How To Setup SSH SOCKS Proxy – 5 Simple Steps

Everyone is concerned about their privacy. According to purplesec, cybercrime skyrocketed to 600% during the COVID pandemic. These malicious actors leverage the user’s network vulnerabilities to perform these unethical activities. People want to browse online anonymously to secure their personal and sensitive information. The other reason to be anonymous online is to access geo-restricted content and bypass the web filters to access the restricted networks. 

There is an option that is popular right now, which is VPN. VPN is good when it comes to security and such, but the drawbacks, such as low internet speed, the installation of client VPN software, and having to set up a VPN server, as well as subscribing to VPN service outweigh the advantages. This is not a viable option for some people. So, what is the solution to these issues? Well, the simple option is to use the SSH SOCKS proxy.

In the upcoming section, we will learn more about the SSH SOCKS proxy.

SOCKS proxies and SSH (Secure Shell) are actually two different things. The SOCKS proxy is a proxy, where SSH is a protocol or technically a software package that imposes the secure system administration and data transfer over the insecure network. 

The SSH protocol helps to encrypt the network connection between the client and the target server. The main aim of the SSH protocol is to prevent any form of cyberattack on the network. The SSH protocol encrypts all forms of traffic, such as user authentication in the payment gateway, file transfer from the cloud storage, and programming outputs for sensitive problems. 

The SSH protocol is mainly implemented in corporate networks. The reason for implementing the SSH protocol in a corporate environment is:

To implement the above three processes, the client needs secured access. The SSH protocol helps to provide secure access to the client and automate the process without human monitoring.

As mentioned above, the SSH protocol helps to encrypt the network connection between the client and the target server. The four steps involved in the workings of the SSH protocol are as follows:

Now you know what a SSH protocol is and how it works. Next, we will discuss the SOCKS proxy.

SOCKS – Socket Secure is a protocol that imposes communication by redirecting internet traffic to the targeted server on behalf of the client through the client’s firewall. The normal IP address does not allow the user to bypass the firewall to access the restricted server. But the SOCKS proxy server helps to create a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), which is used to communicate with a targeted server behind the client’s firewall. In simple words, SOCKS proxies relay only the TCP and the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to the targeted server. 

The main restriction with SOCKS proxies is, since the SOCKS proxy is based on layer 5, it does not apply to the tunneling protocol below layer 5. SOCKS can accept request types, such as HTTP, HTTP3, and FTP.

So, it is well known and recommended that SOCKS5 is better and more secure when combined with SSH tunneling to encrypt network traffic. Since SOCKS5 has several authentications, SOCKS4 lacks authentication. Another main difference is that SOCKS4 does not support UDP, which means that users can only send small packets of data and that too moves at a slower rate. SOCKS5, on the other hand, does support UDP, which has the capabilities to send clusters of data at a faster rate. NOTE: SOCKS5 is faster than VPN and easy to use because SOCKS5 does not require any special software setup.

Now that you have a basic idea about SOCKS5 proxies and how it is better than SOCKS4 proxies, let’s see how to connect to the SSH server using a SOCKS proxy. NOTE: The upcoming steps can also be used for HTTP/s proxies and is applicable only for WINDOWS users.

The main objective of this setup is to securely re-route your network traffic from your local system. NOTE: You can choose your port number as long as it is any number greater than 1024. Ports greater than 1024 are called privileged ports. 

Now you can configure your default browser to the SSH SOCKS proxy. For Google Chrome, since it uses default settings for the proxy, it is better to use add-ons or extensions from the Google Chrome store. This will save time and you’ll have no need for any programming knowledge. You can install add-ons such as FoxyProxy, ProxMate, and SwitchyOmega. Add the extension and it will detect the SSH SOCKS proxy and connect to a secure SSH tunnel.

Now you know how to connect to a secure SSH server by using a SOCKS proxy.

{FAQ}

The SOCKS proxy with SSH tunneling is the best alternative for VPN. The first installation takes time, but in the long run, it will be much faster than a VPN. The thing is, you can just authenticate without entering the username and password By getting a “public-key” authentication, the connection will be authenticated automatically. There are other functions such as SSH forwarding, and opening backdoors to the enterprise network, but those approaches also come with a cost, opening a backdoor prone to getting attacked by malicious actors and hackers. But for safe internet surfing and protecting your sensitive information, an SSH SOCKS proxy is the way to go!