It’s a two-way street: for customers, it’s a way to hide their connection or even bypass some blocks, while for access providers, it’s a means of monetization. To the point that some proxy software developers cite the use of this type of solution as a kind of “passive income”, with part of the earnings received from subscriptions being passed on to those who lend the connection. It makes perfect sense, were it not for the possibility that this scheme has the possibility of involving people in fraud or cybercrime.
This type of risk is the subject of an alert issued by Trend Micro, a company specializing in security. She analyzed the traffic and also the income of some of the main solutions in this segment, nailing that, while the gains do not even remotely represent the level of use of broadband connections, the connections can also be used for illicit activities, such as searching for unprotected servers being attacked or the distribution of spam.
The analysis took into account the traffic of five of the main proxy services in the market. And while most of the connections were considered legitimate, with access to news sites and entertainment or gaming services, experts considered the presence of instances of automated access to PVA SMS services to be worrying, in addition to scans through unprotected internet infrastructures.
In the first case, it is a method commonly used to create fake accounts on services and social networks for use in scams, follower buying schemes and other fraud. When SMS validation is required, a service of this type allows the receipt of codes without the user having to register his own number. In the second, it is a common route for discovering vulnerabilities that can be exploited in ransomware attacks, data theft and others.
In all, however, it is the connection of a user who provides his own bandwidth that appears connected to such malicious uses, while the identity of the original person responsible is hidden. As Trend Micro says, at the end of the day, it is he who bears the weight of the risk of using it in illegal or abusive activities, something that, by itself, already makes the security company not recommend participation in schemes of this type. .
There are, for example, no control systems that allow those providing the connection to limit usage in certain cases or monitor how their bandwidth is being used. Meanwhile, the proxy companies themselves disclaim responsibility for privacy and security issues related to their customers’ use of the network.
Proxy: minimum payouts, high risk
If this danger is not enough, an analysis of the gains obtained by the participants of the systems shows that the so-called “passive income” is not even that advantageous. While Trend Micro points to content creators as the main responsible for spreading the schemes as a good alternative to earn money, it also indicates that there is no guarantee of receipt and, when it comes, it is well below the indicated.
The security company used as an example the panel shared by a blogger who makes constant use of platforms like this. In addition to the use of the network itself, the companies also offer bonuses for referring new users who register through a specific link, as well as additional bonuses for bandwidth availability for long periods of time.
The image shows gains of more than 17,100 JumpTokens, cryptocurrency used to pay for one of the services of this type, in the 30 days prior to the analysis. As of the date this report was written, this would result in earnings of around US$160, or approximately R$790, monthly; the blogger, however, had been earning a maximum of US$ 20, or less than R$ 100, a month.
Therefore, the recommendation to users is not to participate in schemes of this type. For companies, the tip goes towards greater monitoring and control of proxy use, banning illicit activities and making it clear to those who will provide the bandwidth that they may be accessory to digital crimes.
