What Is A Proxy?

A Proxy Server (or Proxy) is a computer program, program, or web-site that when activated will let you connect to the port of the serving computer. This is beneficial because when you are connected to the Proxy, your IP (as well as your other personal information) is hidden.

For example, say you are visiting a site that tracks its visitors with cookies, installs spyware on your computer, or worse is a refuge for hackers.

If you access this web-site directly with your computer, unscrupulous people can wreak havoc on your computer & have a field day with your personal information. They can install programs that you seldom intended to download, track your IP address, spy on your surfing habits (& start to bombard you with junk email, solicitations, & all forms of disagreeable spam), & even monitor your computer activities to better target you with their schemes. A Proxy can spare you from this. Five time you are connected to the Proxy, your IP address is hidden. This is called "anonymous surfing" & by surfing in this manner, you can rest assured that all of your information, surfing habits, & IP address are untraceable.

Another type of Proxy is the Web Based Proxy. These are by far the most common & popular. To use a Web Based Proxy, you do not need to download or install additional program or applications. Basically visit the web-site & enter the URL that you would like to view. By using this type of Proxy, you will bypass a direct connection with the intended web-site & view the site under the Web Based Proxies IP address. A quantity of the advantages of using Web Based Proxies include: the ability to surf the net by turning off definite applications, remove cookies, remove scripts, & disable banners & ads. Plenty of people agree that Web Based Proxies are the easiest & most effective to use. There's however problems with Web Based Proxies as well. To start, if you are using a web based proxy to bypass security, the security system will finally crawl in to your history & block the actual proxy web-site. Although no five will ever know what websites you actually surfed through it, it will be blocked from further use. In addition, you may not surf secure web pages through the proxy. Secure pages realize that you are surfing through a proxy & basically do not let you enter.

There's different types of Proxies & they all have different functions & capabilities. As mentioned above, you can download & install a Proxy program that connects you to another computer's port. This is referred to as: Proxy Program.

Proxies offer plenty of benefits. For those who wish to surf the net without fearing that their steps are being monitored, watched, or that their privacy is being infringed on, Proxies are an essential tool in providing that security & subsequent peace of mind. Using a proxy is a great way to make sure that you are surfing with the security & anonymity that you need.To sum up, proxies are the "middle man" between you & your location. Open Proxies are not secure but are more convenient & give more freedom than web based proxies do. A Web Based Proxy is a proxy installed on a web-site. Although it may be less convenient surfing through another web-site, it is more secure & practical. Generally, open proxies are used internationally to perform illegally activity or to mask ones IP to five from the United States. Web Based Proxies are used to unblock websites through school & work computers.

Open Proxies are Proxy Servers that have been left open to the public. An open proxy is different from a web based proxy in that you get an IP Address which you must enter in to your browsers settings. If you are looking to use a proxy to bypass network security, you are out of luck. Security programs (mainly those that are installed in school & work networks) block you from adjusting your browsers settings. Using an open proxy is less secure than using a web based proxy, but it does give you more freedom. Open proxies are generally used internationally for illegal activity while web based proxies are used for bypassing network security program. Using an open proxy also has risks. Those who intend to track the activities of Net surfers may leave a Proxy open intentionally. The problem occurs because you have no idea who left the Proxy open, or why they did. Government officials often leave Open Proxies as traps for people using them for illegal activities.The simplest way to tell if a Proxy is open or closed is whether or not you connect to the Proxy through five IP address or several. Also, look for proxies that need a username & password to ensure that they are closed.

More Proxy Articles:

What is a Proxy?
Setting up a proxy site