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Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Nov. 17, 2012, 11:31 AM (This post was last modified: Nov. 17, 2012 11:39 AM by Mele20.)
Post: #1
Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Proxo is installed on a new Win 8 computer but it is not working. The smilies here are animated. I can't stand animation of any sort. Freeze Gif Animation is checked and I am using level 6 filters.

I can't install Sidki's filters or JJoe's. I can download them but when I go to extract the files to the Proxo folder, Windows does not see Proxo in C:\Program Files (x86) so I can't designate the Proxo folder as the place to unzip the files.

I've got to get this fixed immediately! (I did not want Win 8 but I could not get an nVidia card with a Win 7 computer and if I exercise my downgrade rights to Win 7 Pro there is the question of whether or not this nVidia GTX 660 card will work, plus, I don't have the disks...trying to get them from Del. So, for now I am stuck with Win 8 and a horrible keyboard).

I don't know if makes any difference but I am using the latest version of Sea Monkey. IE 10 is horrible. I haven't yet installed Fx 10 ESR.
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Nov. 17, 2012, 11:59 AM (This post was last modified: Nov. 17, 2012 12:03 PM by ProxRocks.)
Post: #2
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
i have to totally "guess" 'cause you can't PAY ME to use any version of Windows newer than XP Smile!

(and the 32-bit version at that, i was one of the FIRST to jump on the 64-bit bandwagon nearly a DECADE ago, i jump back on ocassionally, but only to see if it is "worth it" yet or not - IT ISN'T!)...

but here goes - are you using Window's native "unzip"?
if so, try using something like IZArc (my favorite) or 7Zip (my second favorite)...

second, AVOID the "Program Files" folder, be it x86 or not...
i install ALL my "programs" to "D:\Added" or to "D:\MyStuff" (both less than eight characters by design, avoids a '~' in a DOS title)...

the ONLY "legit" reason to even 'have' the x86 folder is if you install the 64-bit AND the 32-bit version of the SAME program... if you are NOT installing TWO versions of the SAME program, Windows, even 64-bit versions, do not "care" WHERE the program is located...

so try a THIRD-PARTY "unzipper" and try your OWN folder, not one that Window's "registry" has tentacles mangled all around, above, below, and throughout...
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Mele20
Nov. 18, 2012, 08:29 AM
Post: #3
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Hmm...Proxo with Scott's configs works with Fx 10 ESR on Win 8 but the latest SeaMonkey and Proxo don't work on Win 8. I installed SM first because I couldn't find Fx 10 ESR on Mozilla's FTP site but I saw the latest SM (and I couldn't wait to get off that awful IE 10). SM developers are not keen to make SM work with Win 8...but it works fine except for Proxo...I'll check the settings again....I have information overload trying to get stuff to work on Win 8 and learn Win 8, etc.

7Zip is not compatible yet with Win 8. I see there is an Alpha version that probably is but I'm not installing it. I think WinRAR is the only compatible one. I have the free version (older version) on XP Pro. I really don't know which one will work on Win 8. I guess I could do a trial of WinRAR. I want a free one as I think the built in unzipper will work much of the time and WinRAR is expensive.

I've usually let Windows decide where to install programs (unless I want to have multiple versions of Fx or Opera and need different installation locations), but I have always (until Win 8) set up a folder on the C drive away from My documents to hold all downloaded files. I hesitated to do that this time because this computer has an SSD (256GB) and a 2TB Seagate drive to hold stuff. The OS, My documents and Program Files are on the SSD. I didn't know where to put the folder I usually create to download stuff to. I guess I better put it on the Seagate drive as it will get big.

For the record, I swore I would never get Win 8. But Dell would not sell me the computer I wanted with Win 7 AND nVidia 660 GTX card. I could not get any nVidia card if buying Win 7 Pro. So, I bought Win 8 Pro and that gives me downgrade rights if I can't stand Win 8. However, I have no Dell Reinstallation disk much less a Win 7 Pro disk...trying now to get them from Dell.

