ProxyChains (and ProxyChains-NG): a tool for anonymizing traffic and network testing

2025-10-24

In a world where data privacy and access to resources are often restricted by geoblocks or corporate policies, tools like ProxyChains become indispensable assistants. ProxyChains — or more precisely its modern fork ProxyChains-NG — is an open utility for Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS, etc.) that allows routing the network traffic of any application through a chain of proxy servers. It is especially popular among developers, pentesters, and security enthusiasts. In this article we’ll cover what ProxyChains can do, why it’s useful for developers, provide usage examples, and discuss its limitations.