Boost your Internet browsing - Install Polipo
Be sure to read Boost your internet speed part I
I am writing this post because a reader of this site has suggested.
Polipo is a Linux proxy, like squid but it is intended in a personal use, I used to use squid as my personal proxy but because I have a PIV HT processor and 1 Gig of RAM, in Laptop that approach was just to heavy for it.
Now with Polipo things will change, well go to the installation.
Installation
apt-get install polipo
There is almost no need to change the configuration file as with the defaults it will work great as a personal firewall.
But if you are configuring it as you home proxy, you can change these lines on the file /etc/polipo/config
proxyAddress = "0.0.0.0" # IPv4 only allowedClients = 127.0.0.1, 192.168.42.0/24
be sure to change 192.168.42.0/24 for your own IP address range, in general no further changes are needed.
Firefox configuration
Go to Edit->Preferences->
On this screen:
Select Advanced and then click on setting, then:
Select "Manual proxy configuration" and enter the IP of the PC where polipo is installed and enter the port which is: 8123
Gnome configuration
Go to Desktop->preferences->Network Proxy
And Select "Manual Proxy Configuration" and also here enter the IP of the PC where Polipo installed and the port 8123
Opera Configuration
Go to Tools->preferences, and once on this screen
Now select Advance and click on Network and then on Proxy Servers.
And once again enter the IP and port of your polipo server.
As a final step you can configure your apt if you are using Debian or Ubuntu, I always do, that way my Laptop gets its updated really fast as usually my Desktop have already downloaded them.
Apt Configuration to work with proxy
vi /etc/apt/apt.conf
And add this line
Acquire::http::Proxy "http://127.0.0.1:8123";
be sure to change the IP to the one that corresponds to your Polipo server.
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I did not understand how the
I did not understand how the use of Squid or even Polipo should boost the internet speed. Why are you suggesting this ? Are you thinking in cache ?
I agree with KurtKraut. Too
I agree with KurtKraut. Too many times these stories start with a title or lede that suggests the story is an introduction to a bit of software when all it is is a how to. Don't get me wrong, I like this as a how to, but what I need first is a why.
Yes you and KurtKraut are
Yes you and KurtKraut are right, strictly talking you actually do not boost your Internet speed, actually I think it is almost impossible to really boost it, unless you ask for more speed to your service provider.
All the other approaches are to create the "illusion" (if I can use that word) that you have more speed.
There is HTTP acceleration, http header compression, web page cache, DNS cache, etc. but if you put MRTG, or Cacti on the link you will see that the real speed remains the same, but the end user have the perception that he has better browsing speed, this of course usually do not apply for FTP (Except for cache) and certainly does not apply for real time applications like VoIP, Video streaming, etc.
Maybe the title is not good, If you suggest me another Title I can change it, sorry for that.
Guillermo Garron
Is there a similar program
Is there a similar program that i can use in windows OS?
squid is to heavy for
squid is to heavy for personal use,
it needs a dedicated machine for it
and it suitable for large network
for personal use, polipo is the best
it can connect to squid as parent too
nice tips dude
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