Proxychains Command Guide

Proxychains forces any TCP connection made by a given application to follow through a proxy like TOR or any other SOCKS4, SOCKS5 or HTTP(S) proxy.

Top 10 Useful Commands

1. Basic Usage

proxychains nmap -sT 10.10.10.10

Explanation: Run command through the proxy defined in /etc/proxychains4.conf.

2. Using Firefox

proxychains firefox

Explanation: Forces the browser through the proxy chain (e.g., to browse internal sites via SOCKS).

3. Quiet Mode

proxychains -q nmap ...

Explanation: Don't print "S-chain... OK" logs to stdout.

4. Configuration

nano /etc/proxychains4.conf

Explanation: Edit this file to add your proxies (e.g., socks5 127.0.0.1 1080).

5. Dynamic Chain

# Set "dynamic_chain" in conf

Explanation: Skips dead proxies in the list.

6. Strict Chain

# Set "strict_chain" in conf

Explanation: Failing one proxy breaks the connection (good for strict anonymity paths).

7. Random Chain

# Set "random_chain" in conf

Explanation: Use random proxies from list.

8. DNS Proxying

# "proxy_dns" in conf

Explanation: Resolves DNS through the proxy (prevents DNS leaks).

9. With SSH Tunnel

ssh -D 1080 user@pivot
# Then run proxychains

Explanation: Use Dynamic Port Forwarding to pivot into a network.

10. With Metasploit

proxychains msfconsole

Explanation: Run the entire framework through a proxy.

The Most Powerful Command

proxychains nmap -sT -Pn -n 192.168.1.10

Explanation: A "Full Pivot" scan. You are scanning an internal IP address (192.168.1.10) that your machine cannot see, by tunneling the Nmap request through a compromised jump host.