Editing Proxy server (section)

====Logging and eavesdropping====
Proxies can be installed in order to [[Eavesdropping|eavesdrop]] upon the data-flow between client machines and the web. All content sent or accessed&nbsp;– including passwords submitted and [[HTTP cookie|cookies]] used&nbsp;– can be captured and analyzed by the proxy operator. For this reason, passwords to online services (such as webmail and banking) should always be exchanged over a cryptographically secured connection, such as SSL.

By chaining the proxies which do not reveal data about the original requester, it is possible to obfuscate activities from the eyes of the user's destination. However, more traces will be left on the intermediate hops, which could be used or offered up to trace the user's activities. If the policies and administrators of these other proxies are unknown, the user may fall victim to a false sense of security just because those details are out of sight and mind.
In what is more of an inconvenience than a risk, proxy users may find themselves being blocked from certain Web sites, as numerous forums and Web sites [[IP address blocking|block IP addresses]] from proxies known to have [[Spam (electronic)|spammed]] or [[Troll (Internet)|trolled]] the site. Proxy bouncing can be used to maintain privacy.