Today we will learn proxy chain. There are several ways to circumvent online restrictions and censorship Although VPNs are the most popular option and tool for doing this these days, they are not the only option. Before the polished, ready-to-go market options of today were so readily available, proxies were also a main way for people to bypass Internet censorship. In fact, it’s worth noting that many of the technologies that are lumped together today as part of the more extravagant general category of “VPN” are actually proxies. An excellent example of this is the so-called “Shadowsocks VPN”, which is actually a proxy.
Over time, both VPNs and proxies have become targets of restrictions and attacks. So, both technologies have gone to greater lengths to come up with new ideas and solutions to solve these problems.
While in the VPN world, we have solutions like site-to-site VPNs, proxies have brought new solutions like reverse proxies, and of course, the subject of today’s post, proxy chains.
But what exactly is a proxy? How is proxy chaining done and what are its main advantages and disadvantages? Stay tuned for answers to all these questions, as well as a quick guide on how to establish your own proxy chain!
What is a proxy?
Most people either have a vague definition of a proxy or else mix up its definition to overlap with other definitions such as VPN. A proxy is basically a server that acts as an intermediary force or a “gateway” between you and the Internet connection. So when you connect to a proxy server, you are essentially operating a three-way connection that consists of your computer, the proxy server, and the destination you are navigating to. Let’s say there is a website that has restricted access to your domain. Exactly how will a proxy help you?
When you connect to a proxy server and try to reach a website, your data packets are initially sent to the proxy server instead of the destination; Then, this server will do the work for you and send the data.
When the response comes back from the blocked domain, it is returned to the proxy server, which will replicate it for you. The main difference here from a VPN is that a VPN allows you to completely assume their server and use it as your own, whereas proxies are more like intermediaries.
What is a proxy chain and why we need it?
Proxy chaining is a more elaborate process that uses a proxy server to proxy to another server and does this many times to create sufficient masking and packet processing and request layers to anonymize you. A proxy chain has two primary use cases: first, to anonymize the user, and second, to bypass restrictive barriers that regular proxies can detect and block. Remember when I said that when you use a proxy, it’s like a three-way Internet connection with the proxy as an intermediary? Well, a chained proxy is exactly the same thing, with the significant difference that we now have many servers instead of one.
As the number of these intermediary servers increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for firewalls to detect and block your proxy. So you will be able to bypass internet censorship easily. This increase in proxy servers creates much more efficient masking of online identities. Let’s say you don’t want to be tracked online; Naturally, a single proxy server is a lot easier to crack and track than five or six. But even with a chain of server proxy servers, you won’t be completely anonymous, and a skilled administrator can track you, so keep that in mind.
Advantages and disadvantages of proxy chaining
Using a proxy chain has its own set of pros and cons that you need to consider before you decide to go ahead and build a multi-layered proxy chaining operation of your own. Here are three main advantages and three disadvantages of proxy chaining I’ll start with the pros and then work on the cons.
Proxy chaining Advantages
Speed
As the number of proxy servers increases, the operational capacity of each server to process packets and return them to the user increases, coupled with the more efficient caching process that occurs; Proxy chains are a quick way to bypass restrictions and remain anonymous on the web.
Security
As mentioned earlier, the higher the number of intermediary proxy servers, the harder it is to track you and the easier it is to remain anonymous on the web. Each proxy server in a proxy chain is a security mask for the server before it, combine that with an encryption protocol and you’re hard to track. This is why hackers almost always use proxy chains when performing operations.
Efficient caching
Cache memory is used to store critical access data of recently visited domains. This stored data is used to facilitate quick access and remember user preferences on a website. More proxies are better at caching, and therefore, you can access cached websites faster and more efficiently.
Proxy Chaining Disadvantages
Maintenance
Managing a large number of reliable servers as part of a single connection operation will take a lot of work. You will be personally responsible for managing all the servers and making sure everything is running smoothly, and sometimes, it can be too much for one person.
High Dependability
If a single one of your proxy servers stops working, the entire proxy chain will die. Therefore proxy chaining is highly dependent on every single server, and one of them should exit; You need to search for a replacement.
Potential Costs
The more complex your proxy chain, the more servers you will need. The more servers you use, the higher the potential cost of bandwidth and server maintenance. If you have enough hardware lying around, you can handle some of that, but especially if you’re going to use foreign servers as proxy servers, the cost of these servers starts to add up.
What are IPtables?
Users primarily use a Linux environment to use and manage servers. This is mainly due to the fact that Linux distros are designed for web development and other coding endeavors. IPtables is a program designed for the Linux environment that enables us to install various networking rules such as firewalling and proxy chains.
Proxy Chaining Using IPtables: A Short Guide
In this section, I will teach you how to forward packets through different servers using IPtables and create a proxy chain.
Prerequisites
Make sure you have a real proxy server in place, then check that your version of IPtables still has rules for the pre-routing and post-routing sections.
Step 1: Enable IP Forwarding
Enter the following commands to enable IP forwarding, which will serve as the initial tool for our chaining operation:
echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
Now, write this command to add a rule that allows packets to be forwarded from your VPS’s IP address to 2.2.2.2 (the example destination) using port 1111:
# iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 1111 -j DNAT --to-destination 2.2.2.2:1111
Finally, enter this command to enable masquerade:
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -j MASQUERADE
Step 2: Enable Specific Network Traffic Forwarding (Optional)
If you want to direct data from a particular source to another host, enter the following command:
# iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -s 192.168.1.1 -p tcp --dport 1111 -j DNAT --to-destination 2.2.2.2:1111
And if you want to chain from one whole network to another, put this command:
# iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -s 192.168.1.0/24 -p tcp --dport 1111 -j DNAT --to-destination 2.2.2.2:1111
Step 3: Repeat the process as needed
To create a chained proxy you need to chain one server to another. Repeat this process changing the variables to match your additional servers to add servers to your proxy chain.
Proxy Chain vs VPN: Which is for You?
The proxy chain vs. VPN debate is always a topic of conversation in the security field. Both operations are really good for personal web browsing and changing your IP address.
However, a VPN is more easily accessible, has less maintenance than a chained proxy. This helps you prevent your ISP from spying and provides better overall security through encryption. So VPN is the more suitable overall choice with better cost efficiency.
A user’s choice for a proxy chain includes a set of niche use cases that can make an outstanding choice. For starters, your privacy is better protected using a proxy chain. If privacy and anonymity are your number one priority, a proxy chain is undoubtedly more effective than a VPN.f Also, in case you want to bypass internet censorship that has plagued your normal VPNs and proxies, a proxy chain works with a better overall performance. While there are obscure VPN options that can pull it off, a chained proxy is just as effective, if not more.
Mainly, a proxy chaining option can be easily used with several other instances at the same time, allowing you to switch and change your servers as needed. This is usually done by extensions such as Omega Switch. This option is useful for quickly changing your proxy server to remain anonymous and is not possible with a VPN.
Use a VPS for proxy chaining
A VPS, Virtual Private Server, is a great solution for hosting VPN servers. A bonus is a fact that it’s a perfect environment for proxy chaining.
