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Practical, honest guides to hiding your IP, setting up WireGuard, and using SOCKS5/HTTP proxies the right way.
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How to use a proxy with wget
wget reads proxies from environment variables or its own .wgetrc, and takes credentials through dedicated flags. Here is every method, plus the one thing to know: wget speaks HTTP proxies, not SOCKS5.
Read →npm and yarn behind a proxy
Corporate networks break npm install in predictable ways. Here is how to configure npm and both major yarn versions to install through an HTTP proxy — plus the environment variables the whole Node toolchain shares.
Read →pip and conda behind a proxy
Installing Python packages from behind a firewall comes down to one HTTP proxy setting, exposed three ways in pip and two in conda. Here is each, with the trusted-host trick for TLS-inspecting corporate proxies.
Read →git through a proxy: HTTP and SOCKS5
git speaks proxies differently over HTTPS and over SSH. This guide covers both: http.proxy for HTTPS remotes (including SOCKS5), and a ProxyCommand for SSH remotes — with per-host scoping so only the right traffic is routed.
Read →Docker behind a proxy: daemon, build and compose
Docker needs a proxy in three separate places — the daemon that pulls images, the build that runs commands, and the containers you run. Set the wrong one and pulls still fail. Here is each, correctly scoped.
Read →How to rotate proxies in Python (requests and aiohttp)
Rotation is the difference between a scraper that gets one IP banned and one that spreads load across many. Here is a working rotator for both synchronous requests and async aiohttp, with health checks and automatic retirement of dead exits.
Read →HTTP 407 Proxy Authentication Required: how to fix it
A 407 is the proxy — not the website — telling you it needs credentials it did not get. This guide explains exactly what triggers it and walks through the fixes for curl, browsers, Python, Windows and corporate proxies.
Read →ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED: 8 ways to fix it
This Chrome error means the browser could reach your proxy settings but not the proxy itself. It is almost always a wrong address, a dead proxy, or a stale system setting. Here are eight concrete fixes, in order.
Read →How to fix 429 Too Many Requests when scraping
A 429 is a rate limit, not a ban — the server is asking you to slow down. The durable fix combines backoff, honouring Retry-After, and spreading load across a pool of IPs. Here is how, with working Python.
Read →Best VPN protocols in 2026
Compare WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec, and understand how the V2Ray proxy framework differs. Choose by client support, network restrictions and measured performance, rather than universal speed or access promises.
Read →VPN for remote work: dedicated IPs, policy and access
Remote teams use VPNs for three concrete jobs: protecting traffic on untrusted networks, presenting a stable IP for allowlists, and keeping internal services off the public internet. Here is how to do it right.
Read →Paying for a VPN or proxy with crypto
Privacy-minded users pay for VPNs and proxies with cryptocurrency to avoid tying a bank card to a privacy service. Here is why it helps, how it works at s4m, and where crypto anonymity really ends.
Read →How to check if a proxy is valid (with a ready script)
A proxy is only useful if it is alive, hides your real IP, and is fast enough for the job. This guide covers five ways to test all three — including a ready bash and Python proxy-checker you can run right now.
Read →VPN and proxy FAQ: short, honest answers
Quick, straight answers to the questions people actually ask about VPNs and proxies — can you be tracked, is it legal, why won't my proxy connect — without the marketing spin.
Read →Proxies for scraping Wildberries, Ozon and Avito
Collecting prices and listings from marketplaces like Wildberries, Ozon and Avito means dealing with rate limits, regional pricing and anti-bot defences. Here is how proxies fit in — and where datacenter IPs reach their limit.
Read →Proxies for bookmakers and multi-accounting: risks and practice
People use proxies with betting sites and to run multiple accounts, and the topic is full of guarantees that do not survive contact with reality. This is an honest, neutral look at how detection works and where a proxy stops.
Read →How to bypass website blocks: VPN, proxy, DNS and mirrors
When a site is blocked, the right fix depends on how it was blocked. This guide explains the common methods — VPN, proxy, DNS change and mirrors — what each defeats, when each fails, and how to stay safe.
Read →VPN for Ukraine: banking, Diia and a Ukrainian IP from abroad
Ukrainians abroad keep running into the same wall: banking apps, Diia and local services expect a Ukrainian IP. This guide explains why, what your real options are, and how a dedicated IP fits — honestly.
Read →Proxy speed: how we measure latency and why ping lies
Proxy speed is not one number. Latency, throughput and time-to-first-byte measure different things, and a raw ICMP ping misleads you about all of them. Here is what actually matters and how to measure it.
Read →State of Free Proxies: how we compile the report
We publish live figures on the free proxy list — how many are alive, how anonymous they are, how fast. This page is the honest methodology behind those numbers: what we measure, how, and what the figures do and do not mean.
Read →What is my IP leaking? WebRTC, DNS and IPv6 leaks explained
You set a proxy or VPN, the site shows a new IP — and yet your real address can still escape through three side channels: WebRTC, DNS and IPv6. Here is exactly how each leak happens and how to close it.
Read →Datacenter vs residential vs mobile proxies: the full comparison
Three proxy types, three very different trade-offs in price, speed and how a site perceives you. Here is an honest side-by-side of datacenter, residential and mobile proxies — and how to pick the cheapest one that actually works for your task.
Read →What are ISP (static residential) proxies?
ISP proxies sit between datacenter and residential: an IP registered to a consumer ISP but hosted in a data center, so it looks residential yet runs at datacenter speed. Here is how they really work and where s4m fits.
Read →SOCKS5 vs SOCKS4: the technical differences
SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 look similar on the surface but differ in three ways that decide whether your traffic works at all: authentication, UDP support and remote DNS. Here is the precise, protocol-level comparison.
Read →Ready to hide your IP?
Private WireGuard VPN and datacenter SOCKS5/HTTP proxies, plus a live free proxy list.
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