Exploring MikroTik Router Proxy URL Filtering And Safe Browsing

Hey there, party people! Today, we're gonna talk about how to make a proxy external for your Mikrotik using, what else, RouterOS Mikrotik! This shindig is going to be rather technical, so buckle up and let's dive in!

First things first, let's define what a proxy external even is. Simply put, it's a type of proxy that isn't hosted on the same network as the clients that use it. This can be handy if you're trying to bypass certain restrictions or if you just want to improve the performance of your network.

The Steps

Now that we know what we're dealing with, let's get into the nitty gritty of how to set this bad boy up. There are a few steps you'll need to follow:

1. Set up the external server

The first thing you'll need to do is set up an external server that will host your proxy. This can be any server that meets your needs, but we recommend using a Linux machine for greater control over the system. You'll also need to install and configure the Squid proxy server on this machine.

2. Configure the Mikrotik

Once your server is up and running, you'll need to configure your Mikrotik to forward requests to the external server. You can do this by going to IP > Firewall > NAT and creating a new rule that forwards anything on port 3128 to the IP address of your external server.

3. Set up authentication

To keep your proxy secure, you'll want to set up some form of authentication. This can be done by creating a new user and password on your external server and then configuring Squid to accept only authenticated requests. You'll also need to configure your Mikrotik to pass the appropriate credentials along with the request.

4. Test your setup

Before you start using this setup in a production environment, you'll want to test it to make sure everything is working as expected. You can do this by configuring a test client to use your proxy and then monitoring the traffic to make sure it's being forwarded to the external server and authenticated properly.

Conclusion

Well, that's it for this little get-together. Hopefully, you've learned a thing or two about how to set up an external proxy server for your Mikrotik. It may seem daunting at first, but with a little patience and some elbow grease, you'll have it up and running in no time. Happy proxying!