What is a Proxy? Explanation of how they work

Shahbaz Ahmed Thursday, December 29, 2022 Content Leave a comment

What is a Proxy? Explanation of how they work, the four types, and the advantages and cautions of using them.

A proxy is a system that acts as a proxy for access when connecting to the Internet. They play an important role in corporate security measures and are attracting attention because they can enhance security.

Proxies are used for a variety of purposes. You can buy rotating proxies because they are also used to aggregate client Internet access logs, and there are proxies with more advanced security measures such as URL filtering and sandboxing.

This article explains the mechanism and types of proxies, the advantages of using them, and points to keep in mind when setting them up, with a focus on proxies for security purposes. If you are considering strengthening your security system, please refer to this section.

There is a proxy service by the same name that hides IP addresses and access sources for individuals, but this section deals with proxies that are installed by corporations for security purposes.

What is a proxy?

A “proxy” is a system that acts as a proxy for access from inside the network to the outside when connecting to the Internet. Also called proxy servers, proxies are used by companies as a means to protect themselves against cyberattacks and to securely manage their information systems.

Normally, Internet access is via a browser on a PC or mobile device, which accesses a website directly. With a proxy, the terminal accesses the proxy, which in turn accesses the desired site, receives the data, and displays it in the browser.

Because the proxy relays the data, the company’s terminals are not in direct contact with the outside world, thus enhancing security.

Recently, proxy products and cloud services for security purposes are sometimes referred to as secure web gateways (SWG).

How Proxies Work

Next, let’s take a closer look at how proxies work. As the word “proxy” means, it accesses the Internet on behalf of the client’s PC.

Sending a request from a browser on the client’s PC

First, the client (user) sends a request to the outside world, such as “I want to see this site. The proxy catches this request.

The proxy receives the request and sends out the request to the target site.

The proxy relays the received request and sends it to the web server, which, unlike a firewall that only translates IP addresses to NAT, terminates the session here and sends a new session from the proxy server to the new access point. This is different from a firewall, which only translates IP addresses to NAT addresses.

The proxy receives a response from the site.

The web server receives a request from the proxy and sends a response to the target request to the proxy. Here, by terminating the response from the web server once, the proxy server obtains the file from the web server, which can be scanned for viruses at the file level rather than in packets, analyzed in a sandbox, or coordinated with other security devices before sending the data to the client Various security measures can be taken.

Proxy replies to the client

The proxy then sends the response from the web server to the client and displays the reply on the client’s web browser.

The client is able to view the site

Since the client communicates with the website through the proxy, the client is able to browse the site in a secure environment.

Four Types of Proxies

There are four types of proxies. Use them for different purposes.

Forward Proxy

Generally, what is called a proxy or proxy server is a “forward proxy. It is mainly installed on the client side and connects to the Internet by relaying client-side requests. Since it takes the place of the client, it is an effective means of increasing security.

Reverse Proxy

A “reverse proxy” is a proxy installed on the server side, as opposed to a forward proxy. Reverse proxies are mainly used to control communications accessing the company’s Web servers, such as load balancers that load balance requests to multiple Web servers, WAFs (Web application firewalls) that protect Web applications, and cache responses to reduce the load on Web servers. The CDN is a distributed caching service. CDNs, which are distributed caching services, also basically use this reverse proxy mechanism. By deploying a reverse proxy product with security features, you can protect your servers from unauthorized access.

Transparent Proxy

Normally, the proxy address is configured in the browser of the client’s PC. With a “transparent proxy,” on the other hand, the address of the proxy is set at the gateway to the company network. Since only one address is set at the entrance/exit of the network, this eliminates the need for configuration on the client side and reduces management costs.

Advantages of Using a Proxy

The following describes the advantages of using proxies.

Anonymity can be ensured.

Using a proxy guarantees anonymity to the website operator because the website is not accessed directly from the browser. By making it difficult to identify the accessing client PC, the exploitation of information by malicious website operators can be prevented. Visit Proxy.Coupons now to get discounts on the best proxy services.

Access logs can be stored on the proxy

Using a proxy, various access logs can be left on the server. Since the browsing status of client PCs can be monitored, it is possible to check whether employees are accessing websites that are not related to their work. In the event of a cyberattack, the logs can be analyzed to identify the damage and unauthorized access. Analysis of this communication is especially important during incident response, as communication with the outside world = attack.

Access can be restricted

The use of proxies enables URL filtering to restrict access to websites. Companies can prevent employees from accessing websites that are unnecessary for business, offensive to public order and morals, and unauthorized sites.

Expected to speed up site screen display

Proxies have a cache function for sites that have been accessed in the past and sites that are visited frequently. Therefore, PrivateProxy proposes you expect faster access to the same sites.

A virus check is available on the proxy

Security measures can be enhanced by using the virus check function on the proxy. This prevents threats from entering the network to which the client PCs are connected.