Proxy Servers
The idea of a proxy is authorising someone to take your place or to do something for you. An example could be that you ask a friend to return your library books for you because they are going to the library.
A proxy server is one that acts on behalf of another server, usually for Web related purposes. The proxy server is set up by an organisation's system administrator as a gateway between trusted (local server) and non-trusted networks (Internet).
A proxy server allows internal users to get web pages from web servers without having to communicate with them directly. Only the firewall-protected proxy server is allowed to connect to the Internet. This process is invisible to users and is used to maintain network security.
Proxy servers can be used in several different ways. They can be used to restrict user access to web sites, by only permitting access to those web sites allowed by the proxy. This is sometimes referred to as a walled garden. They can also be used to hide a user's IP address (their unique Internet identity) from external web sites.
There are several commercial products available, including Steganos Internet Anonym
which encrypts all your Internet traffic in a Virtual Private Network (VPN) preventing anyone (even your ISP) from seeing what you're doing on the Internet.
There are also a number of free proxy server products available. Some of them are completely free, while others allow you to download a trial version which is free for a limited period. Check some of the following:
You might also want to take a look at Proxify, a web-based anonymous proxy service.
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This would be a good time to complete your logbook for this topic. You configure a proxy server, or carry out a comparative review of several proxy servers, based on information from the providers' websites. Check with your tutor to find out exactly what to do. |
Next: Content Filtering
