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What are Proxies, VPNs, and Tor?

In simple terms, Proxies, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), and Tor are all technologies that hide a user's true IP address and geographic location by routing their internet connection through one or more intermediary servers.  

While they have legitimate uses for privacy, they are also the primary tools used to commit click fraud.

How Each Technology Works

VPN (Virtual Private Network): Encrypts a user's connection and routes it through a server often located in a different city or country. Fraudsters use commercial VPN services to bypass your campaign's location targeting (e.g., making a click from Vietnam appear to come from the USA).

Proxy Server: A server that acts as a middleman between the user and your website. Click farms and bots use massive networks of proxy servers (especially those hosted in data centers) to generate thousands of fraudulent clicks that appear to come from unique visitors all over the world.

Tor (The Onion Router): A highly anonymous network that bounces traffic through multiple layers of servers, making the user's origin nearly impossible to trace. It is frequently used for sophisticated and malicious online activities, including click fraud.

Why ClickSambo Blocks This Traffic

Fraudsters rely heavily on these tools to:

Bypass Location Targeting: Make clicks appear to come from countries you are targeting.

Hide Their Identity: Mask their true IP address to avoid detection.

Simulate Multiple Users: Rapidly switch IP addresses to make one bot look like thousands of different visitors.

To protect your ad budget from these common and effective fraud tactics, ClickSambo proactively blocks traffic originating from known commercial VPNs, data center proxies, and the Tor network.