Proxy server

Defination
A proxy server is a kind of buffer between your computer and the Internet resource(s) you are
accessing. The data you request come to the proxy first, and only then it transmits the data to
you. A proxy server receives a request for an Internet service (such as a web page request) from
a user. If the proxy server is also a cache server, it can use its local cache of previously
downloaded web pages to provide the page without forwarding the request to the Internet. If the
page is not in the cache, the proxy server uses one of its own IP addresses to request the page
from the server on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relates it to the
original request and forwards it to the user.
In an enterprise that uses the Internet, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary
between a workstation user and the Internet so that the enterprise can ensure security,
administrative control, and caching service. A proxy server is associated with or part of a
gateway server that separates the enterprise network from the outside network and a firewall
server that protects the enterprise network from outside intrusion.
Basically, people use this computer program to maintain their personal security since with the
presence of a proxy server, the identity of clients remains private or anonymous. Aside from
these, some clients use this computer application to enhance the speed of accessing files or
resources that they need through caching. In this way, computer users can access cache web
resources from reliable and secured servers.
A proxy also hides the computers behind it. For example a company's web proxy may look like
only one or two machines to the outside world, but in fact there may be several hundred
employees surfing the web through it.



Schematic representation of a proxy server, where the computer in the middle acts as the proxy
server between the other two.
A proxy server is a computer that offers a computer network service to allow clients to make
indirect network connections to other network services. A client connects to the proxy server,
then requests a connection, file, or other resource available on a different server. The proxy
provides the resource either by connecting to the specified server or by serving it from a cache.
In some cases, the proxy may alter the client's request or the server's response for various
purposes.
To the user, the proxy server is invisible; all Internet requests and returned responses appear to
be directly with the addressed Internet server. (The proxy is not quite invisible; its IP address has
to be specified as a configuration option to the browser or other protocol program.)
The functions of proxy, firewall, and caching can be in separate server programs or combined in
a single package. Different server programs can be in different computers. For example, a proxy
server may in the same machine with a firewall server or it may be on a separate server and
forward requests through the firewall.
History of Proxy
Proxy severs have been around for quite a while now. There is not a lot of information about the
actual history of proxy servers. Most likely, the history of proxy servers dates back to the
beginnings of networking and the internet itself.

Need for Proxy Server
The main purpose of a proxy server is to save you the bandwidth of your Internet connection.
If users access the Internet through a proxy, the proxy server can store the various requested
objects passing through (like HTML pages, images, and other kinds of files) in its cache.
1. Transfer speed improvement. If the file you requested was received before to your
proxy server, then proxy server will interrupt this file request and you will receive the file
directly from proxy. However need to know, you can got the "speed down" effect. This
effect appears when your proxy has long answer time because there is slow connection
between you and your proxy server.
2. Security and privacy. Anonymous proxies destroys information about your computer in
the requests header. So you can safely surf the net and your information will never be
used by hackers and spammers.
3. Sometimes you encounter some problems while accessing to web server (for example,
web-chat). You have mistaken while working with some data and / or the server
administrator restricted access from your IP. So you can use the anonymous proxy and
try to access again.
Proxy servers sit between you and your internet connection, often caching or filtering the content
as it makes its way from server to you.

In computer networks, a proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application program)
that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A
client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page,
or other resource, available from a different server. The proxy server evaluates the request
according to its filtering rules.
For example, it may filter traffic by IP address or protocol. If the request is validated by the
filter, the proxy provides the resource by connecting to the relevant server and requesting the
service on behalf of the client. A proxy server may optionally alter the client's request or the
server's response, and sometimes it may serve the request without contacting the specified server.
A proxy server has a large variety of potential purposes, including:
To keep machines behind it anonymous (mainly for security).
To speed up access to resources (using caching). Web proxies are commonly used to
cache web pages from a web server.
To apply access policy to network services or content, e.g. to block undesired sites.
To log / audit usage, i.e. to provide company employee Internet usage reporting.
To bypass security/ parental controls.
To scan transmitted content for malware before delivery.
To scan outbound content, e.g., for data leak protection.
To circumvent regional restrictions.
A proxy server that passes requests and replies unmodified is usually called a gateway or
sometimes tunneling proxy.
A proxy server can be placed in the user's local computer or at various points between the user
and the destination servers on the Internet.
A reverse proxy is (usually) an Internet-facing proxy used as a front-end to control and protect
access to a server on a private network, commonly also performing tasks such as load-balancing,
authentication, decryption or caching.