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Are there client programs that allow me to "tunnel" through my SSH enabled server for normal Internet requests such as HTTP(s)?

If so what are they and can someone point me in the right direction?

Note: I'm not asking about a VPN; I'm specifically asking if its possible to "tunnel" a connection through SSH.

  • Have a look at http://wiki.vpslink.com/Instant_SOCKS_Proxy_over_SSH - what you're after is achievable with a SOCKS proxy, the only caveat being that client software (IE/Firefox/Chrome in the case of HTTP/HTTPS) needs to support it and be configured to use it. – Bob Watson Feb 21 '13 at 01:21

2 Answers2

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Most SSH clients will do that for you. With the ssh client provided with any good Linux system, simply type:

ssh -D 5000 -N theservername

where theservername is the name of the SSH server to which you want to tunnel the requests. Then set your Web browser to use localhost, on port 5000, as SOCKS proxy. And voila! all your HTTP and HTTPS requests will go through the SSH tunnel and exit on the other side.

For Windows, PuTTY can also be used as a SOCKS proxy.

Thomas Pornin
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Honestly there are a multitude of programs out there which can help you with what you need. Simply google "SSH Tunnel" or "Tunnelling http over ssh" will bring up a ton of results.

Example software - http://www.bitvise.com/tunnelier Example guides - http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/jp107/xp-remote/web-tunnel/

I know sometimes its useful to ask when the range of choices seem overwhelming, but really there isn't any "best", add "free" into the search term and pick one with the prettiest GUI to you.

Peleus
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