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Using a SOCKS proxy with OpenSSH

Setting up a SOCKS5 proxy using OpenSSH client command line

In order for this to work, the remote SSH server you're connecting to must have 

ssh -D 1337 -q -C -N user@domain.com

Here's the options breakdown:

  1. -D 1337 opens a SOCKS proxy on local port 1337. You can specify any port number you would like.
  2. -c enabled data compression in the tunnel, saving bandwidth
  3. -q enables quiet mode
  4. -N is to just forward ports, don't execute any remote commands

Once you've tested and verified that everything is working properly, you can add the -f option to fork the process to a background command.

# -f = fork to background
ssh -D 1337 -q -C -N -f user@domain.com

Using the SOCKS5 

Setting up a SOCKS5 proxy using OpenSSH client config file

The configuration options DynamicForward is synonymous with the -D option and can be added to your ~/.ssh/config file:

Host example.com
    User username
    DynamicForward 8080

-end