You’ve been hearing about proxy server but don’t know what it is? We provide you with critical insights here.
Highlights
- A proxy server helps us stay anonymous.
- A proxy server is provided and maintained by an internet provider.
What is a Proxy Server?
A proxy server is a server that an internet provider has set up so that when you connect to a site, the proxy makes you make a detour, gets data from that site, and presents you with the result.
So, if someone wants to visit the site you visited and uses your same proxy, they will not visit the actual site but will receive the content from the site from the proxy. Often, the administrator sets the proxy server so that the web pages contained in the proxy are updated every certain time.
Each time a new site is visited, it is saved on the proxy. Sometimes a person may determine when a site contained on the proxy needs to be updated. If a user believes that the site needs an update and the content on the proxy needs to be updated, this user needs to click on “Refresh” or “Reload” on his browser and site it will be updated on the proxy.
Why Use a Proxy Server?
There are several reasons. Many internet providers use it because it “cuts” traffic volume on their networks and makes their users travel faster.
Users love it because it helps them make their tracks more difficult to find on the web. This is particularly the case if users are using multiple proxies, even 3, at the same time. It won’t be easy to find three servers logging each activity.
Other users love it because their connection is made faster, especially if they visit servers from other continents.
NOTE: It is a good thing to look around for proxies to connect through.
What You Should Know
Configuring and managing the proxy is not simple; be wary of who automatically configures your proxy or who prompts you to do so manually.
As many of you know, the proxy is a huge cache (a physical software installed on a vast equipped computer memory and an extensive disk system) that stores all the pages, images, and files the connected users take to it.
This allows you to receive any requested pages and files previously by another user directly from the proxy server and not from the original site, with obvious increases in reception speed when the proxy is directly connected to the POP you are at connected.
The downsides are, however many if the proxy is updated with a high delay, the proxy administrator can indeed parameterize its operation so that an HTML page or a file remains on the proxy from a minimum of 1 minute to a maximum of several days; this for the user translates into the impossibility of seeing possibly frequently updated pages.