How can I use a Windows 2003 server as a HTTP proxy?

Posted by Will on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Will
Published on 2010-04-21T13:41:02Z Indexed on 2010/04/21 13:43 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 277

Filed under:

windows-server-2003

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proxy

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http

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http-proxy

I'd like to set up an HTTP proxy on a windows 2003 server so that I can access blocked websites such as YouTube from behind a corporate firewall (DAMN THE MAN!). I've never done this before, so I'm not even sure if the picture I have in my head is valid or possible.

So I'm stuck behind a firewall that blocks sites that I need to access occasionally but that are blocked because of abuse by slackers. I've got a Windows 2003 server hosted out on the internet (i.e., outside of this odious firewall). I know I can configure my browser to use a proxy for my HTTP traffic, so why not use my server?

What I'd like to know is:

Is my concept valid? Can this be done, and will it work?
How do I configure my server to act as a proxy?
What applications may I have to install? Free is fine but don't leave out commercial software

TIA

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