You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter, only the ones you want to add another counter to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.
An ability that triggers "Whenever you proliferate" triggers even if you chose no permanents or players while doing so.
To proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.
This printing is one of 2 catalogued treatments from PRM — the lineup includes Foil alongside the standard finish. Across our catalog the Rarix library tracks every variant in the same family so collectors can compare price, scarcity and demand inside a single lineage.
Card #42258 of *Magic Online Promos*, the promotional run that shipped alongside the January 2013 Magic Online release.
Card type: Artifact, printed at uncommon. Uncommons fill the middle-tier slots in a standard booster configuration. Mana cost: {2} (2 converted). Keyword abilities: Proliferate.
Legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander.
EDHrec ranks this card #1,394 in Commander, putting it in the common-include tier of the format's playable pool.
Illustrated by Franz Vohwinkel. Rarix catalogs 555 other cards credited to this artist.
Magic: The Gathering · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · Illus. Franz Vohwinkel
Card data via Scryfall. Rarix is fan-made; not endorsed by the rights holders.
If a permanent ever has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it at the same time, they're removed in pairs as a state-based action so that the permanent has only one of those kinds of counters on it.
If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.
Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.
Contagion Clasp's first ability is mandatory. If you're the only player who controls a creature, you must target one of them.
