Guidance On Setting Up A Proxy Sever

Can you break it down further.
Are trying to "Set up a proxy server"? or "use an unknown server( ) to browse" or "browse via a proxy server not hosted by you"?.

Now you are talking. Before I proceed on how to achieve this, please review this nairaland thread to see the potential risk you are exposing yourself to.

First, you need to have access to the proxy server itself. Some proxies require authentication(username and/or password), while others don't. The trick here is finding proxies that don't require authentication.

Steps:
1- You can get a list of free/open proxies by googling the keyword "free proxies".

2- With the list of free proxies, you can optional run a check to find out which proxy is active. Go to this link Check Proxy Software to download a proxy checker software or Online Proxy Checker to get which of the free ones are okay for use.
There are FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, SOCK4, SOCK5 proxies. The free proxies you have would duly classified for you already. I'D use the sock anyday because they are more secure.

3- When you have the ok list, simply pick one you want along with the port (should look like this 10.60.18.79:1589, where IP = 10.60.18.79, Port = 1589).

4- If you are using Internet Explorer:
     - On the menu tab, Go to "Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections Tab -> LAN Settings
     - Under the Proxy server group box, click "Advanced"
     - Clear the check box that says "Use same proxy server for all protocols"
     - Depending on the type of proxy you chose, enter it in the appropriate box, and clear all the rest if they have any value in them already.
     - Click on OK thrice.

If you are using Firefox:
     - On the menu tab, go to "Tools -> Options -> Advanced
     - Under the "Connection" group box, click "Settings"
     - Select "Manual proxy configuration" radio button
     - Depending on the type of proxy you chose, enter it in the appropriate box, and clear all the rest if they have any value in them already.
     - Click on OK twice.
5- There you have it, you should be browsing via the proxy server now!


N.B: This does not mean you wont have to pay for subscription to Starcomms. It only means your requests are not handled by starcomms systems anymore but they still remain your link to the rest of the world.

To test if the changes are effected, go to this site My IP. It should reflect the IP you entered. Repeat this procedure if the proxy goes down and you need to replace it with another.

To clear the proxy settings and return to you default:
Internet Explorer:
     - On the menu tab, Go to "Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections Tab -> LAN Settings
     - Clear the "Use proxy for you LAN" check box and then click OK twice

Firefox:
     - On the menu tab, go to "Tools -> Options -> Advanced
     - Under the "Connection" group box, click "Settings"
     - Select "Direct connection to the internet" radio button and then click OK twice

Let me know if you got any more issues.

Not necessarily, it does not make it any faster.