/alleycat/ - Alleycat BBS (cat scratch fever)

It has been a month shy of two years since I last released an update for Alleycat Player. Why is that? Have I been sick? No, not sick but tired of releasing software when I'm getting no feedback from anyone.

Maybe the problem is that people don't understand what I've been trying to do. The local proxy server thing probably triggers people. Installing a proxy server to watch videos? Omigod! What can possibly go wrong? Yeah, I get it. That's why I've been working on making the Kraker Local Proxy Server a must-have piece of software which can do much more than support a video player.

Anyway, nothing's going to really happen for a couple of weeks at least. I'm just prepping to finally release the finest and greatest personal proxy server ever created on planet Earth. I'm hoping you'll understand what I mean when it happens.

Till then, check out my software home page for an idea of what I'm talking about. Not updated yet but I'll get around to it.

https://8chananon.github.io

I figure I'll make a list of the features that the new Kraker proxy server will have. Here are the basics:

- configurable DNS manager with support for DNS-over-HTTPS

- ability to route specific domains over a Socks5 or HTTP proxy

- use Tor, I2P and normal Internet with the same web browser

- ability to pin the SSL certificate for sensitive domains

- observe and modify HTTP requests and responses

You might get the idea that the purpose of the proxy server is to support your web browser. That's true. It is also for developers. The last feature listed above supports the analysis and reverse engineering of complex websites in order to scrape data from them. I use a special tool that I call Kraker Mockery which works with the proxy server and the web browser to help me figure out how to scrape a site to get video links. Alleycat Player can then use the proxy server to bypass browser restrictions to find and play the videos.

The proxy server supports the development of browser apps that would not otherwise be possible (Alleycat Player is just one example). Some additional features:

- access to the local file system

- websocket for global messaging

- cryptographic support for RSA and AES

- ability to mimic websites to fool the browser

That last item can be especially useful to bypass security measures meant to block bots (like the Cloudflare bot fight mode). You can steal cookies. You can steal code from a website and run it in your own app. The sky is the limit.

If you have used man-in-the-middle (MITM) proxies like Fiddler, Charles or HTTP Toolkit then I have to tell you that Kraker is not the same. Kraker is meant to be always online and it only intercepts HTTP requests on demand. It is not a tool that you only run as needed. You need it all of the time.

Kraker has a very small memory footprint. It is 15 to 25 megabytes, depending on usage patterns. It runs under Node.js and, as far as I can tell, it is bulletproof (crossing fingers, kek).

My app for playing Youtube videos broke because YT made some changes.

It has been updated. This is a stand-alone app which works without installation.

https://8chananon.github.io/dl/yt-player.htm