Wikipedia:Open proxies noticeboard/Guide to checking open proxies: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:06, 20 October 2009

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[[Open proxies]] are IP addresses that can be used by anyone anywhere with an Internet connection. They are often used by vandals and sockpuppets to evade blocks, or sometimes it's just useful to know if the IPs you are dealing with are open proxies. This will tell you how to confirm whether an IP address really is an open proxy, in most cases using only your browser.

==How to confirm open proxies==

# Step one: You would normally first have reason to suspect that an IP is an open proxy. There may be a banned user or sockpuppets using IP addresses from different countries, or the vandal or other users might mention it directly. There might be an IP already blocked as an open proxy requesting unblock.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:89.18.180.142&oldid=318350560] The edit might malform some wikitext.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Jose,_California&diff=prev&oldid=320637803] Proper spambots and vandalbots will also usually use open proxies.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santorum&diff=prev&oldid=316919186] If there are no suspects around then you might want to find a recently blocked open proxy for testing.

# Identify the access point. You are hopefully going to use it yourself. Google the IP address. Do [[rDNS]] and [[WHOIS]] lookups. Be creative if you have to, like look at neighbouring IP address. While you're there check if it looks dynamic. The first question to ask is whether itsit's a web proxy or an HTTP proxy.

## Does it look like a web server? Keywords to look for in search results are PHP-proxy, CGI-proxy, Glype, and NPH, as well as ___domain names. Do the rDNS and WHOIS suggest it's a dedicated server or hosting range? Open the IP address in your browser. Is there a holding page, or even a web proxy there? Find which sites are hosted on it using rDNS and Google. Nmap will almost always say that port 80 is open on webservers, but this does not necessarily mean there is an open proxy there.

## Or does it look like an HTTP proxy? HTTP proxy IPs are always associated with a [[TCP and UDP port|port number]]. The most usual ones are 80, 1080, 3128, 8000, 8080, 8888, but it could be any number up to 65535. These ports are usually displayed in search results following the IP address and a colon, for example 111.282.3.1:3128. They are sometimes referred to as Transparent, Elite, or SOCKS. Use the IP address with colon and port number in you browser's address bar. If the port is open there will usually be some response, but nothing very interesting. If an Nmap scan is used the ports will say if they are open, but this does not necessarily mean there is an open proxy.

## Or is it another type of anonymiser? They are beyond this article's scope, but the same principles apply. For examples see [[:Category:Anonymity networks]].

# Connect to the proxy. If it's a web proxy go to its page in a browser. If it's an HTTP proxy change the network settings in your browser options.

# Find your new IP address. Using your new proxy connection, visit one of those sites that tell you about your IP address. It might tell you you're now in China. Go to [[Special:Mytalk]] on Wikipedia. This will confirm you can use the same IP address to read Wikipedia. On any page (like your new talkpage) click edit, add a signature, and click preview. This will confirm without a doubt that you (and any other fool) can use this IP to edit Wikipedia. Some people make confirmation edits to a sandbox, but since the IP user could be anyone this isn't as helpful as mentioning how you are accessing it so others can check.

# Use your new found powers to check some IPs in [[CAT:OP]]. Hopefully this will show you both the open proxy attrition rate, and that confirming that an IP address ''isn't'' an apenopen proxy isn't always as straightforward.

==Blocking==

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==Exit servers==

It is possible in some cases for HTTP proxies to edit from a different IP address than the one you connect to. This means that scans of the IP which makes the edits do not detect any open ports, while scans of the IP you connect to do not show what address it will use to edit (ie which IP to block). A common scenario is where an ISP routes all their web traffic through a central [[Caching proxy|caching server]], and one of the IPs using it is running an open proxy. They are generally not easy to confirm. Caution should be exercised with blocking in these cases, as these blocks may affect many innocent users, and the proxies don't tend to last long. See also: [[Wikipedia:WikiProject on XFFs]].

==Duck test==

It is not unheard of for admins to only use the [[WP:DUCK|duck test]] when considering whether an IP is an open proxy. For example sometimes just being used by a banned user and having a holding page on port 80 is sometimes considered good enough. Use the duck test wisely. Keep the blocks relatively short unless you know what you're dealing with. Do not use [[DNSBL]]s (blacklists) for this purpose, as they are often misinterpreted. A common mistake is to block a legitimate closed caching proxy as an open proxy, simply because it has ports open.

==Legitimate users==

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*[[Wikipedia:Open proxy detection]]

*[[Wikipedia:Advice to users using Tor to bypass the Great Firewall]]

*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject on closed proxies]]

{{New admin school}}

[[Category:Wikipedia New admin school|Open proxies]]

[[Category:Administrator instructions|Open proxies]]