Can Proxy Servers Truly Protect Your Identity?

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justwild
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Well a common question arises out of my mind that Local IP addresses assigned by ISP are stored...that's ok...But happens when I connect myself to a Proxy server...My identity is protected..isn't it...So even if I do something wrong I won't be prosecuted as because the convict is the proxy server and prosecuting them would be another problem as they belong to different nation...What do you people say?
 
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justwild said:
Well a common question arises out of my mind that Local IP addresses assigned by ISP are stored...that's ok...But happens when I connect myself to a Proxy server...My identity is protected..isn't it...

There's no such guarantee and depends on the proxy. There are many ways in which your identity can leak and allow the proxied requests to be traced back to you.
 
phinds said:
I say that if you are planning on doing something illegal, this forum is not the place to get advice about it.

I am not...I am just thinking how vulnerable the system is...
 
justwild said:
I am not...I am just thinking how vulnerable the system is...

Anonymity is not a vulnerability of the system, it's a feature that many are actually fighting to protect.

It's also nothing new, for instance The Onion Router forwards requests through member nodes using encrypted communication to not only hide the source address but to reduce or eliminate traceability.

Additionally, hackers often use compromised machines as proxies for further attacks, for the same reason.