Proxy servers uses, review, advantages and disadvantages
Proxy servers are the servers that help the clients to have indirect network connections with the other network connections, They are no different from the web servers as they help the clients receive the data from the parent servers, They provide the clients access to the information stored on other servers such as the Internet.
Proxy server
Proxy server is the server (the computer system or the application) that acts as the intermediary for the clients requests that seek resources from other servers, The client connects to the proxy server requesting some service such as the file, the connection, the web page or other resource available from the different server.
Proxy Server advantages
The proxy servers act as caching server to make you load the webpage faster, They mask your real IP address (anonymity), They can access service anonymously, It offers scalability, The cost of ownership is low, It has high performance, It is easy to operate and manage.
Proxy server offers faster access to the requested resources, It enables high security, The undesired sites are blocked, The contents are scanned for the spyware or the malware before receiving, The outbound content is also scanned, It increases the performance, and the requests can be filtered.
Proxy servers
There are four main types of Proxy Servers which are High anonymity proxy that does not show itself like a proxy server and it does not show the genuine IP address, Anonymous proxy that shows itself like a proxy server and the genuine IP address is not available, and it is a detectable server.
Transparent proxy shows itself as a proxy server and also genuine IP address is identified through the headers of http, Distorting proxy shows itself as a proxy server but identifies wrong IP address through the headers of http.
The proxy servers present hidden IP Address, If you want to keep your identity under wraps, You can use the proxy server because there is no direct connection between the computer and the server, The IP is hidden, You can get all the information you need, and they offer speedy Internet access.
The proxy servers offer a fast internet experience, It reduces the bandwidth that is consumed over the internet link, They can block the prohibited data packets, They offer a lower total cost of ownership, They are easier to manage, As the proxy servers have all the information that is requested in their database, They do not have to connect to the remote server every time.
Proxy servers offer a simple way to mask your web browsing and other network activity as it is the intermediary between your computer and the website, You can use the proxy server if you need to browse the Internet anonymously or if you want to overcome the artificial content restriction.
The proxy servers offer network performance improvements, They represent the balance between security and functionality, They provide comprehensive, protocol-aware security analysis for the protocols they support, they can make better security decisions than the products that focus purely on the packet header information.
The topology of the internal protected network is hidden by the proxy firewalls, The proxy services do not allow direct communications between the external servers and the internal computers, So Internal IP addresses are shielded from the external world.
The proxy servers can prevent the attackers, It is easier to identify the methods of an attack, You may need to use the proxy server to access the protected files on the corporate network from the remote location, They will detect the threats, and they do not allow them to reach your system.
The proxy is a word meaning substitute or stand-in, The proxy servers reduce the bandwidth required for internet access, They do this by keeping a copy of often-used web pages in its local ‘cache’, They can act as the data filters, only allowing the data packets that conform to the company policy.
The proxy servers are used to overcome region-specific content restrictions, Internet users in China often utilize the proxy servers to access websites such as Facebook and Google Docs as these sites are blocked by the government.
Proxy Server disadvantages
If the proxy is located at ISP (Internet Service Provider), there’s a bad employee or staff inside, The data can be theft, There is some coding that needs to be done to make the proxy server suits one’s requirements, Even if the single port is left open, It will give the hackers a big window to snoop onto your precious data.
The proxy servers are less secure, The usage of E-mail, transferring of the files and the web surfing is limited in the proxy servers, They can be tricky to set up, There is not cost-effective for low bandwidth internet use, They must have an effective method of updating the cached web pages otherwise the clients are viewing out of date pages.
The proxy servers are less secure than storing all the user passwords in an active directory, They are not compatible with all the network protocols, the new proxy agent should be developed for each new application or protocol to pass through the firewall, and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) may not function through the proxy firewall.
The configuration of the proxy firewalls can be more difficult than the other firewall technologies, When using the older proxies, It can be difficult to install and configure the set of proxies that are necessary for your network.
The proxy firewalls have additional Investment, While the large companies can afford to buy and use the proxy servers, for the smaller firm, It can be hard to do so, Apart from the installation, the additional funds are required for the maintenance and monitoring of the network.
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