Proxies, Hacking and Privacy

I've always been fascinated by proxies because of their versatility for both good and bad. They're an integral part of bastion host firewalls, but can also be used for Man-In-The-Middle attacks and web hacking and testing with tools like Paros Proxy.

But lately, there's been a lot of discussion about proxies because they can used to protect a web surfer's privacy. Again, the dual nature of their use for good or evil. They can protect both innocent web surfer's just wanting to be left alone and criminals, who also want to be left alone, but obviously for different reasons.

I was thinking about proxies again this week after a tip from Kim Komando about two software proxy tools for home users. Her tips -- on hiding your IP address and online privacy -- mentioned two products: PHProxy and Privoxy.

I've added this to a list of proxies, and related tools, on my web site. Click on Tools in the left-hand navigation bar and then on Proxy Servers, on the Tools I page that appears.

I also did an article on SearchSecurity about protecting enterprises from the malicious use of anonymizers, a type of proxy, by employees.