Proxy Servers FAQ
What is a proxy server?
A proxy server is a kind of buffer between your computer and the
Internet resources you are accessing. The data you request come to the
proxy first, and only then it transmits the data to you. [top]
What is an anonymous proxy server?
Anonymous proxy servers hide your IP address and thereby prevent your
from unauthorized access to your computer through the Internet. They do
not provide anyone with your IP address and effectively hide any
information about you and your reading interests. Besides that, they
don't even let anyone know that you are surfing through a proxy server.
Anonymous proxy servers can be used for all kinds of Web-services, such
as Web-Mail (MSN Hot Mail, Yahoo mail), web-chat rooms, FTP archives,
etc. [top]
What types of public proxy servers exist?
1. Transparent - HTTP proxy server reveals all. Usable only for transfer speed improvement.
2. Anonymous - HTTP proxy server doesn't send any variables with your real IP to host, but it sends variables
indicating that you are using proxy.
3. High Anonymity - HTTP proxy server doesn't send ANY variables indicating that you are using proxy server to host.
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Why should I use proxy servers?
1. Transfer speed improvement. Proxy servers accumulate and save files
that are most often requested by thousands of Internet users in a
special database, called 'cache'. Therefore, proxy servers are able to
increase the speed of your connection to the Internet. The cache of a
proxy server may already contain information you need by the time of
your request, making it possible for the proxy to deliver it
immediately.
2. Security and privacy. Anonymous proxy servers that hide your IP
address thereby saving you from vulnerabilities concerned with it.
3. Sometimes you may encounter problems while accessing to web server
when server administrator restricted access from your IP or even from
wide IP range (for example restricting access from certain countries or
geographical regions). So you try to access those pages using an
anonymous proxy server. [top]
What is a public proxy server?
It is a proxy server which is free and open for everybody on the Internet. Unfortunately most of them are not anonymous.
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What is a pay proxy server?
Anonymizer
- a pay proxy server with plenty of features. Effective for personal
use, when your Internet activities are not involved in very active
surfing, web site development, mass form submitting, etc. In short,
Anonymizer is the best solution for most of Internet users. Ultimate
protection of privacy - nobody can find out where you are engaged in
surfing. Blocks all methods of tracking. URL Encryption protects you
from your own ISP. Web Based - does not require any program
installation or a configuration on your computer. [top]
What is a free proxy checker?
Free service trying to provide daily updated list of public HTTP proxy
servers. Usually provide small list of proxies with low percent of
functioning servers due to hosting restrictions on CPU time (they
simply can't allow themselves to check many proxies every second
especially in parallel). [top]
What is a pay proxy checker?
A pay database of free public proxies. Solution for pros. A place
where a huge list of proxy servers has been compiled. It uses the
latest algorithms for collection and sorting of proxy servers, checking
them for anonymity, SSL-based access and other properties. [top]
What is SOCKS?
SOCKS is a networking proxy protocol that enables hosts on one side of a
SOCKS server to gain full access to hosts on the other side of the SOCKS server
without requiring direct IP-reachability. SOCKS is often used as a network
firewall, redirecting connection requests from hosts on opposite sides of a
SOCKS server. The SOCKS server authenticates and authorizes requests,
establishes a proxy connection, and relays data between hosts.
There are two major versions of SOCKS:
SOCKSv4 and
SOCKSv5.
For more information, see:
SOCKS Overview
SOCKS FAQ
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Are there dangerous proxies?
Yes.
First, there are servers of goverment organisations (FBI, CIA, NASA
etc.) and organizations working close with federal/state and corporate
law enforcement.
Second, there are hackers.
And don't believe those proxy checkers (even pay ones) telling you "we
filter all dangerous proxies". It's impossible. Nobody can tell you if
that proxy you are using is monitored or not.
Of course we've blacklisted all IPs and IP ranges we found to be dangerous (in fact hundreds of ranges).
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What should I do if the access to some web-sites is restricted for me (by my provider, administrators etc) ?
Use a proxy server ! Its principle of operation allows you to surf on
many sites you have been forbidden. Certainly, the provider can find
out, that you are using proxy and also restrict access to this proxy
server. However there are many free proxies servers on the Internet,
and you can easily take another proxy, and continue to travel on the
sites closed for you. [top]
Is it legal to surf through open proxies?
As far as we can tell, the answer is yes. The primary argument against
open proxies is that their owners may not have intended for them to be
used by the public. However, by running a service on a machine
accessible to the public, without restricting access to that service,
the machine's administrator is implicitly consenting for that service
to be used by the public. A proxy server is just like a web server, an
FTP server, or any other net service: if it's running and accepting
connections, it's fair game.
With regard to US law in particular, 18 USC 1030 (which covers
computer-related fraud and theft) applies only when the user has
knowingly accessed a computer without authorization or has knowingly
exceeded his authorized access on that computer. Because an open HTTP
proxy, by default, allows connections and use of the service by anyone
in the world, the proxy's administrator has essentially "authorized"
everyone to use the service. There's no intentional bypassing of
security taking place. Just as you don't need Google's express written
permission to connect to google.com, you don't need a proxy admin's
express written permission to use his open proxy server. [top]
But there is already the corporate proxy server in my company !
In this case you can use:
1)anonymizers (CGI proxy)
2)a chain of proxy servers
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What is proxy chaining ?
A Proxy chaining is merely connecting to more than one proxy and then
to your intended destination. You can use as many proxy servers as you
can or want. The more you have, the more anonymous you will be. [top]
How does using the proxy server affect the performance of Netscape (or Internet Explorer)?
It may take slightly longer to connect over a dialing line if you are
using the proxy server setup. That's because your browser must first
load the proxy instructions before it proceeds with the session. It is
also possible that, as more and more resources come to be protected by
the proxy server, it may slow your browser's performance a little. [top]
Do I need to do anything to exit the proxy server?
Yes. When you have finished using the proxy services, remember to turn
the proxy server settings off. If you do not, all further internet
transactions will be filtered through the proxy server. Unnecessary use
of the proxy server may slow down your internet access [top]
What is PAC ?
PAC stands for a Proxy Auto Config file. It does the same thing as you
when configuring Web browsers to use a proxy server. But it makes the
browser to load its proxy configuration information from a remote
JavaScript file, but not from the information you enter directly. [top]
Do I need to perform the browser configuration every time I go online?
No. Configuring your browser is a one-time event -- unless you change to a new browser or to a new proxy server.
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Why it can be faster to surf via proxy ?
Some proxy server does web caching thus gives you extra WWW (and
partially FTP) speed. Idea is very simple: client program tries to
retrieve the requested document not from the real location, but from
cache/proxy. If cache/proxy does not find this document in its cache
space it downloads it and returns to the client. [top]
The program is not able to work with proxy. What should I do ?
Making a program to use a proxy server depends on the type of proxy.
For SOCKS proxy you?ll need SocksCap (check under proxy tools). It will
socksificate any program i.e. redirect all requests to the socks proxy.
For HTTP it?s necessary for the proxy server to support HTTPS protocol.
Install a local SOCKS proxy server and using Socks2HTTP redirect all
requests to it on HTTP proxy. [top]
If I am using a Proxy Server does this prevent me from downloading files?
Using a Proxy Server will not prevent you from downloading.
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My IPS is AT&T/MSN/America Online (AOL)/CompuServe/Prodigy and I can not use proxy !
Web browsers provided by these Internet Service Providers may not work properly with the Proxy Server.
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