Using a Proxy Server

• 1). Locate a proxy that you have permission to use. You can do this by either purchasing an account with an anonymizing service or by looking for free, open proxies via proxy lists on the Internet (see Resources).
  
  
• 2). Launch your Web browser and open the preferences or settings dialog, depending on your browser. Navigate to what is called the Advanced section on some browsers or simply the Network section on others. Open the proxy settings dialog.
  
  
• 3). Enter the IP address and port number in the appropriate fields for the Web proxy you wish to use. Click "Ok" to save the settings and exit the settings dialog.
  
  

Using Tor

• 1). Download the Tor bundle and install all of the applications the bundle provides. If you do not use Firefox as your Web browser, you can skip installing the Torbutton plug-in.
  
  
• 2). Close and re-open your Web browser. If you are using Firefox, simply activate the Torbutton plug-in by clicking its icon in the lower-right hand corner of the window. Otherwise, launch your Web browser's preferences or settings dialog and open your proxy settings.
  
  
• 3). Enter "localhost" as your proxy server and "9050" as the port. Save your Web browser's proxy settings and exit the dialog. Navigate to the forum you wanted to log in to.
  
  

Using Free Web Proxy Sites

• 1). Launch your Web browser and navigate to one of the many free anonymizing services on the Web (see Resources).
  
  
• 2). Enter the URL of the forum you want to gain access to and click "Ok" or "Go" to navigate to the page through the anonymizer's Web-based proxy service.
  
  
• 3). Continue to use the anonymizing service by entering the URLs of each new page into the service. While this is a hassle, it is the only effective way to hide your IP address with this method.