Our Blogs

Along the years, private proxy servers and VPN received bad press because of black hat communities. This is no surprise to experts and security professionals because for somebody to get away with suspicious activity, its needs to protect himself.

Private proxy servers and VPN were initially created for multi-office companies to communicate safely over the Internet. However, once these tools became available to the general public, certain actors started using them for suspicious purposes.

Often times privacy tools are used in suspicious ways because the are very efficient. The on-line anonymity they provide is very powerful. Along the years they have become necessary tools for activities that might raise eyebrows. But there are also completely transparent activities that require anonymity tools to function.

2 BLACK HAT COMMUNITIES THAT ARE USING PRIVATE PROXIES

• HACKERS

Certain hackers are glorified burglars. The sole purpose of their activity is to steal. They are usually looking for financial information. Or at times for every type of information that can convert into financial gain.

For their 100% illegal activity, they use private proxies in an unethical fashion. The reason for using privacy tools is to remain in the shadows, to stay anonymous. As it happened most often, sooner or later they are discovered and disclosed.

• TORRENTERS

Although the least black hat activity and the least enforced upon, torrent users are profiting from the borderless Internet. They are looking to download digital content. They use private proxies and VPN to stay hidden the same way hackers do.

Most often than not, this activity is conducted for personal use. The only financial gain is the extra cash they keep for not spending it on media content.

Torrent download websites received a lot of press coverage in recent weeks after the crackdown on KickAss torrents, the most visited torrent platform.

ANONYMITY TOOLS – IN THE HANDS OF PROFIT MAKERS

Just because some tools are used in an unethical way by certain Internet users, it does not mean that these tools can’t be used for their normal purpose.

Anonymity tools do exactly what they were created for. They provide anonymity and privacy. Either if your we are talking about private proxy servers or VPN, the end result is usually the same. They offer privacy and anonymity.

Some Internet users or companies are using private proxy servers in an ethical fashion. Their motives are profit, strategic advantage or protection. They see anonymity as a medium through which they have to undergo their activities.

There are certain domains where anonymity is imperative. Similar to black-hat users, these businesses need a higher level of anonymity just to function properly.

2 WHITE HAT ENTERPRISES USING PRIVATE PROXIES

• ONLINE MARKETING AGENCIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROXIES

Why would a marketer need private proxies or anonymity? The truth is that they need anonymity tools due to black hat activities performed by others.

For an online marketer, social media is vital. Today social media is the main medium through which marketers, companies and brands communicate with customers.

Because of unethical activities performed by some Internet users, social media platforms are becoming more suspicious of multiple accounts managed from one location. Certain marketing agencies are performing normal, legal social media marketing on behalf of their clients. These agencies risk getting their client accounts suspended and blocked if social media platforms mistaken their activity and consider it suspicious.

Social media proxies are the anonymity tools they can use to re-direct their client accounts. This is a perfectly legal approach that companies resorted to avoid unnecessary bans.

• SECURITY PROVIDERS – THE WHITE-HAT PEN-TEST

Not all hackers are bad or looking to do havoc. In the hacking ecosystems you can find as well gray-hat hackers, hacktivists, hack-journalists and white-hat hackers.

All these groups are basically doing the same activity, but for different purposes. White-hat hackers are generally doing penetration tests. They test the on-line or network vulnerabilities of companies.

They employ anonymity tools, as private proxies, to launch attacks on companies websites and networks. Their use of private proxies is similar to black-hat hackers. They put a temporary black-hat because they need to stay hidden and make their attack as devious as possible.

In their work, the need for private proxies is necessary as they have to mimic as much as they can the activity of an harmful hacker.

TO SUM IT UP

Just because anonymity tools received bad press it doesn’t mean that they are only used for black-hat activities.

Hackers and torrent users are using private proxies and VPN to conduct malicious activities and create havoc. But this is not what anonymity tools have been created for.

Initially created for large companies to communicate between their regional offices, privacy tools migrated to smaller companies, on-line businesses and marketing agencies.

Today social media proxies are used by marketers to run multiple client accounts from the same location. While security providers are using private proxies to run penetration tests on companies’ websites and networks.

Private proxies or VPN are offering the same end result, they protect your privacy.

Never blame a tool, not disregard its use because it has been used unethically by someone.