5 reasons why you should avoid free proxy servers

If geographic boundaries prevent you from accessing a website, then you probably used a proxy server to break this barrier. Although proxy servers are very useful in handling such problems, the level of security of free proxy servers is something that users are more interested in.

Let's explore some of the reasons why you should ignore free proxy servers through the following article!

To understand why you should not use a proxy server for free, we first need to understand what proxy servers are and why people use them. Please refer to the article: [Theory] What is Proxy Server? For more details.

Why are proxy servers bad?

There are many free proxy server websites on the Internet, each site offering users a variety of countries to choose from. All these proxy servers require is the address of the website you want to access and the proxy server will load it for users. Sounds great, right?

In fact, users may encounter free proxy servers unlike they imagine. Here are 5 reasons why users should stay away from free proxy servers!

1. Most free proxy servers do not use HTTPS

Christian Haschek scanned on some free proxy servers to see if they passed the basic security tests. He discovered that 79% of the tested proxy servers did not allow HTTPS connections. This is a huge security issue and something that people should pay attention to when using a free proxy server.

The lack of HTTPS means that the user's connection to the server is not encrypted. Someone watching the connection can easily see the data that the user is sending over the network. In terms of privacy, this makes 'proxy services' lose points in the eyes of users.

If you want to keep your data safe, read the article: What to do if Google Chrome warns an unsafe website?

2. Your connection may be monitored

In his article, Haschek continues to hypothesize that the reason free web sites don't like to use HTTPS is because they want to track users. This is not a distant hypothesis, because in the past, hackers have set up proxy servers for this reason.

When using a free proxy site, users simply believe that the owners of these sites will not use them to gather sensitive information. There is no way to know what proxy server owners have installed on their hardware to track users and it is better not to risk it, right?

3. Proxy server may contain malicious software

Proxy servers are not entirely 'resistant' to viruses and malware. By relying on connecting to a proxy server, users can expect that the proxy server will not abuse the connection to infect viruses or malware to the PC.

Worse, a free proxy server owner can put ads in display content, hoping that users will click on them and help pay for the server.

Unfortunately, some guys use advertising as a means to spread malware and 'hunt' sites that check loose ads to show these ads.

If the proxy server owner doesn't pay much attention to the ads on his site, ads containing malware may be displayed to the user. These owners will not know what is happening until the user's computer is infected with malware!

4. Proxy server free can steal cookies

When logging into the server, the computer will create a small file called a cookie. Cookies store user login data, so users do not need to log in every time they visit the site. This is often a very useful feature, but when a proxy server is located between the user and the website, it is likely that the owner of the server will steal cookies when they are created.

When the owner of the proxy server has a login cookie from a user's browsing session, they can use them to impersonate online. The extent of this damage depends on the website visited on the proxy server. If you access very sensitive websites, users can get in trouble!

5. Poor service

It is not worth putting privacy on the risk and betting on a free proxy server! Free proxies found on the internet are often slow, due to lack of funding and because many others are using them.

How to protect yourself?

Use VPN

If free proxy servers are something that users should avoid using, then a good VPN service is the exact opposite. By paying for a quality VPN, users can browse anonymously without worrying about being stolen.

Just remember to stay away from VPN for free, as they also encounter the same problems as free proxy servers!

Use caution for free proxy servers

If you really need to use a free web proxy, never give out any personal information on it. Installing browser extensions also helps protect against malicious ads. Users can also install a reputable antivirus software to prevent any malware infection through advertising.

Free proxies are a convenient way to bypass geographic restrictions on the Internet. However, the proxy server owner will probably take advantage of this to make a profit and steal the user's personal information. If possible, avoid using a proxy server for free and use VPN if you want consistent security. Refer to the article: 11 reasons you should use VPN for more details.

Good luck!