What Is A Proxy Server?

Date First Published: 2nd February 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Network Services

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 6/10

Learn more about what a proxy server is in this article.

A proxy server, also known as a proxy, forwards traffic sent from a computer to the proxy server and may offer an anonymous network connection from a different location and a different IP address. An internet connection is required to connect to the proxy server and it acts as a 'bridge' between the user and the rest of the internet since it helps users to connect to websites indirectly. As of now, there are lots of online proxies that do not require anything to be installed or downloaded to a computer, including Hide.me, Proxysite.com, and Croxyproxy.com.

Whenever a user requests a webpage through a proxy server, they will first connect to that proxy and the user will be connected to the website through the proxy via an outside host server. All internet traffic is forwarded by the proxy server to the website that is being visited and all requests will go through there before accessing them on the internet.

Uses Of Proxy Servers

Proxy servers can be used for the following purposes:

• To filter content - Some workplaces and schools can filter website traffic with a proxy server to block undesirable, distracting, or non-work-related content.
• To protect people's online privacy - Since proxy servers forward traffic, they hide people's real IP addresses (unless they are transparent proxies) and replace them with the IP address of the proxy server. Real IP addresses can be used to reveal a user's location or for third parties to track their browsing habits.
• To unblock websites that are blocked in the user's country, work or school. Since some websites determine the location of users by their IP address and block access if they don't come from a specific country (geo-blocked content), a proxy server can be used to unblock websites that cannot be accessed in the user's country.
• To unblock websites that are blocked by the user's school or workplace - The content filtering proxy in schools or workplaces can be bypassed by another proxy, which will allow blocked websites to be reached.
• For caching purposes - Since cache temporarily stores a copy of data, which includes images, CSS, and JS files, caching will make previously visited webpages load faster in the future. Proxy servers can cache webpages, meaning that they will load faster with the proxy server and reduce the loading time. However, this may make it harder to view the latest version of a webpage.

Why Is It Called A Proxy Server?

They are called 'proxies' because the word 'proxy' means the authority to represent and take actions for someone else. An example of this would be someone voting for someone else who cannot attend a meeting. Online, a proxy server performs the same functions since it handles the traffic for someone else instead of a user communicating directly with a website.

Is A Proxy Server The Same As A VPN?

Proxy servers and VPNs are similar as they both act as an intermediary between the user and the internet. The main difference is that a VPN encrypts all of the traffic between the device and VPN server and VPNs generally offer more anonymity and privacy than proxy servers. Proxy servers forward less traffic than VPNs, since they are only designed to handle web requests and VPNs work on the operating system, encrypting all traffic. Most VPNs are actually installed on a user's operating system, giving people full privacy. Unlike VPNs, proxy servers are often web-based applications and only forward traffic sent from there.

Disadvantages Of Proxy Servers

Disadvantages of using a proxy server include:

• Slower speed - Proxy servers need to forward traffic and connect to a server, which will increase the loading time of the webpage.
• Limited security - Unlike a VPN, not all proxy servers encrypt traffic. Some proxy servers can excessively collect people's data, since the owner of the proxy server may be able to peek at the information sent through. Data could be sold to companies that will misuse it, which causes security risks. This is why it is important to be careful when using free proxy servers.
• Some proxy servers can be instable as they can suddenly experience disconnections or service disruptions.

Types Of Proxy Servers

The four main types of proxy servers include:

• Reverse proxies - These proxies operate between a group of web servers and the forwards client (the browser requests to the servers), handling traffic for them. Reverse proxies are often used to help improve security, performance, and reliability.
• Transparent proxies - These offer no added privacy or security and web servers will receive the user's real IP addresses when using these types of proxies. Transparent proxies are often for content filtering or caching.
• Anonymity proxy - These proxies offer some online privacy as they hide the user's real IP address and do not pass it to the websites or services.
• High anonymity proxy - The most secure type of proxy. This type of proxy is even more secure than a regular anonymity proxy, making it almost impossible for most websites to know whether a proxy is being used to browse it. In addition, it occasionally changes the user's IP address.