IP 'masking' for NZ classified site?

cantdecide

I hope this is the right place. Firstly, I have no idea how dodgy my question is or isn't. I don't wish to break the law or get involved with anything underhanded. However...

I'm moving to New Zealand in October and I need to find a motorbike to buy as transport. My understanding from NZ discussion boards is that virtually all bikes for sale are on Trademe.nz. It's a classified ad/ aution site.

Without registering, the site is useless. You can't see a seller's email or phone number or bid etc. To register, it requires that you fill out the necessaries and then the site generates an 'activation email'. I did this but got no activation email. I tried again with my gmail address but nothing again. I contacted them and they said that I have to be in Oz or NZ to register.

Since they have a monopoly on bike ads, this is more than inconvenient. There suggestion is to wait until I get there before registering :rolleyes: Asking around the office today someone said I could 'mask' my IP so I could register? Is it above board? If so, will it work? If not, any other suggestions?

Spacedog

you are looking for a free web proxy in NL/AUS. - google it

go to www.whatismyIP.com - note your address
you put these proxy settings in your web browesr settings, hit ok
go to www.whatismyIP.com again and notise you have a different IP address.

your web traffic is being channeled through the proxy server, you will appear to be from the location of the server.

be careful though. do not assume any data sent over a free proxy is secure. after you create your account, turn off the proxy and change passwords etc.

cantdecide

Spacedog wrote: »

you are looking for a free web proxy in NL/AUS. - google it

go to www.whatismyIP.com - note your address
you put these proxy settings in your web browesr settings, hit ok
go to www.whatismyIP.com again and notise you have a different IP address.

your web traffic is being channeled through the proxy server, you will appear to be from the location of the server.

be careful though. do not assume any data sent over a free proxy is secure. after you create your account, turn off the proxy and change passwords etc.

Thanks for that.

Can I ask if I'm endangering myself or my computer doing these things? Should I be concerned about viruses or malware or that kind of thing? When you say "be careful", do you just mean to not hand over credit card details or are there more threats to be concerned about?

I gave it a whirl but I think I'm missing something.

Am I using WhatsmyIP before and after just to determine whether own IP address has successfully changed?

Am I supposed to search via google for a list of free proxy server IPs and pick one at random? Is that safe?

Exactly which setting do I change? I found there proxy server settings in Tools/ internet options/ connections/ settings/ advanced/ proxy server but the new proxy server IP address I entered under "Proxy address to use" didn't appear to take hold. I also tried breaking off the last few digits as they appeared to be required under "Port" my old IP address appeared when I went back to whatsmyIP.

I'm sorry for the noob questions. Are you sure this is above board?

Spacedog

you need to trust the owner of the proxy. if you don't know the owner, you have to assume they are your isp, they can potentially see all packets going through your connection.

TOR is another technology with similar risks to consider. but i don't know too much about it.

just use it for what you need and be aware of the man in the middle.