What Is a Proxy Server and Why Do You Need It?

Certainly, experienced users of the Internet services know what a proxy server is. This article is more recommended for beginners, though it’s possible that a knowledgeable user will find something interesting here. What is a proxy server and why do we need it? A proxy server is an intermediary server between your PC and a web-resource. Thus, when a proxy is used, a request from your PC goes to a proxy server where it’s processed, and then it reaches the required web-resource.

Respectively, the web-server response will go to a proxy first, and then it will reach your PC. But why is the scheme so complicated? There are several answers to this question: use of a proxy allows accelerating access to some resources (if the powerful proxy is connected to high speed channels); - Internet access via a proxy server allows increasing anonymity on the web (with IP address manipulations); - if you have been banned on any resource and you need to get there, the IP address manipulations will help you pass over the ban and enter, for example, a forum; -  use of a proxy allows managing traffic within corporate networks, i.e. some users can work with the web directly, some of them work via a proxy, etc., which allows unloading communication channels.

Basically, there are some other ways to use proxies, but practically all possible tasks for the majority of people fall within abovementioned answers. Let’s consider how a proxy allows accelerating the resource access. For example, you need the fastest way to get from Moscow to Berlin. There is an option to take the train right now or take the plain tomorrow. You realize that, if waiting till tomorrow, you will get to the German capital faster since the flight delay will be compensated by a faster speed than the train has. It means that upon the immediate fulfilment, the scheme “Moscow-Berlin” will be slower than the scheme “Moscow-airport-Berlin”. In our case, the scheme “Moscow-airport-Berlin” works through a proxy where Moscow is the user’s computer, the airport is a proxy server, and Berlin is the required web-site. The benefit of IP address manipulations can be explained using an example which has been very topical recently:
You are a reporter and need to get to the combat zone (country С) to make an interesting report. If you go directly from your country (country A), then you will be officially limited and face a failure to compose an interesting and comprehensive story. In this case, you fly to the country B (a neighbour of the country C), from where you can get to the country C as a tourist. In view of the scheme “country A – country B – country C”, the second position means substitution where you turn from the experienced reporter into a lost tourist. This is how a proxy server changes your IT address, and the web server thinks you are in a different location. However, many proxies maintain connection logs thus facilitating recovery of the reverse chain. In our case, it means the following: if the reporter has to be checked, the authorities will look at his documents (if he took them) and find out he got here from the county B where he flew from the country A.

You should realize that they can find you after making any illegal acts on the web, but not always.

The explanation is that you leave traces in the form of proxy server logs, on the provider server, etc., when doing something on the Internet. The most of proxies, however, do not change the IP address (these servers are also called transparent); they simply allow caching data, i.e. accelerating resource access by content uploading to an intermediary server. Basically, all benefits of using a proxy server can be appreciated via proxy server services of 5socks.net where you’ve got a wide choice among over 4 thousand high speed and reliable proxy servers.