Monday, March 16, 2009

What is a proxy server?

When people unfamiliar with computer terminology, hear the word «proxy», they saw anything, just not what the proxy is in reality.
For some, this term is associated with something that the provider proposes to speed up access to the network. Others recall that in the movies about hackers often referred to the proxy, as a way to remain invisible to security systems. Still ... And, incidentally, what are we? How many people so much and opinions. Everyone in something right and something not.
The question is, who is closest to the truth? Let us explain everything in order ...

A proxy server (on pp. Proxy - the right to benefit from someone else's behalf) - the remote computer, which, when connected to your machine it becomes a mediator to break a subscriber to the Internet. The proxy sends all requests to program the subscriber network, and receiving the answer, send it back to the subscriber.

Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique ip-address, which carries information about the country and the region, the subscriber number of the provider and the number of the computer network of the provider.
The proxy server also has its own ip-address. As we already mentioned, connected to the proxy, you submit all requests to the Internet through it, the check shows ip proxy-server, and you remain anonymous.
How can I use? Here's a simple example: you are banned in your favorite chat. You can not enter into the chat or under his nickname, either under svezhesozdannym. Most likely you have received a ban on the ip-address. When you connect to the proxy server, you can cheat the system verification conversation (because it will see ip-address of the proxy, not you).
A second example of a bit more complicated. Test ip visitors, some sites place restrictions on the display, using the criteria of geographical location. There are many U.S. sites that conceal part of the sections from the eyes of users from Russia, for example. The motives that guided them - another topic for discussion, but the fact remains. If you need to access these sections, try to connect to a proxy located in the United States. If all goes well, that you are a resident of the Russian Federation will know when you and the proxy server, and the verification system ip at a private site to take you for «avalible», and access will be unblocked.


Most service providers connect their subscribers to their proxy server. According to them, it accelerates the speed of access to the Internet.
Indeed, the anonymity - but one of the advantages of a proxy. Besides it, the proxy server can cache the information passing through it. What does this mean and how to "cache" effect on the speed?
How many people within your local network uses such popular services as Yandex, Rambler, Google, Mail.ru? Almost all, perhaps. Every time someone opens a site, it loads with a whole bunch of pictures and banners. If you use a proxy server, all of these pictures are downloaded from the Internet once, then stored on the hard drive proxies - are cached. Any user who opened the site, which is already in cache, gets all his images with a proxy server, not the site. Given that access to the Internet is happening at a speed of 3-4 Mbps, but the link between the computers on the network (and hence between your computer and the proxy) to 100 Mbit / s, it has received an application from the provider the difference in speed of downloading.
The size of the images does not usually exceed 100 KB, it would seem, the difference is imperceptible, but the example of the images - just an example. What if you want to download a movie or a new distribution program, to 500-700 MB, but the file is already in the cache? Perhaps, in this case, you will feel the difference. In addition, most providers you do not have to pay for the traffic received from the proxy server, which consent may well help to save on budgets fee.

Describe the benefits of a proxy server can be a long time. But we, as ordinary users, it is enough and these two things: anonymity and the opportunity to save on traffic. It is time to experiment.

And for the experiments you'll need a guide, how to use a proxy server how to configure your browser work? Very simple.

Installing the proxy server settings in web browser, Internet Explorer
Installing the proxy server settings in the Internet browser Mozilla Firefox
Installing the proxy server settings in Internet browser, Opera

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