Tether to bypass work's proxies

[karl1coleman]

I had an idea last night. I'm sure I'm not the first so it must've been tried. My workplace logs our Internet activity and blocks many sites. Is it possible to USB-tether my phone to my computer, and direct my Internet requests through it instead? I'm asking only in theory as I am sure questions would be asked if it was ever found out. I may use it occasionally, sometimes people send me YouTube links, things like that. The only thing I can't figure out is how I would tell my browser to send the requests through the tethered connection, not my office's Internet connection.

 

[EvilMonkey]

Of course it's possible. Easiest way it just to use PDANet or EasyTether. You'll find them in the market.

Alternatively, you can use your phone's hotspot functionality to create a wireless network you can connect the laptop to. Android does that out-of-the-box, but carriers usually lock that functionality down, but you can pay them for it, or you can get around it by rooting and enabling the functionality.

But really, the easiest way if you don't want to pay for the hotspot or root your phone is just to use one of the first options. You can have it up and running in a couple of minutes.

 

[karl1coleman]

I don't think you get what I am asking. I know how to tether and mobile hotspot. My question is if I tether my PC to my phone, my PC now has two network connections. How do I tell my browser to send it's http requests through the connection through my phone, not my office's network?

 

[EvilMonkey]

Oh...well, you can do a couple things.

assuming your PC is wired (an ethernet cable is plugged into it), just unplug the ethernet cable. Alternatively (if it's hard to get to the cable to unplug it or you just don't want someone to see it dangling unconnected), you can go into your Control Panel and Network and Sharing Center. You can right-click on the ethernet connection (for work) and disable it.

If the PC is on wireless, you can disable the wireless, but if you're using your phone's hotspot connection (and not USB tether), you wouldn't be able to connect to it without the wireless on. So you would need to just connect to the hotspot instead (which would automatically disable your work's wireless, since you can only be connected to one wireless network at a time). If you do that, it's probably best to set up the work's wireless connection to not automatically connect to it, since if your phone's connection fails, it would just flip back to the work's network, which could cause problems since you might not realize it switched.

 

[karl1coleman]

Thanks. Makes sense.

 

[Rukbat]

The only problem is your job. Since connecting the office computer to the internet without the office network's security is endangering the security of the network (when you connect to the network again), you could be fired. (And,m if there's a problem with the network, you could be sued for the full cost of fixing the problem.)

It's interesting to do as an academic exercise, but I would try it, confirm it can be done, then forget about it. (Unless you're looking to change jobs.)

 

[EvilMonkey]

The only problem is your job. Since connecting the office computer to the internet without the office network's security is endangering the security of the network (when you connect to the network again), you could be fired. (And,m if there's a problem with the network, you could be sued for the full cost of fixing the problem.)

It's interesting to do as an academic exercise, but I would try it, confirm it can be done, then forget about it. (Unless you're looking to change jobs.)

I kind of assumed he knew the risks, but good points.

Don't get caught if you're violating company policy (or better yet, don't do it). Not that I know if you are vioating policy, but probably be wise to clear all your history and cookies and everything (or use Your browser's incognito mode) before reconnecting to your office network. If your company uses profiles for example, it's likely your history and all that will sync back to your profile when you reconnect.

Just some friendly advice. I do it all the time, but my company is lax about it and we have laptops we take everywhere so I not violating any policy by doing it. Just that I prefer my lunchtime Facebook and YouTube and tech blog surfing don't show up in my Internet usage reports.