When you're choosing and using a proxy server there are some security problem you should concern.
For example you want to send an email with attachment, or fill out a form that has personal or financial information. Here are the things may happen when you hit "Send."
- First, your communication must pass through the proxy server before travels to its destination, But when your data travels with many proxies, it moves mostly in unencrypted form. That means that a hacker who intercepts it can turn the digital information right back into its original format, and your information would be plain to see.
- There's also something proxy server known as a "malicious proxy server"... Instead of being a helpful, trustworthy middleman for your Web surfing, you might go through a proxy server run by undesirable types... hackers or crooks. And in worst-case scenarios, malicious proxy servers have been known to record everything sent to them... including unencrypted log-ins and passwords of unsuspecting computer users.
- Even though the website or email server you're trying to reach might not know your IP address (or be able to trace it using geo-location), the proxy will always know your IP address. That's just how it works. That doesn't mean they will exploit it in any way—they simply know what it is. (And that will always bother some people who want MORE anonymity.)
Trust your proxy!
So what should you do if you're just dipping your toe in the proxy pool?
- Never use or trust a proxy server no one has ever heard of. If you're not sure of the proxy, play it safe—do not pass on any private information that isn't encrypted.
- The bottom line of this is to be wary when using proxy servers, and use only proxy servers of known integrity (i.e., the owner is known and trusted, has a clear privacy policy, etc.).
