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What is an SSL proxy? Read this article to find out about SSL proxies, learn how they work, their use cases, and benefits.
In a world where privacy is prioritized daily, users of Internet services still get targeted every day to collect, steal, or manipulate the data being sent over various communication channels. These might not be malicious attackers that conduct these types of activities where they track an individual’s behavior. There are a lot of companies that use or sell this data to perform various activities such as setting preferences or even targeted advertising.
The solution for this problem comes in an SSL proxy. SSL proxies (HTTPS proxies) enhance data privacy through the active use of encryption to secure the data that is being transferred.
In this article, we look into SSL proxies and their inner working mechanisms, and instances where SSL proxies can be used for other purposes other than ensuring data security and privacy.
SSL or Secure Socket Layer proxies encrypt the using SSL encryption to secure the data being transferred between the client and server. This encryption ensures that the communication between the client and server is encrypted making it difficult for any attackers to intercept and tamper the data.
By encrypting the data being transferred over the communication channel, SSL proxies provide an additional layer of security for all sensitive data such as login credentials, personal data, and financial transactions.
It is important to understand that an SSL proxy not only encrypts the requests from the client to the server but also encrypts the response from the server, therefore ensuring the additional layer of security being applied throughout the communication process.
An SSL proxy at its core works by encrypting the data that is transferred, this encryption can be broken down into 2 phases, where the client and server initiate the connection to exchange the symmetric key that will be used to communicate the actual data, and the actual encryption of the data by using the symmetric key that was exchanged in the previous phase.
Let’s break this down into the core mechanisms in each phase of the process.
There are a multitude of benefits that a user gains from using an SSL proxy. Here we look at some of the most prominent benefits:
SSL proxies can have multiple real-world applications where it can be for legitimate use cases that may be either personal or used within an organization.
Such use cases include:
SSL proxies have always been used by many users to protect themselves and their data from unauthorized access as well as tracking. This has not only improved data security but also data privacy in terms of making it difficult for companies to profile and track users.
The encryption that these proxies enable, provides confidentiality and integrity to the data by only allowing authorized users to view the data being transmitted over the communication channels. This gives users the peace of mind to ensure that only the intended recipients will be able to access their data.
It is highly encouraged that users use these types of proxies to secure their businesses and themselves when using any type of Internet services.
Looking for a proxy provider? Read our Best Proxy Services guide.
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