How to Setup a Proxy over an SSH Tunnel on Ubuntu: Examples with Firefox and Chrome

Last updated: 24 Sep 2015

Table of Contents

Set up SSH tunnel to a proxy server
Configure Firefox to use that proxy
Example for Firefox v 57+
Chrome

If you need to have your browser access the internet with another IP and you have SSH access a remote server, you can tunnel your connection through that server.

This means that all traffic will pass through the proxy before reaching the Internet.

This is useful for things like:

Accessing your university's proxy so that you can access things like paywalled articles and books.
Mask your IP

Set up SSH tunnel to a proxy server

Description: create a SOCKS proxy on localhost:9999 (choose any unused port) over an SSH connection to <remoteserver> on port <portnum>, using username <user>. You may be prompted for your password.

Template:

$ ssh -D 9999 -f -C -N <user>@<remoteserver> -p <portnum>

Actual Example:

$ ssh -D 9999 -f -C -N johndoe@path.to.proxy.server.edu -p 52831

Configure Firefox to use that proxy

Open Preferences > Advanced > Network
Click Settings:

Click Settings, in the Network tab

Select Manual proxy configuration and add a SOCKS host (v5):

Add a SOCKS host "localhost" and port 9999 (for a tunnel created as per the previous point)

Example for Firefox v 57+

Go to Settings > Preferences:

Click the settings button then choose Preferences

Scroll down and click on "Settings" under "Network Proxy"

Firefox network Settings

Configure the proxy you create in the first step:

Use the information you used in the first step (red markings)

Chrome

Install FoxyProxy for Chrome
Once it's installed, click the plugin icon and choose "Options":

Click Options

Click "Add new Proxy" and configure it using the information from the first step:
- Under "General", give it some name and optionally some color:
Colors can help if you have multiple proxies.
- Under "Proxy Details" add the proxy info proper: