ProxyChains – TCP Connection Proxy Router

ProxyChains is a powerful tool that forces any TCP connection made by any application to go through proxy servers like SOCKS4, SOCKS5, or HTTP proxies. It allows running any program through a proxy without requiring the application to have native proxy support. Security professionals and privacy-conscious users rely on ProxyChains for anonymizing traffic and bypassing network restrictions.

Key Features

• Multiple Proxy Types – SOCKS4, SOCKS5, HTTP/HTTPS proxy support
• Chain Modes – Dynamic, strict, round-robin, and random chaining
• DNS Handling – Proxy DNS requests to prevent leaks
• Any Application – Works with any TCP-based program
• Tor Integration – Easily route traffic through Tor network
• Multiple Proxies – Chain multiple proxies for added anonymity

Installation

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install proxychains4

# RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
sudo dnf install proxychains-ng

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S proxychains-ng

Configuration

# /etc/proxychains4.conf
dynamic_chain
proxy_dns
tcp_read_time_out 15000
tcp_connect_time_out 8000

[ProxyList]
socks5 127.0.0.1 9050    # Tor
socks5 proxy.example.com 1080
http 192.168.1.100 8080

Usage Examples

# Run any command through proxy
proxychains4 curl ifconfig.me

# Run nmap through Tor
proxychains4 nmap -sT target.com

# Firefox through proxy
proxychains4 firefox

# SSH through proxy chain
proxychains4 ssh user@remote-host

Use Cases

ProxyChains is invaluable for penetration testing, privacy enhancement, bypassing firewalls, anonymizing reconnaissance, and accessing geo-restricted content.

Download ProxyChains