Thursday, September 15, 2011

Protecting Your Surfing History

All visible websites on the net are hosted on computers which are called servers. However there are some people who would like to protect and preserve their privacy and so use proxy servers which function between the client and the other servers and hence are known as intermediaries. 

A proxy server is an important network component. While one accesses or visits a website or server that is connected either externally or even a local internal website, the computer communicates to with the particular server directly. Here a proxy server is important as it acts as a middleman between the two ends.

With the help of a proxy server it is possible to ensure that one’s computer is not in direct communication with the server that is hosting the website that is to be accessed. All communications would instead reach the server through another computer which acts as the proxy. This server in turn would communicate with the host server and relay all the information requested or required back to the person who has asked for it.

Many people hesitate to use the proxy server as the process seems to be slower. But using such a server is highly beneficial although the concept has acquired a bad image due to its facilitating illegal activities. At first proxy servers were so designed so as to hide the identity of the computers belonging to an internal network.

Such a server protects the computer from intruders and also helps to increase speed of some select web resources and networks. This is done by means of caching. The process of caching is essential so as to filter and scan both inbound as well as outbound content and data for potential leaks as also viruses. Since more and more people have become net-savvy over the last few years, there is a larger number of people making use of proxy servers now.

The concept of filtering content is applicable in schools and in the workplace. This can be done with the use of proxy servers. This prevents school students and employees at the workplace from visiting undesirable websites, or viewing forbidden videos. It also prevents them from visiting social networking sites to chat with friends and playing games online. Therefore it is always better to have proxy servers for computers that are used for professional purposes.

Proxy servers are also advantageous as they help people to remain anonymous on the Internet. This helps one to protect his or her identity by masking the Internet Protocol or IP of the computer. In case one’s work is such, and there is the need for it, it is possible to use different proxies or identities for communication purposes. (Get 2U servers online)

In case one has not yet utilized a proxy server, then it is time to do so. This would help to hide one’s IP which is a permanent and unique identification mark that cyber criminals can utilize to access one’s personal data.

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