SSH (Secure Shell) is a very versatile tool that can be used for far more that just remote command line access. In the following example, you can create an SSH tunnel mapped to port 9999 that will allow you to proxy your Internet connection to bypass content filtering, IP Geolocation lockouts, or anything that filters/monitors your connection based on your public IP Address.

First, go to http://www.ipchicken.com to check you current public IP Address. Make note, then under Mac OS or Linux run the following (replacing username and hostname with your actual username on the remote host specified after the @ sign).

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ssh -D 9999 [email protected]

Under Windows, make sure you have Putty installed and follow the directions listed here.

After you are connected and logged in, change your operating system’s proxy settings accordingly. The following screenshot shows the configuration in Mac OS X. The settings themselves will be the same for Windows or Linux. A Google search will help you find where to set them.

Once this setting has been saved, refresh the IPChicken.com webpage. You should see that the public IP address changed to match that of the remote server.