01/10/2026
🔗 Open-source Proxy Servers - When to use what?
Created by Dan Nanni
FORWARD / CACHING [user -> internet]:
Squid - The OG. HTTP cache, ACLs, auth, content filter. Still powers ISPs & schools.
Privoxy - Privacy filter. Strips ads/trackers, Tor companion
Tinyproxy - Lightweight, perfect for Termux / Pi / small VPS
Dante - SOCKS5 server. The standard for SOCKS proxies
REVERSE / LOAD BALANCER [internet -> your servers]:
Nginx - Reverse proxy + cache + WAF. 40% of web uses it.
HAProxy - Layer 4/7 load balancer beast. 2M+ RPS. For scale.
Varnish Cache - HTTP accelerator. Cache everything, serve in ms
Caddy - Auto HTTPS, super simple config. Nginx alternative for 2026
Apache Traffic Server - CDN grade, Yahoo/Akamai scale
Envoy - Cloud-native, service mesh [Istio], modern LB
INTERCEPT / DEBUG / TUNNEL:
mitmproxy - Intercept, inspect, modify HTTP like Burp but open-source
Shadowsocks - Encrypted SOCKS5 tunnel, bypass tool
Shadowsocks is not a classic proxy, it's encrypted tunnel
My pick:
Learning -> Squid + Tinyproxy
Web server -> Caddy [easy] or Nginx [pro]
Pentest lab -> mitmproxy + Privoxy
Scale -> HAProxy + Varnish + Envoy
Never use free random proxies from internet for login. Host your own.