Remote Proxy
First off, check the Use Remote Proxy-box under Active Filters if you want to use an external proxy-server. Now click Proxy under Edit Filters. Fill in the box (proxy.xxx.xxx:8080) and click OK. Safe this configuration by clicking File --> Save Config File. Safe it as Default.
Web Page Filters
Check the Web Page Filters-box to apply the Web Filters. You can change the filters by clicking Web Page under Edit Filters. The standard settings should be more than enough for most users, but of course you're free to apply
whatever filter you want, or even create your own filter.
Some important Web Page Filters:
Hide Browser's Referrer from JS: this is by far the most revealing data sent out by your browser.
This info is normally revealed in a HTTP header named "Referer" but JavaScript can be used to grab this information as well.
This filter can be edited to send back any URL you want. With the filter highlighted, hit the Edit button and in the bottom "Replacement Text"section change the URL to whatever you like.
Kill Nosey JavaScript: note that by applying this folder, you might not be able to acces Hotmail anymore.
Outgoing Header Filters
Check the Outgoing Header Filters-box to apply the Header Filters. You can change the filters by clicking Headers under Edit Filters.
Some quick tips:
Go to the PHP Headers-checker (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php) . Under HTTP_USER_AGENT it should show the browser you're using. Here's how to change that:
In the HTTP Header Filters-menu, check the User-Agent: Netscape Mac 68k (out)-box (both in and out). Click OK, and refresh that page. This is what it should show now:
HTTP_USER_AGENT Mozilla/3.01Gold (Macintosh; I; 68K)
Want to fool that page so it thinks you're on a GameBoy?
First, uncheck the User-Agent boxes you just checked.
Now, click on New to create a new filter. In the HTTP Header-field, fill in 'User-agent: Gameboy' (The Proxomitron does not use the text after the ":", it's only used for comments). In the Replacement text-field, fill in Gameboy (or whatever you want). Click OK. Now check
both the user-agent: gameboy boxes from the rule you just created. Click OK. Refresh that page (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php) again, and you should see something like this:
HTTP_USER_AGENT Gameboy,powered by Nintendo.
Now, let's that a look at that page (http://www.neg.be/php/checker.php):
REMOTE_HOST
REMOTE_ADDR
REMOTE_PORT
Don't even think about changing those values, because you can't... (using Proxomitron, that is).
Why not?
Well, Remote-addr is found by looking up the IP address used by the TCP/IP connection itself. This is required information: Without a real IP address the web server could never send the page back to you. Proxomitron alone cannot change your IP since it's running on your own computer and its IP address is the same as your IP address. The only way to change this is going through a remote proxy.
REMOTE_HOST comes from doing a "Reverse DNS lookup" on your IP address: the web server takes the IP address of the connections and asks the DNS system what hostname is attached to it. Normally your ISP's DNS server will respond with the answer. It can't be filtered, unless you run the DNS server with authority over that IP, since the info doesn't come from your PC to begin with.
HTTP_VIA, HTTP_FORWARDED, and HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR as the names indicate *are* in fact HTTP headers. The problem here is they're not ones normally added by your browser but instead by an intermediary proxy server. Normally the connection "chain" looks like this...
+--------------------+ +--------------+ +------------+
|Browser->Proxomitron|-->| Remote Proxy |-->| Web Server |
+--------------------+ +--------------+ +------------+
(Your PC) (Proxy host) (Web host)
Since the headers are added by the remote proxy after leaving Proxomitron, you can't filter them out. You can however add headers of your own beforehand which may possibly confuse automated scripts. It should also be noted that, by default, these headers aren't stored in most web server logs anyway.
Here's an example of a higly customized rule:
Transform PDF to HTML on the fly (this uses a Google-service, so it may not work for all pages):
In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "URL: Convert PDF to HTML thru Google (JarC)"
URL = "(^*216.239.39.100)*.pdf"
Match = "http://\1"
Replace = "$JUMP(http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:\1&hl=en)"
Web Log
To see what exactly is send from your browser and what comes in, click Log Window. This pops up a HTTP Message Log, showing exactly what goes out and comes in.
Ad-blocker
Go to Config --> Blockfile to customize the ad-blocker. Here's a list (http://www.eccentrix.com/computer/wirrwarr/index.html) of ads you can use with Proxomitron
Included (zip-file) is an alternate setting for the Proxomitron.
Here's the PHP-code for that php-checker:
<?php
print ("Your remote address is $REMOTE_ADDR
");
print ("Your remote host is $REMOTE_HOST
");
print ("You're being forwarded from $HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR
");
if ($REMOTE_ADDR = $HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR) {
print ("You seem to be using a proxy
");
}
else {
print ("You don't seem to be using a proxy
");
}
print ("Your accept language is $HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE
");
print ("Your user agent is $HTTP_USER_AGENT
");
print ("HTTP_REFERRER: $HTTP_REFERRER
");
print ("HTTP_CLIENT_IP: $HTTP_CLIENT_IP
");
print ("HTTP_CONNECTION: $HTTP_CONNECTION
");
print ("HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION: $HTTP_PROXY_CONNECTION
");
print ("HTTP_PROXY_AUTHORIZATION: $HTTP_PROXY_AUTHORIZATION
");
print ("HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE: $HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT: $HTTP_ACCEPT
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET: $HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE: $HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE
");
print ("HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING: $HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING
");
print ("HTTP_CACHE_INFO: $HTTP_CACHE_INFO
");
print ("HTTP_CACHE_CONTROL: $HTTP_CACHE_CONTROL
");
print ("HTTP_EXTENSION: $HTTP_EXTENSION
");
print ("HTTP_HOST: $HTTP_HOST
");
print ("HTTP_MAX_FORWARDS: $HTTP_MAX_FORWARDS
");
print ("HTTP_MIME_VERSION: $HTTP_MIME_VERSION
");
print ("HTTP_PRAGMA: $HTTP_PRAGMA
");
print ("HTTP_TE: $HTTP_TE
");
print ("HTTP_UA_COLOR: $HTTP_UA_COLOR
");
print ("HTTP_UA_PIXELS: $HTTP_UA_PIXELS
");
print ("HTTP_UA_CPU: $HTTP_UA_CPU
");
print ("HTTP_UA_OS: $HTTP_UA_OS
");
print ("HTTP_COOKIE: $HTTP_COOKIE
");
print ("DOCUMENT_ROOT: $DOCUMENT_ROOT
");
print ("GATEWAY_INTERFACE: $GATEWAY_INTERFACE
");
print ("PATH: $PATH
");
print ("QUERY_STRING: $QUERY_STRING
");
print ("REMOTE_USER: $REMOTE_USER
");
print ("REQUEST_METHOD: $REQUEST_METHOD
");
print ("REQUEST_URI: $REQUEST_URI
");
print ("SERVER_ADMIN: $SERVER_ADMIN
");
print ("SERVER_NAME: $SERVER_NAME
");
print ("SERVER_ADDR: $SERVER_ADDR
");
print ("SERVER_PORT: $SERVER_PORT
");
print ("SERVER_PROTOCOL: $SERVER_PROTOCOL
");
print ("SERVER_SOFTWARE: $SERVER_SOFTWARE
");
print ("SERVER_SIGNATURE: $SERVER_SIGNATURE
");
?>