Posted on September 04, 2009 by ProProxier

Among thousands of public proxy servers, there are some special ones called HTTPS Proxies. They are built by the same proxy scripts as others but much harder to be blocked by firewalls. In this article, let’s find out the secrets of HTTPS proxy server and see how to build one by yourself.

HTTP vs. HTTPS

Most of websites, by default, are HTTP based. For example, when you type www.youtube.com into your browser, it will be converted to http://www.youtube.com. However, HTTP(Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is an insecure method to exchange data on Internet. A third party program could easily intercept a HTTP message.

On the other hand, the letter “S” in HTTPS means secure. It overcomes the shortcoming of HTTP and provides a much safer way to communicate online. Basically, HTTPS uses a pair of Public and Private Keys to encrypt all messages passing through Internet. Thus, it protects those sensitive data such as password, credit card number, and personal address.

To tell whether a site is running on HTTPS mode, you can look at its URL. It should start with “https://” rather than “http://”.

Why Use HTTPS Proxy Server

Normally, HTTPS are used by Banks, Governments, or Online Shopping Sites. But why do you need it for a web proxy? This is because HTTPS makes it difficult to be blocked.

A typical firewall filter detects your Internet request through URL patterns and content ratings. If you use HTTP, the censor program will easily get the information such as the site you visit and the page you look at. Then, based on the keywords or site categories, it may reject anything on its blacklist, such as Social Networking or Known Proxy Sites.

On the contrary, when you use HTTPS proxies, because of encryption, it is hard for the network filter to read the content of your request. As a result, your chance of bypassing firewall is greatly increased. Moreover, HTTPS is running on a different port (port:443) from that used by HTTP (port:80). Many filter programs may not monitor HTTPS port at all.

How to Build Secure Proxy Server

For proxy business owners, providing HTTPS proxies may give you certain competitive edge. Your sites will not only stay longer but also attract people with security concerns.

In fact, it is neither hard nor expensive to build a secure proxy server. There are only two things you need:

1. Dedicated IP – a static IP address belongs to your proxy site only. You can normally get it for $1 per month.
2. Dedicated SSL Certificate – this is a certificate signed by a trusted authority such as Equifax or VeriSign. Many hosting companies, such as 1and1, include a free SSL certificate in their VPS or Dedicated plans. For shared proxy hosting, you can buy SSL certificates from GoDaddy at very cheap price ($29.99 for single one, $89.99 for 5 domains).

After that, you can simply install the certificate through your server control panel(e.g. Plesk). There are many online tutorials showing you how to do it step-by-step.

In sum, enabling HTTPS on your proxy site makes it easier to bypass firewall filters. It also provides more security features to your visitors. In proxy business, if you want to be outstanding from other competitors, building your own HTTPS proxies is a good way to go.

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