Prev Next

Showing posts with label Proxy Servers. Show all posts



by
Rohit Patel

How to Detect Anonymous IP Addresses

How to Detect Anonymous IP Addresses



Detect-Proxy

As the fraudsters are now becoming more sophisticated in bypassing the Geo-location controls by using proxies (Anonymous IPs) to spoof their IP address, it has become very much necessary to come up with a means for detecting the proxies so that the authenticity of the users can be verified. Using a proxy (web proxy) is the simplest and easiest way to conceal the IP address of an Internet user and maintain the online privacy. However proxies are more widely used by online fraudsters to engage in cyber crimes since it is the easiest way to hide their actual Geo-location such as city/country through a spoofed IP address. Following are some of the examples where fraudsters use the proxies to hide their actual IP.





1. Credit Card Frauds

For example, say a Nigerian fraudster tries to purchase goods online with a stolen credit card for which the billing address is associated with New York. Most credit card merchants use Geo-location to block orders from countries like Nigeria and other high risk countries. So in order to bypass this restriction the credit card fraudster uses a proxy to spoof his IP address so that it appears to have come from New York. The IP address location appears to be legitimate since it is in the same city as the billing address. A proxy check would be needed to flag this order.


2. Bypass Website Country Restrictions

Some website services are restricted to users form only a selected list of countries. For example, a paid survey may be restricted only to countries like United States and Canada. So a user from say China may use a proxy so as to make his IP appear to have come from U.S. so that he can earn from participating in the paid survey.


Proxy Detection Services


So in order to stop such online frauds, Proxy Detection has become a critical component. Today most companies, credit card merchants and websites that deal with e-commerce transactions make use of Proxy Detection Services like MaxMind and FraudLabs to detect the usage of proxy or spoofed IP from users participating online.
Proxy Detection web services allow instant detection of anonymous IP addresses. Even though the use of proxy address by users is not a direct indication of fraudulent behaviour, it can often indicate the intention of the user to hide his or her real IP. In fact, some of the most used ISPs like AOL and MSN are forms of proxies and are used by both good and bad consumers.


How Proxy Detection Works?

Proxy detection services often rely on IP addresses to determine whether or not the IP is a proxy. Merchants can obtain the IP address of the users from the HTTP header on the order that comes into their website. This IP address is sent to the proxy detecting service in real time to confirm it’s authenticity.
The proxy detection services on the other hand compare this IP against a known list of flagged IPs that belong to proxy services. If the IP is not on the list then it is authenticated and the confirmation is sent back to the merchant. Otherwise it is reported to be a suspected proxy. These proxy detection services work continuously to grab a list or range of IPs that are commonly used for proxy services. With this it is possible to tell whether or not a given IP address is a proxy or spoofed IP.


How to Tell Whether a given IP is Real or a Proxy?

There are a few free sites that help you determine whether or not a given IP is a proxy. You can use free services like WhatisMyIPAddress to detect proxy IPs. Just enter the suspected IP in the field and click on “Lookup IP Address” button to check the IP address. If it is a suspected proxy then you will see the results something as follows.


Detect Anonymous Proxy

So for all those who think that they can escape by using a spoofed IP, this post is the answer. I hope this information helps. Pass your comments.



FEED












SUPPORT US











VISIT COUNTER !!



by
Rohit Patel

What are Proxy sites : Finding and using Proxy Servers


  Finding and using Proxy Servers


If you spend time on the web, you occasionally come across the term “proxy”. Perhaps you’ve noticed that the administrator of your favorite website has rules against proxies. Or maybe you hear rumors about how proxies allow people to cheat while playing online games. Despite their unsavory reputation, proxies can be a useful tool for those who know how to use them.

What is a proxy
Proxies are computers that are placed between your computer and the server you are communicating with on the web; they affect the transmitted data in various ways. Other people can use proxies to help or hinder you, or you can use proxies to accomplish certain goals that would otherwise be impossible.
For instance, your ISP or your employer may decide to install a proxy between you and the wider internet. This proxy is designed to filter the content on the web, removing information that is illegal or otherwise troubling. On the other hand, your ISP can use a proxy to reduce the load on distant servers by caching information that you request frequently, thereby speeding up your web browsing.
You can use proxies in several ways. Http – or web proxies – allow you to surf anonymously by hiding your computer’s unique IP address from the servers with which you are interacting.  SOCKS proxies are used by programs other than your browser – such as IRC or online game clients – and can anonymize or otherwise alter your requests to the server. You can even find FTP proxies to use for anonymous downloading.

Proxy Server Sites

Proxy Servers
In order to use a proxy, you have to access a proxy server. Sometimes, you have no choice in using a proxy server, such as when your ISP requires you to surf the web through a proxy. Usually, however, you have to search for a proxy server.
It can be tempting to engage in illegal behavior while protected by a web proxy. However, this is ill-advised. Despite the facade of anonymity provided by proxy server, the server owner undoubtedly maintains user logs. Law enforcement agencies can, and do, request this information during the course of their investigations.
Additionally, many proxy owners are rumored to traffic in information. Don’t be tempted to use proxies to transmit sensitive information over the internet. Proxy sites can easily harvest your passwords and logon information for any websites you visit during your web session.

Finding proxies using Google or proxy websites
 Using Google, you can easily find lists of proxy servers in the form of IP addresses and ports. In the case of web proxy lists, they are usually further categorized into several groups: transparent, anonymous, and high anonymous. To bypass content filtering, you can use a transparent proxy. To remain completely anonymous while you surf the web, use a high anonymous proxy.
Many proxy websites exist to provide you with lists of working proxy servers. Some are pay services promising the most up-to-date lists, others have been on the web for years. Obviously, if a proxy is listed on the web, most system administrators know about its existence; they often filter known proxies if it benefits them to do so. Truly unknown proxies are usually available only to paid customers of various anonymizing services.

Using a proxy server
By way of example, we’ll set up and use a simple web proxy.
Most modern browsers, including Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari, can easily be set up to surf the web through a proxy. We’ll use Internet Explorer in this example.
First, use Google or a proxy website to find a list of web proxies. Many of the proxies in most of these lists are either prohibitively slow, or no longer working. You may have to experiment for a while before you find one that works well. For instance, here is a proxy/port that seems to work acceptably well:
24.213.209:80

In this example, 24.213.209.80 is the IP address of the proxy, and 80 is the port number that your browser will use to communicate with the server.
Using MS’s Internet Explorer, open the following dialogue box from the menu bar:
Tools>Internet Options>Connections>LAN Settings
Check the “Use a proxy server…” checkbox, then type the IP address and port into the respective boxes. Now, when you connect to a website, it will see the IP address of the proxy server, rather than your computer’s IP address. Use a site such as “whatismyip.com” to test this.

[Free Proxy]
Proxy servers are a useful tool for those who wish to use the internet without exposing themselves to unwanted attention. Used responsibly, they are often the difference between being free to use the web as you see fit, or being arbitrarily restricted.