I like some things very much about Win 8 that I hated when I did the Win 7 beta (I never had Win 7 itself). Search was HORRIBLE in Vista (that I have on a virtual machine) and in Win 7 but it is great in Win 8. But there are some basic things that Microsoft has denied Win 8 users that are awful. I can'tchange the Windows default font (Segue that I detest) to Verdana unless I enter the registry and change a bunch of stuff there. That is awful. I can't choose colors (like the color for highlighting a link or text so I can copy/paste) and the color Microsoft has forced is the color I dislike the most! Desktop in Win 8 is ok ...I'm ignoring Metro as much as possible. But Desktop doesn't have some very basic abilities that have been in Windows from Windows 95 through Windows 7 like Advanced Display/Items List and I have to have that!

I'm going to try WinRAR and if it doesn't see Proxo then I will put Proxo in a folder away from Program Files.
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Nov. 18, 2012, 09:45 AM
Post: #4
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
WinRAR couldn't see Proxo in Program Files either. So, I did what you said and created a separate folder for Proxo on the C drive. I tried the exe download of Proxo and that didn't work...it has been a long time since I have installed Proxo on my old XP computer but I think I have used both .exe and .zip downloads. Anyway, I then tried the .zip and that installed just fine in the new Proxo folder. (When I looked closely at Proxo when it was in Program Files...eegads...it had files strewn all about all over the place. I am surprised Proxo worked at all....so, anyone installing Proxo on Win 8...create a folder for it away from Program Files and download the .zip form.

I then was able to easily download and extract (not using WinRAR either) Sidki's filters to the Proxo folder. I'll get JJoe's in a bit.

This is the first installation of the June 2003 Proxo for me. I have always used the May one in the past but I want Proxo to filter SSL I decided on Win 8. So, do I install these: http://sidki.proxfilter.net/prox-ssl.html? Don't I need fresher ones?
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Nov. 18, 2012, 12:26 PM
Post: #5
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
re "certs.pem" - use the one from here, http://prxbx.com/forums/showthread.php?t...6#pid15196

re "proxcert.pem" - use the one from here, http://prxbx.com/forums/showthread.php?t...0#pid13390

re zip versus exe - i had totally forgotten that there even is an exe version, i always just did the un-zip... the exe NOT working in Win 8 is probably not a surprise, in that 7Zip does not support Win 8 yet, the exe may be a "7Zip executable", haven't confirmed, but 7Zip executables are a very common distribution format for "small freebie program" installations that don't have more advanced (ie, no longer free) installation-creation software available...

re SSL - filtering SSL is *HIGHLY* recommended !!!
"caveat emptor", the caveat being that newbies should steer against writing their own SSL filters, but if you use a "maintained config" set and only use the SSL filters already included in that "maintained config", THERE IS NO DANGER IN FILTERING SSL... sure, as others may point out, there are some "theoretical" 'dangers', but the odds of winning the lottery are MILLIONS of times HIGHER, if not BILLIONS...
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Nov. 18, 2012, 09:00 PM (This post was last modified: Nov. 18, 2012 09:09 PM by JJoe.)
Post: #6
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
(Nov. 18, 2012 12:26 PM)ProxRocks Wrote:  re SSL - filtering SSL is *HIGHLY* recommended !!!

Speak only for yourself!!!! Sad Make sure people know that it is your own opinion! Not the opinion of the authors or maintainers (program or sets)...

http://prxbx.com/forums/showthread.php?t...8#pid16828
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Nov. 18, 2012, 09:53 PM (This post was last modified: Nov. 19, 2012 02:00 PM by ProxRocks.)
Post: #7
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
i put a caveat emptor type of "others may disagree" EVERY time that i bring up filtering of SSL...

that really REALLY should be "enough"...

feel free to add your "link" each and every time the topic comes up...
our "population" is so TINY that we all know what is one's opinion and what isn't, this isn't five years ago when the Proxo community was "growing" (was it even still "growing" five years ago?), we are a "dying breed" Sad


