proxy servers

[boobesque]

this is a daft question im sure. i have been wondering for a while now. proxy servers. what is the point? if i was using a p2p program, would using a proxy to connect to the network hide my ip from the bad corperate man? is this what they are used for? or are there genuine reasons for proxy servers?

[fo3nix]

you'd need an anonymous proxy for that. and for best results, route your connections through several proxy servers, in different parts of the world.

yes, there is a good reason for a proxy (but less so in the home). think of a large company network. not every computer there has a direct link to the internet; there will be one main server (the proxy server) with connections to the internet, which the other computers can in turn connect to and access the internet.

[Marchant]

Running through a proxy server helps to keep you anonymous

http://www.tenebril.com/downloads/

Here is a programme which does just that you will have to configure MSN manually but instructions are on the site i think. It also runs IExplorer through a proxy

The thing i find is it slows down your surfing quite a bit.Still quite a useful thing to have

[ledow]

Proxy servers are used for all sorts of stuff. Mostly, just for web access (uses for things like mail, P2P etc. are much less common). A proxy can cache results (i.e. if twenty people in a company visit www.bbc.co.uk, the proxy downloads it once and then they get it from the proxy which is usually on the local network, thus saving a lot of bandwidth).

Another use, in the schools I work in, is to block regular web access and only allow access through a specific proxy. This means that ALL webpages have to go through that proxy, so the proxy is able to decide if the page is suitable for children to view (this is a primary school we're talking about). In this way, a "normal" internet connection can be used in a network environment to let many more users browse at the same time (a caching proxy) and also to filter out unsuitable websites based on your own criteria (a filtering proxy). There are lots of other uses too.

[boobesque]

great stuff. thank you

[gerbra]

Some of the benefits of proxy server are,
1)Secure and Private Browsing: A proxy server conceals the internal clients from the external network. As the proxy server is in the vanguard, your identity is hidden. This means you are protected from spam and hacker attacks. Most proxy servers do not use cookies; this means that there is no way your info is stored anywhere in their databanks.
2)Caching: This feature reduces your bandwidth use. When proxy servers cache data, work is speeded up. For example, let’s suppose User A has opened site xyz, and it takes 12 seconds for it to load. When User B tries to access the same site, the server will give him the cached page which means it will take hardly 5-6 seconds for the site to load, and it will not use any bandwidth. Overall the delivery of web content is far more efficient. Proxy servers basically, reduce the time you need for a site to be ‘fetched’.
3)Admin: This is very useful for large businesses, where several users are trying to access the Internet through one proxy server. The administrator can easily set firewalls and block sites (porn, social networking, gaming sites and the like) for all users. Filtering content is one of the most common uses of proxy servers.
4)Geo Location Testing: Most websites use geo-location technology to ensure that users are directed to content that is most relevant to them. This is done by determining the user location and directing them to the relevant page. To implement such a technology, you would first need to test it thoroughly. If you want to conduct geo-location testing, you can make use of proxy servers spread throughout the world. It’s safer to go with a paid and dependable service rather than free proxy services.

Proxy servers also help you access some sites that are blocked. Though there are many uses on proxy servers, most people use it to hide their real IP address. You can ensure this by visiting http://www.ip-details.com/ and have an IP lookup.