[SupaMonkey]

I live in China and i (along with many expats) frequently use a VPN to get access to various services, read uncensored news and play subscription based games (which are banned here). Unfortunately, almost all of these VPN services start out well, but the service degrades and slows over time.

How hard would it be to set something like this up myself? I'm not sure what i would have to do, but all i want is some way of forwarding all of my internet traffic through some kind of proxy/tunnel. By this i don't mean the free proxies etc. i mean that i am will to buy a server rack or something (what?) where i could run a little program/tunnel that automatically forwards all my network traffic (i do need a tcp connection for my games though, i don't know if this makes a difference).

What do i need to do to set this up. I'm willing to learn whatever i need to in order to do this, it would also benefit many of the expats where i work.

[kayson]

It's very easy, also definitely very illegal in China. Not sure what the policy is here on such things, but I'll say google can help you...

[SupaMonkey]

Am i right in thinking that i need a virtual private server with some sort of tunnelling software on it?

[Pinky]

Are you using a VPN or Proxy connection right now?

You can setup point-to-point VPNs using a router (instead of a computer/server). Will need a shared key from the other end of the connection. Technically this isn't point-to-point since you'll still need the data encrypted and decrypted. Point-to-point is a dedicated line, like running a cable between two computers.

Sonicwall, cisco, and other (maybe even some DDWRT) routers have this function.

Otherwise using whatever VPN you currently have setup is probably the 'ideal' way to go. VPNs are notoriously slow since there's steps in the data transmission being added. The more obsticles in the path the slower the connection will be. You are likely using software right now, which relies on computing power to encrypt and decrypt in realtime. Having the routers essentially trust each other (and the traffic going between them) offloads some of that overhead, making the connection faster/less latency. But I doubt you'll find a host willing to let you on their network in this manner.

How you're using software VPN is at the very edge of what can be expected of it. You're probably getting the best experience/speed one would expect.

Proxy is when you have a server that handles all the internet traffic routing. China is using some form of high level proxy to filter internet traffic. All traffic flows through and is controlled by the proxy. If you pointed your computer at another proxy it would eliminate their proxy's control over your network traffic. However, that is obviously frowned upon there and has its own advantages/disadvantages depending on how exactly you end up getting around their proxy to use someone else's. It could actually be slower than VPN tunneling depending on the connection speed and load on the alternative proxy server. Using alternative proxies here in the States is common at Colleges/Universities where they might have a proxy setup and all traffic routing through it. Students will get around such security measures by using alternative IP/DNS/proxy server settings, etc. I'm sure there's plenty of info on google. I've never needed to do this so that's as far as I know.

I don't know that setting up and using a proxy or VPN is inherently illegal. I think when you access information that would have been otherwise filtered is when the illegality comes into play, since you'r still on their network and accessing data they didn't want you to. That effectively violates most terms of service in such scenerios. But using VPN or another connection protocol doesn't usually violate those terms since those protocols can also be used for valid/legal reasons too. IMO the only laws ocforums needs to be concerned with are those in the United States. If we were to censor discussions based on China's regulations we mind as well just shut the forum down.

[jdlahmann]

i know that this is an old thread but i thought you might be interested in this.
Well if you wanted to get through china's great firewall you could try to get your hands on a copy of the tor browser people who live in country's that filter the internet use it all the time to go around their country's firewall.
here is a link to their site if you can get to it.
https://www.torproject.org/