Using VPS to bypass the internet cencorship

[Saber]

In the shithole i live in ( The  Shitholic Republic of Iran ) using the net is a complete dillema............from using proxy servers  and VPN's  to  not being to  use the  global net @ all  some
times...

They are going to shut the global access off  sooner or later......like china     and when  they do so  all these VPN's or  proxies  would be  useless......

I was  consulting a buddy  and he told me to get a VPS server + domain ............and i did  but i dont know how to set it up and use it....


Can anybody help  me with this  

 

Thanx a lot


 

[StringJunky]

@Sensei might know

[Sensei]

15 hours ago, Saber said:

I was  consulting a buddy  and he told me to get a VPS server + domain ............and i did  but i dont know how to set it up and use it....

Do you have SSH access to your VPS? Which distro on VPS? What storage?

Do you have a local Linux installed on some physical disk? Which distro?

Do you have a Linux Live pendrive?

 

If none, then get 4 GB-16 GB fresh pendrive (it will be erased). $4 in the shop here for 32 GB, the smallest one is enough. Only 4GB will be used anyway.

Download the latest Kali Linux Live from:
http://old.kali.org/kali-images/kali-2023.1/

e.g.

wget -c http://old.kali.org/kali-images/kali-2023.1/kali-linux-2023.1-live-amd64.iso
wget -c http://old.kali.org/kali-images/kali-2023.1/kali-linux-2023.1-live-i386.iso

(verify checksum!)

 

On Windows you can use Rufus

https://rufus.ie/en/

to erase pendrive and write ISO on pendrive.

On Linux you can use dd command.

 

Once you have terminal running use

ssh login@domain

(you don't have to have domain registered - VPS have public IPv6 reverse domain and perhaps public IPv4, some companies sell IPv4 for additional money per month)

enter your SSH password to VPS (should be in the e-mail after purchase, or web control panel)

 

Once you're logged on your VPS:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install apache2

service apache2 start (eventually "systemctl start apache2")

nmap localhost should show you that TCP port 80 is open.

Then use http://domain or http://vps-domain-name to see if HTTP server is working

(the website HTML is in /var/www/html the most likely. ls -l /var/www/html to list files. You need sudo to edit the file e.g. sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html )

sudo apt install tor proxychains4

service tor start (eventually "systemctl start tor")

nmap localhost should show you that TCP port 9050 is open

(but it is open LOCALLY on VPS, not globally!)

(edit settings to open it globally, but then somebody can abuse it for you)

 

From home you can get something like that:

└─$ nmap domain
Starting Nmap 7.93 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-04-08 07:10 UTC
Nmap scan report for DOMAIN (IP)
Host is up (0.13s latency).
rDNS record for IP: DOMAIN
Not shown: 997 closed tcp ports (conn-refused)
PORT   STATE    SERVICE
22/tcp open     ssh
25/tcp filtered smtp
80/tcp open     http

 

Now, when you want invisible access to Tor network on a remote server from home, you use:

ssh -L :1234:localhost:9050 login@domain

Then in Firefox > Settings > Network Settings, Proxy, set SOCKS Host to localhost and port 1234

From now on, when you go to Firefox, it will try to connect to localhost at port 1234,

ssh will tunnel it through encrypted SSH port 22 to VPS server, which will then use Tor network for further world..

 

You can use apache2 as proxy server too.

https://www.google.com/search?q=apache2+as+proxy+server

It won't be as safe as SSH+Tor, but Google and other services should work.

(Google and other social medias hate Tor, Proxy, VPN and want to steal your identity.. therefor all these "verify by text message", "verify by phone".. etc. etc.)

If you want to go this route, you will need some sort of SSL certificate..

(Let's Encrypt is free, so it is most likely very insecure )

 

You can make SSH tunnel between home and VPS to your Apache-Proxy-Server:

ssh -L :80:localhost:80 login@domain

Then in Firefox > Settings > Network Settings, Proxy, set HTTP Proxy Host to localhost and port 80

It won't need SSL certificate and will be much more secure.

(and going that route, you don't need to have exposed HTTP proxy server for other people, sooner or later some bot will find open proxy-server and everybody will use it, better if you connect to it through encrypted SSH by localhost address and local port)

 

Verify if you have some random IP address on

https://www.whatismyip.com/

or similar stuff:

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+my+ip

 

 

Check your VPS traffic daily..

 

 

15 hours ago, Saber said:

They are going to shut the global access off  sooner or later....

For people with money, there is Skylink from Musk.. It is damn expensive TBH..

 

15 hours ago, Saber said:

Can anybody help  me with this  

To configure it for you? Or to teach you entire Linux?

