How do I make my router a proxy server?

I have the WAN port on a Linksys WRT54GL router.

How can I make it a proxy server for all of my computers (that are connected to it)? The WAN Port on your Linksys device is configured to forward TCP connections to the computer directly connected to it. In order to forward them to another computer, you would need to change that port to another one, and configure your router's NAT to match the correct port for outgoing connections. This will allow clients connected to it to reach the Internet through your device as if it was a different IP address.

Is it legal to have a proxy server?

If I have a proxy server at home that connects to my ISP, can I use that to access things like the internet (ie get updates from the web). I ask this because I was told it is illegal to run a proxy server in the US, and that I would be caught.

Yes, you can have a proxy server. However, not every country has laws regarding proxies. Most countries do have laws against accessing the Internet from a location other than your local provider's network. Your ISP might have a special agreement with the local government that makes it illegal for you to access the Internet from other locations.

In addition, there may be laws in your area about unauthorized access to computers. Your ISP may also be subject to laws requiring them to keep logs of the Internet accesses you make. You may also have to sign a document (the terms of your service agreement) which states that you are not allowed to access the Internet from a different location than your local provider.

How much does it cost to set up a proxy server?

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this but anywho I'm having some issues and was hoping maybe some of you proxy gods could help me out.

I am looking to set up a proxy server so I can connect to my work VPN with the school network. I want to be able to turn on the VPN and within the same browsing session I can access certain sites like facebook.com. It would be great if when I disconnect from the school VPN and reconnect to my home VPN that I'm not affected by the school DNS server(s).

I just don't know how much it costs to setup the proxy and configure everything. I have done a fair amount of research and I think that I may be able to run a proxy off of a Raspberry Pi.e. I really hope that I can get this to work because I really don't want to do this myself.

Thanks for any and all help. I'll update the thread if I have more questions You do realise a raspberry pi is fairly cheap (or at least it was back when I bought mine), so you won't be losing money at all. You'll have a new gadget in your house.

If you don't need it on the internet, I wouldn't bother running a VPN, because it will just clog up your broadband connection (or cost a lot, depending on how many VPN servers you need). Your best bet would be something like OpenWRT or DD-WRT and let them do the work for you.

A proxy isn't a single host service, it's a type of service that runs on multiple hosts. So it can cost a lot of money, or it can be a very cheap service. It all depends on what you're doing. A VPN isn't something you'd buy to hide from a couple of IPs, it's designed to protect all of your internet traffic going through it from snoopers. So if you're trying to use it to protect yourself from your own ISP, it'd likely cost a lot of money.

I'm not sure why you're trying to block out certain websites, but if you really must, I think you'd be able to put DD-WRT on an old Linksys router. It has a few limitations, and has a pretty low RAM, but it's probably cheap enough to put together.