Is Your Server’s IP Address Exposed? Understanding DNS Proxying

When managing your domain through modern DNS providers like Cloudflare, you often encounter a critical choice for each DNS record: "Proxied" versus "DNS Only." Frequently represented by visual toggles like an orange or grey cloud, this setting fundamentally changes how visitors connect to your website and services. Understanding this distinction is key to securing your infrastructure.

The Core Difference: Proxy vs. DNS Only

• DNS Only (Direct Mode): In this mode, your provider acts as a traditional phonebook. When someone requests your domain, the DNS system simply provides your server's public IP address, and the user connects directly to it.
• Proxied (Proxy Mode): When this feature is active, the provider becomes a middleman. It advertises its own IP address to the world, not yours. Visitors connect to the provider's network first, which then privately forwards the valid request to your server.

How the Proxy Hides Your Origin IP

Activating the proxy is a primary defense against direct attacks. The process works by masking your server's true "Origin IP" address from the public internet.

When a user's browser looks up your domain, the DNS system directs it to the provider's IP address. The user's entire session happens with the provider's edge server. In the background, the provider makes a separate, private connection to your origin server. Because your actual IP remains secret, malicious actors cannot bypass security filters to launch direct attacks (like DDoS) on your specific server.

How Proxying Affects Your SSL Certificate

Using a proxy changes the architecture of SSL/TLS encryption. Instead of a single encryption tunnel from the user to your server, the connection is split into two parts:

1. User to Proxy: The connection is encrypted by the provider (often using their own certificates).
2. Proxy to Origin: The provider forwards the request to your server.

Providers like Cloudflare generally offer different modes to handle this second leg:

• Flexible: Encrypts traffic from the user to the proxy, but sends unencrypted HTTP to your server. This is easy to configure but less secure.
• Full: Encrypts both connections but may not validate your server's certificate (allowing self-signed certificates).
• Strict: The most secure option. It encrypts both connections and verifies that your server has a valid certificate from a trusted authority.

Benefits of Using a Proxy Service

Activating proxy features does more than just hide your identity. It effectively puts your website behind a protective shield that offers:

• Traffic Filtering: Malicious traffic and botnets are absorbed by the provider's massive network before they reach your infrastructure.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): The proxy can inspect incoming requests to block common hacking attempts.
• Caching: The provider can store copies of static content (like images and CSS) on servers globally, serving them to visitors from a nearby location to improve speed.

When to Use Each Setting