Sybex CEH Certified Ethical Hacker Version 8 Study Guide

Using Proxies 121
Proxy servers are typically used to maintain anonymity, which helps scanners. A vigilant
network administrator who is checking logs and systems will see the agent or proxy, but
not the actual scanning party behind the proxy.
Setting up a proxy is easy and can be accomplished a number of ways, depending on the
situation itself.
Setting a Web Browser to Use a Proxy
Use the following steps to set your browser to use a proxy:
1. Log on to www.whatismyip.com and write down your current IP address. Or you can
use ipconfig to gain this information.
2. Enter proxies in your favorite search engine to find a site providing a list of publicly
available proxies. Each proxy in the list consists of an IP address and a port.
3. Randomly select a proxy from the list and write down its IP address and port number.
4. In your browser, find the proxy settings and manually configure the browser to use the
information from step 3.
5. Check out www.whatismyip.com again to see how the proxy now hides your actual IP
address.
You can configure proxies in other web browsers the same way.
Choose a proxy based outside the United States to best simulate what an
advanced attacker would do. Proxies based in the United States can have
their records subpoenaed, which is why a malicious party typically would
refrain from using them.
Other proxy options are available to you as well, that may be useful in certain
situations. One important one is the Onion Router (Tor). Tor is an older technology,
but it is still effective and widely used. To better understand this technology, read the
following description from the Tor Project’s website (https://www.torproject.org/about/
overview.html.en):
Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to
improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables
software developers to create new communication tools with built-in
privacy features. Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications
that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public
networks without compromising their privacy.