DISCLAIMERS *ARE* present with "maintained" configs...
"those" DISCLAIMERS "should" be 'enough' in and of themselves... Smile!

i'll keep posting the caveat emptor's...
i'll also keep "recommending" the filtering of SSL (and NONE of us "know" if the AUTHOR would "still" suggest not to, SSL isn't what it USED TO BE)...

we all "know" each other here, there are no "newcomers", maybe one or two here and there, but so quickly INUNDATED that they GIVE UP within "hours", but yeah, i do tend to think they read the config DISCLAIMERS long long long before stumbling into any of our "opinions" Smile!

we're a dying breed, agree or disagree, we must all stick together (ie, "agree to disagree") else go extinct altogether Sad
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Nov. 21, 2012, 09:57 AM (This post was last modified: Nov. 21, 2012 09:59 AM by Mele20.)
Post: #8
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Hey guys...Proxo is precious...let's don't argue. Please.

For the record, I am very much aware of Scott's position on this issue and I always used the May version for this reason. I didn't want to filter SSL. I also recall Sidki discussing this back on ComputerCops.

With this new computer, I decided to download the June version partly because I wanted to get Proxo tray icon to not go dark but red when I bypass it and I was told here that won't work on the May version. I also thought I would try filtering SSL but too much on my plate at the moment to do it now. I want to be sure I understand exactly what I am doing...it is not something I would want screwed up. I will have to study it more when I have more time.

To be practical, many, many sites now FORCE SSL and these are growing fast. I don't want all these sites unfiltered. I'm not talking about banking sites which, if I feel uncomfortable about filtering, I can just bypass Proxo. I am talking about the growing number of forums and other sites that now force SSL. That means with out Proxo SSL filtering, I am faced with irritating gif animation, ads all over the forums, marquee animation, web bugs, etc.
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Nov. 21, 2012, 11:55 AM
Post: #9
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
AGREED !!!...

it is my "opinion" that since SSL is NOT what it "used to be", that even Scott himself would "suggest" filtering SSL "nowadays", can't "prove it", just a huge hunch...
with "maintained" configs offering the "option", it is safe to say that even the config authors filter SSL at least "some of the time"...



we are a dying breed Sad
i'd venture a guess that those of us still around have all been here since the CastleCops days and we will all take Proxo to the grave with us Smile!

in the era of short-lived attention spans no longer than the size of shortcutted and abbreviated text messages, "newbies" to Proxo walk away within "hours" - it's a sad truth that i wish i knew of a solution for, but reality is that there are very very FEW of us still around...

LONG LIVE PROXO!
even if only for "the few"...


i have personally always wanted to release my own "newbie config"... a config that would have two or three header filters and ten or twelve pattern filters... something that would introduce "newbies" without INUNDATING them... though i feel now that the time has passed, we RARELY get any newbies even visiting the site, just "robots"...
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Nov. 21, 2012, 03:29 PM (This post was last modified: Nov. 22, 2012 10:03 AM by lnminente.)
Post: #10
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Well, that's why i wrote the base config and i'm still using it, for making easy and safe for other to write filters without breaking some pages. Something which seemed easy turned out to be a really hard work just only for giving simplicity and the confort of not breaking pages.

For the reason Proxo gives many errors when filtering SSL, i recommend not using it unless is strictely needed. Some people needs it for watching price stocks etc, but for the inmense majority of us is sufficient just blocking some secure connections to google adsense using Adblock plus and/or NoScript.
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Nov. 22, 2012, 11:08 AM (This post was last modified: Nov. 22, 2012 07:22 PM by JJoe.)
Post: #11
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Yes, it is sad that so few users care about anything other Facebook and Twitter. They don't want to use a computer and learn about computers and what they can do...they just want a simple device to access Facebook and Twitter and they don't want to have learn anything and certainly not something like Proxo. It is too bad they get intimidated by Proxo. I don't know things about Proxo and I can't write filters for it but I can use it and enjoy it without having the knowledge level that you and many others here have.

and, yes, I'll take Proxo to the grave.


