FoxyProxy & iPlayer

FoxyProxy is a Firefox extension which allows you to connect to websites via a Proxy Server.

This tutorial will show you how to download and install FoxyProxy and then configure it to access online TV iPlayers outside of the country they are broadcast from...

Installing FoxyProxy

First of all you will need to have Firefox installed. If you don't already have it; get it HERE

Next you will need to install FoxyProxy. If you are already familiar with Firefox Extensions then click HERE to download it or else you can follow these instructions on how to locate a new extension and install it:

Click on the Tools menu at the top of your Firefox browser window and select Add-ons:

In the Add-ons window click on the Get Add-ons button at the top of the window and then type FoxyProxy into the 'Search All Add-ons' field and hit the Enter key on your keyboard:

Click the Add to Firefox button on the right which will open the following window:

Click the Install Now button to return to the previous window:

Click the Restart Firefox button to complete the install.

Configuring Foxy Proxy

Once Firefox has restarted go back to the Tools menu and this time highlight FoxyProxy Standard then click Options on the menu to the right:

This will load the FoxyProxy Standard Options window:

Click the Add New Proxy button on the right to open this window:

There are 3 tabs at the top of this window, choose the General Tab first and give your Proxy a name (e.g. iPlayer):

Once you've done this click the Proxy Details tab to return and enter the IP adress and Port details:

In order to obtain the IP and Port details you will need to search online for Free UK Proxy IP's (or whatever country the iPlayer you are trying to access is located in). An example site is http://www.freeproxylists.com/uk.html

Click on one of the detailed list links (e.g. detailed list #4)

Here you will see a list of available Proxy IP Addresses and Port Numbers. The ones that work best are the ones with the Port listed as 3128 and the HTTPS listed as "true"

Note the disclaimer at the top: This paper is intended for informational purpose only. We are not responsible for the the Use and/or potential effects of these advisories. Read this at your own risk or not at all.


The same disclaimer applies to this tutorial (i.e. informational purposes only and the use of proxy servers for illegal activities is not recommended or advisable).

Once you have obtained the proxy details you can then enter them into the Proxy Details tab:

Enter the IP, the Port number and make sure SOCKS v5 is selected underneath.

Now at this point you have two options: you can set FoxyProxy to only work when you visit certain websites or you can set it to work for ALL websites you visit in Firefox.

If you choose the first option then you will need to add the URL's of each of the iPlayers/websites that you will need FoxyProxy to access. Every other site will connect as normal without FoxyProxy. This is useful because if the Proxy IP you have entered stops allowing connections then you will still be able to access all your other websites as normal without disabling FoxyProxy.

The alternative is that you can just turn FoxyProxy on for all websites when you wish to use an iPlayer and then turn it off again when you are finished. To do this you just need to click OK on the window shown above and you will receive the following message:

Just click OK on this and then Close on the following window to return to Firefox.

Now, to turn on Foxyproxy with your new iPlayer settings just go to the Tools menu again, highlight FoxyProxy Standard and then select "Use Proxy iPlayer for all URLs"

To turn it off again simply go back to the same menu and choose "Completely Disable FoxyProxy"

You can also turn it on and off from your Status Bar at the bottom of Firefox (click the View menu bar at the top of Firefox and make sure "Status Bar" is ticked if you can't see it at the bottom of Firefox). At the bottom right of Firefox you should see "FoxyProxy: Disabled" in red text. Right click on this and you will see the same menu that you can access via the Tools menu bar.