| Tool / Method | Type | Direction | OS | Agent Needed? | SOCKS | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxychains | Config Layer | ↔️ Both | Linux | ❌ | ✔ | Route all tools via SOCKS |
| netsh portproxy | Port Forwarding | ⬅️ Local | Windows | ❌ | ❌ | Native Windows forwarding |
| SSH -L | Local Port Forwarding | ⬅️ Local→Remote | Linux/Win | ❌ | ❌ | Make internal services local |
| SSH -R | Reverse Port Forwarding | ⬆️ Remote→Local | Linux/Win | ❌ | ❌ | Use pivot to expose internal ports outward |
| SSH -D | Dynamic SOCKS Proxy | ↔️ Both | Linux/Win | ❌ | ✔ | Full-tool pivoting through SOCKS |
| Ligolo-ng | Tunnel Framework | ↔️ Both | Linux/Win | ✔ | ✔ | OPSEC pivoting with tun interface + routes |
| Chisel | TCP/Reverse Tunneling | ↔️ Both | Linux/Win | ✔ | ✔ | Fast tunneling or SOCKS proxy |
| Socat | Port Redirector | ↔️ Both | Linux | ❌ | ❌ | Simple TCP/UDP port forwarding |
| SSHuttle | Transparent Proxy/VPN | ↔️ Both | Linux | ❌ | ❌ | Auto-routing internal subnets |
| Meterpreter | Pivot + Port Forwarding | ↔️ Both | Multi | ✔ | ❌ | Pivot through MSF sessions |
| Rpivot | SOCKS over TCP | ↔️ Both | Linux/Win | ✔ | ✔ | SOCKS pivot when behind proxies/NTLM |
| DNSCat2 | DNS Tunnel | ↔️ Both | Linux/Win | ✔ | ❌ | Stealthy DNS-based shell & pivot |
| PTunnel-ng | ICMP Tunnel | ↔️ Both | Linux | ✔ | ❌ | Tunnel over ICMP when TCP restricted |
| Plink | SSH Client (Putty) | ↔️ Both (SOCKS) | Windows | ❌ | ✔ | Windows-friendly SSH -D tunneling |
RED TEAM / PIVOTING