Edit by JJoe: Removed dupe
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Nov. 22, 2012, 11:16 AM
Post: #12
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
I had an awful time getting the above to post and I have no idea how it posted twice like that.

I can't edit it either. Nothing happens when I press edit button.

I still say that there are MANY forums now that force SSL and thus force ads, and animation which I can't have. I think it will soon be impossible to not have Proxo filter SSL. Maybe that is because I spend a lot of time in forums and maybe most of you don't do that.
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Nov. 22, 2012, 01:02 PM
Post: #13
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
it's not just forums (i'm on several classic car forums, the "finned era", primarily Studebaker and Mopar)...

for me, filtering SSL started eight/nine years or so ago...
i surf literally DOZENS upon DOZENS of SSL sites (most are job-related)...

SSL *used to* follow the KISS Principle, "Keep It Simple, Stupid!"...
you'd visit a "secure" site and it was simple, direct, and right to the point...
a "secure" site was NOT some chaotic labyrinth, a starved mouse wandering aimlessly for a speck of cheese...
a "secure" site would load within five to eight seconds (and that was with a 56K DIAL-UP MODEM!)...
a "secure" site would load four or five javascript files instead of ten to fifteen...
a "secure" site would be totally "self-contained", you'd load *one* URL instead of pulling "content" in from SEVERAL...
a "secure" site would *NEVER* send a "popup" or a "popunder"...
a "secure" site would *NEVER* "host" *non-secure* ADS, not even so much as a textual "link"...
a "secure" site would NOT be written by some "kid" *wanting* the site to look like his favorite ARCADE GAME...
a "secure" site would NOT "strobe" like some smoke-and-mirrors punk-rock DISCOTEQUE...


SSL is simply NOT what it "used to be"...
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Nov. 22, 2012, 01:09 PM
Post: #14
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Well a LOT of time has passed since the last release of Proxomitron, and the web has changed a LOT. So happily in some areas some software have been developed which can make some of the things proxomitron does but in a more easy to understand way, and also safer to not break pages as them also communicate at the same time with the browser. For that reason i think the best solution is complementing proxomitron with another programs. Using the best parts of them, in fact i have been doing it since many years ago.

Proxomitron is still a very good program for editing the web content of non secure pages. Also Javascript is very good for doing some modifications too but my skills with it are limited.

In the net of these days, most of the sites are just including ads embedding external scripts. And blocking most of the offsite scripts with NoScript is very easy. If something is broken it has a simple button to reload the site allowing temporally all of them.

With adblock plus and element hider, you can refine more what you want to block

For the cookies i better opted for something included in the browser, because there are different methods of storing cookies and controlling all of them with proxo is really hard. So with this app i chose remembering only some, blocking third parties and forgetting about all the others when closing the browser. https://dietrich.cx/Development/CookieWh...ithButtons

I use proxomitron for the rest of the things, redirecting http requests, modifying the web content of pages not using https, logging, blocking, changing user-agent, and etc etc
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Nov. 22, 2012, 07:18 PM (This post was last modified: Nov. 22, 2012 07:27 PM by JJoe.)
Post: #15
RE: Need help getting Proxo working on Win 8 Pro
Scott's words still apply, http://www.proxomitron.info/45/docs/readme.txt

SRL Wrote:I would strongly discourage using active SSL filtering for important transactions such as on-line banking or purchases.
The connection may not be as secure, and
it's better not to risk a filter potentially creating troubles on such a page.

However, since the casual use of SSL on less important pages is increasing, sometimes you may wish to
filter it anyway. Still, keep in mind that you do so at your own risk.

Too many people don't read the docs, disclaimers, directions, instructions, etc. It is one of the great frustrations of writing them.

If you must filter HTTPS or important data, please be careful.


Have fun

BTW, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Strict...t_Security

The Proxomitron is all I use.
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