Proxy Servers

The Proxy List

NetShade gets its proxy list from the NetShade server. This list contains data no older than 24 hours. To view the proxy list, click the "Proxies" tab in the NetShade Console.



The proxy list shows every proxy currently in NetShade's database. The proxies with checkmarks next to them are ones which are currently "active", meaning that they are eligible. You can control which proxies are active and which are inactive. You can either set NetShade to automatically filter the proxy list based on your criteria, or you can filter the list manually.

Each proxy has a number of parameters:
PingThe most recent ping time for this server. Note that "ping time" does not refer to a standard ICMP ping, but rather to a round-trip HTTP request to the proxy. This provides a much more accurate indication of the server's speed. The ping times are calculated by the NetShade server located in Florida, not by your computer.
SecurityThe level of security that the proxy provides
CountryThe country where the proxy server is located
IPThe proxy server's IP address
PortThe TCP port that the proxy server uses

Security

Proxies are categorized by their relative security level.
Good (•)The proxy server sends your computer's IP address to the target host in a special HTTP variable. This means that the host is able to find out your IP address, but will have to take special measures to do so. The host will need to know what field to look at for your IP address, and specially log it. Most hosts do not go to this trouble.
Better (••)The proxy server does not send your IP address to the target host. It does identify itself as a proxy server. Although the target host cannot determine your IP address, it can tell that you are using a proxy server.
Best (•••)The proxy server does not send your IP address to the target host. Nor does it identify itself as a proxy. The target host is unable to determine your IP address. It is also unable to determine that you are using a proxy.

Filtering the proxy list

To set up filtering, show the Proxy Filters drawer by clicking the "Proxy Filters" button. You can choose either "Manual" or "Auto". If you choose Manual, you can go through the list of proxy servers, and enable or disable each proxy by clicking its check box. If you click "Auto", you can filter the proxies automatically based upon their security level, ping time or location. (Currently only U.S./Non-U.S. location filtering is supported.)

You may want to filter down the proxy list to include only the fastest and/or most secure proxy servers. NetShade provides a number of options. When you enable or disable one of these options, the list is dynamically changed to reflect the new filter. If your change results in the elimination of all items on the list, you will be switched to a direct connection until you enable some proxies. The Ping Filter filters your list by only including proxies whose ping times are less than the value you select. The Security Levels filter is used to enable or disable all proxies within the security classifications listed above. The Only use non-U.S. Proxies filter eliminates all proxies located within the United States. The Update button forces NetShade to download the current list of proxies from the server, even if the list was recently updated. This is not generally necessary since NetShade's proxy updates are automatic, as configured in the Preferences.