I do not know much regarding this topic but I was wondering.
From what I read it's possible to detect when users are logging in via open proxy. And given that many cheaters (bots for example) seem to use open proxies to hide themselves, it would just seem logical for game companies to restrict access via open proxy.
Is it possible and if so are game companies actually doing this these days?
Are there any negative side effects when simply restricting access via open proxy?
Technically it's possible to detect open proxy connection or VPN connection but i don't know if any game companies actually using it.
Honestly, spending the extra time to check this is pretty wasteful. And as mentioned, companies typically will not bother checking if someone is attempting to log in through a proxy. Even then, proxies do not hide people as well as they think they do.
If there's ever a security infringement caused by a user behind a proxy, it can actually be traced back pretty quickly.
Public use Proxies will normally include a header that contains the real IP address of the user. And privately owned Proxies are simply relays that have been set up. Those can still be traced back to the source. It's harder, but it's not a fool proof plan for a hacker. Now a days, it's just a lot harder for script kiddies to troll people who know what they are doing. And the good hackers are more interested in non-harmful jokes. Like what happened to Xbox Live last christmas when the new Call of Duty came out.
A game companies biggest concern will normally be DDOS and DOS attacks. And there are some pretty clever software methods to reduce their threats.
Any decent proxy isn't going to send the originating IP address...
Typically game companies block known proxies and tor exit nodes, but they have no way of blocking private VPN's. If I want to multiclient in a game, I can rent a VPN for $5 a month and the game company can't do much about it, other than verify my Mac id.
Any decent proxy isn't going to send the originating IP address...
Typically game companies block known proxies and tor exit nodes, but they have no way of blocking private VPN's. If I want to multiclient in a game, I can rent a VPN for $5 a month and the game company can't do much about it, other than verify my Mac id.
Unowned Proxies (assuming we're talking about SOCKS here) can't "send the original IP address" because the protocol is transparent from proxy to server. They most certainly can keep records, and send them to interested parties on-demand, but there's no automated process to do this as part of the connection, because it's an application-layer concern.
Owned proxies can simply create an application-level protocol.
