Detecting and proxy detection service proxy traffic is important for marketers because it can cause conversion problems, skew campaign data, and lead to fraud. CHEQ, a secure web analytics and security platform, can identify proxy traffic and prevent it from affecting your website performance and bottom line.
The easiest way to detect proxies is by comparing the user’s IP address against a list of known proxy IP addresses (open proxies, VPNs, and Tor exit nodes). Some websites also maintain their own databases of these IPs to ensure that their systems are continuously updated.
Another way to identify proxy and VPN users is by analyzing traffic patterns, which can be very different from a typical web visitor. Some tools may also look at the IP’s geolocation to determine whether it matches a typical proxy server’s location, while others check for a mismatch in the resulting geographical delay compared to the user’s reported location.
Comparing Proxy Detection Services: What to Look For
More advanced systems may use machine learning to analyze huge amounts of data and recognize patterns that indicate proxy or VPN usage. Some can even identify the types of proxies and anonymization techniques used by a given user, including residential proxies, compromised devices, spammers, malware, and botnets. Additionally, some can even recognize suspicious behavior by looking at the TLS/SSL handshake for differences in supported cipher suites and extensions that are typically found on certain types of clients. This allows the system to classify a given user as proxy or VPN-based, and then take action accordingly.