A hidden proxy is a server system that filters internet traffic and can be invisible to the user or other proxies. It can be used in phishing scams to trick users into installing malicious software that captures their web browsing habits and personal information. It can also be used to bypass web filtering proxy servers.
A hidden proxy is a type of server system for filtering Internet connection traffic that is invisible for one reason or another. Sometimes they can be hidden from the user, in case they are running on a user’s computer. Alternatively, this type of proxy can be set up on a remote server, with a fake website, so that it is undetectable by other proxies or web filtering software. In general, the term can be misused or somewhat confused due to its lack of affiliation with a specific proxy technique.
One way the term hidden proxy is used is in Internet phishing scams, where rogue email messages attempt to gather additional information about a user. These spam email messages can be sent to unsuspecting users warning of a potential hidden proxy running on their computer. In many cases, these messages impersonate the user’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) and claim that the user is sending large amounts of spam from their computer. The fake email message falsely accuses the user of generating spam and further threatens that their internet connection will be disabled. Within the message, the user is prompted to download an attachment and install it on their computer or to follow a link to a website where more information can be gathered.
This is where the concept of a hidden proxy comes into use in regards to malicious software that a user installs on his or her computer. If so tricked by a fake email, users download and install the attachment, thinking they are running software from their ISP to remove a hidden proxy. In reality, however, they are doing exactly the opposite and subsequently installing a hidden proxy on their computers. Once installed, a small server software program runs as a background process, invisible to the user, which then filters and captures the user’s web browsing habits such as the websites they visit and potentially all passwords and card information shared with such websites. The software then periodically sends the captured data through the hidden proxy to another server for nefarious use.
Another somewhat clandestine use of the term comes from the desire of students or corporate workers to bypass a web filtering proxy server on their school’s or employer’s network. In a technique sometimes referred to as proxy circumvention, the user loads a website running its own proxy server which then serves as the starting point for the website they would like to access, but would otherwise not be allowed to due to the proxy of his network. Network administrators have been known to keep their filtering systems up to date, thereby blocking even such websites that avoid proxies, so websites that provide such services may also hide their proxy under a false facade. This technique essentially hides the proxy, not from a user, but from another proxy server or filtering software.
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