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Sensei

[Saber]

Thank you very much  i have to  carefully read your post after work .......and   go  on it  step  by step

[Saber]

I read it  twice  and  i  have to  admit   it  way   way  beyond   my   computer  knowledge   im like a  elementary child  sitting in some  differential calculus class............

 

 

 

[StringJunky]

10 hours ago, Saber said:

I read it  twice  and  i  have to  admit   it  way   way  beyond   my   computer  knowledge   im like a  elementary child  sitting in some  differential calculus class............

 

 

 

Does vpn not work there anymore?

[Saber]

8 hours ago, StringJunky said:

Does vpn not work there anymore?

It  does   but  it   wont be working  sooon...........

[StringJunky]

Sensei is probably the most computer-aware on here.

@Sensei Would this improve his stealth situation:

Quote

fter seeing crackdowns on protests in Iran and Russia, Proton VPN created a new feature to disguise VPN traffic and sneak past government censors. Proton is following through on its anti-censorship stance by making this feature, known as Stealth, available to free VPN users. The company is even sending the app directly to Iranians by request.

Proton VPN Goes Stealthy
When I spoke with Samuele Kaplun, Proton's engineering director, he explained that Proton VPN's Stealth feature is based on WireGuard over TLS. He said that Proton VPN is taking WireGuard, which is normally based on UDP, and wrapping it in TLS and sending the traffic over port 443. In essence, Stealth effectively disguises VPN traffic as more humdrum HTTPS traffic, which Kaplun says makes it much harder for deep packet inspection to spot.

Proton VPN told me that Stealth mode was already quietly available on Android and is now functional on iOS and macOS. Windows will have to come later. Android was given priority because of the ubiquity of Android devices, especially outside of the US. 

https://uk.pcmag.com/vpn/143155/proton-vpns-new-stealth-feature-helps-fight-censorship-in-iran-and-russia

 

[Sensei]

8 hours ago, StringJunky said:

Does vpn not work there anymore?

Setting up OpenVPN is a much more challenging task than Tor and proxychains, which I suggested..

 

 

52 minutes ago, Saber said:

It  does   but  it   wont be working  sooon...........

..if you have VPS, and ANY internet works.. then it will work..

..if not.. you have to grab satellite i.e. Musk's..

 

19 hours ago, Saber said:

I read it  twice  and  i  have to  admit   it  way   way  beyond   my   computer  knowledge   im like a  elementary child  sitting in some  differential calculus class............

I have asked many questions and received no answers from you....

 

20 hours ago, Saber said:

I read it  twice  and  i  have to  admit   it  way   way  beyond   my   computer  knowledge   im like a  elementary child  sitting in some  differential calculus class............

..but you should have followed the instructions and not read them twice....

 

[Saber]

9 hours ago, Sensei said:

I have asked many questions and received no answers from you....

The    only  ones i know   the answers  are

 

On 4/8/2023 at 9:21 AM, Sensei said:

Do you have a local Linux installed on some physical disk? Which distro?

 No

On 4/8/2023 at 9:21 AM, Sensei said:

Do you have a Linux Live pendrive?

And no

 

 

the  other instructions   seem  like instructions for flying a F-35   to me.......really...its beyind  my  understanding

[Sensei]

To configure a VPS, or dedicated server, you need to connect to it.

On Linux, this is done via SSH (hence the need to install Linux, or run it from a Linux Live flash drive - which I described in a previous post).

However, there is a tool for Windows that you can use PuTTY.

Tutorials on how to use PuTTY:

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+use+putty

 

For an example, watch this 4-minute video:

 

[Saber]

9 hours ago, Sensei said:

To configure a VPS, or dedicated server, you need to connect to it.

On Linux, this is done via SSH (hence the need to install Linux, or run it from a Linux Live flash drive - which I described in a previous post).

However, there is a tool for Windows that you can use PuTTY.

Tutorials on how to use PuTTY:

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+use+putty

 

For an example, watch this 4-minute video:

 

Thanx  a lot   but  you  what 

Dont  take your  time to  illustrate these to me.....................because  in  computer and network   knowledge im way  dumber  to  understand.............

 

And ill be  ashamed........that  you  are  putting   your time  to   explain these things to  me ....

Ill  try  hard  to   understand........and  work  on  it ..........but  my  experience and  knowledge  and  more important   my  conception &  comprehension in  network............is ...............way  lower than  you  expect.........

[Sensei]

@Saber You don't need to understand.. all you have to do is follow the 4 minute video tutorial..

[Saber]

On 4/17/2023 at 9:07 AM, Sensei said:

@Saber You don't need to understand.. all you have to do is follow the 4 minute video tutorial..

Ill  try  not  to disappoint you    again  thank  you  very  much