How Proxy Servers Work and How to Set One Up

A proxy server acts as an intermediary between your device and the internet. It has its own IP address, which your computer recognizes. When you send a request, it gets routed to the proxy first. The proxy then forwards the request to the appropriate web server, retrieves the data, and sends it back to your browser, whether you're using Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.

Types of Proxy Servers: Hardware vs. Software

Proxies can be either hardware-based or software-based:

  • Hardware proxies are physical devices that sit between your network and the internet, managing data traffic.
  • Software proxies are typically hosted by a third-party provider or run in the cloud. To use a software proxy, you’ll usually download an app to your device, which allows the proxy to manage your web traffic.
    • Software proxies are available in both free and paid versions. Free proxies often come with limited features, such as fewer IP addresses and restrictions on the number of devices they can support.
    • Paid proxies, however, typically offer more robust services and are designed to handle the needs of larger organizations or businesses.

Setting Up a Proxy Server

How to Set Up a Proxy Server: A Step-by-Step Guide for Different Devices

To use a proxy server, you’ll need to configure your computer, device, or network. The setup process varies depending on your operating system, so it's essential to follow the specific steps for your system.

In many cases, setup is as simple as using an automatic configuration script. If manual configuration is required, you’ll need to enter the proxy's IP address and port number to get it working.

Types of Proxies

  1. Forward Proxy
  2. Reverse Proxy
  3. Transparent Proxy
  4. Anonymous Proxy
  5. High Anonymity Proxy
  6. Web Proxy

1. Forward Proxy

A forward proxy is an intermediary that sits between a client and the internet. When a client, such as a computer or mobile device, sends a request for a web page, the forward proxy intercepts this request and forwards it to the destination server. The server responds to the proxy, which then sends the data back to the client.

Use Case:

Imagine you’re working in a corporate office, and the company uses a forward proxy to control internet access. When you try to visit a social media site like Facebook, your request is sent to the proxy server first. The proxy server checks if access to Facebook is allowed based on company policies. If it’s blocked, the proxy will deny the request; if allowed, it will forward the request to Facebook’s server, retrieve the content, and pass it back to you.

Benefits:

  • Access Control: Organizations use forward proxies to block access to certain websites.
  • Anonymity: Hides the client’s IP address from the destination server.
  • Caching: Stores frequently accessed data to reduce bandwidth usage and speed up access to commonly visited sites.

2. Reverse Proxy

A reverse proxy is positioned at the edge of a server network and directs client requests to the appropriate backend server. The client does not know about the backend servers and only interacts with the reverse proxy.

Use Case:

Consider a popular e-commerce website like Amazon. To handle millions of visitors, Amazon uses multiple servers to manage web traffic. A reverse proxy receives all incoming requests and distributes them across these servers to balance the load. If one server is down, the reverse proxy redirects the traffic to another server without the user knowing.

Benefits:

  • Load Balancing: Distributes traffic across multiple servers to prevent overloading.
  • Security: Protects backend servers by hiding their identities and filtering malicious traffic.
  • SSL Termination: Handles SSL encryption and decryption, reducing the load on backend servers.

3. Transparent Proxy

Most internet users interact with transparent proxies every day without realizing it. 

A transparent proxy intercepts and processes requests without modifying them. It operates without any configuration on the client side, and users typically don’t know their traffic is being proxied.

Use Case:

A school might use a transparent proxy to filter internet content. When students try to access the internet, their requests pass through the transparent proxy, which checks if the requested content is appropriate. Inappropriate content is blocked, and the students are none the wiser about the proxy’s existence.

Benefits:

  • Ease of Deployment: No need to configure client devices, making it easy to implement across a network.
  • Content Filtering: Automatically blocks or filters content without user intervention.
  • Traffic Monitoring

4. Anonymous Proxy

An anonymous proxy hides the client’s IP address from the destination server. While the destination server knows a proxy is being used, it cannot identify the actual user behind the request.

Use Case:

You might use an anonymous proxy to access a website that restricts content based on geographic location. For instance, you want to watch a video on a streaming service that is only available in the US, but you are in Europe. By using an anonymous proxy with a US IP address, you can trick the streaming service into thinking you are in the US, thus allowing you access to the video.

Benefits:

  • Anonymity: Hides the user’s true IP address, protecting their identity and location.
  • Bypassing Geo-restrictions: Allows access to content restricted to certain regions.

5. High Anonymity Proxy (Elite Proxy)

A high anonymity proxy goes a step further by not only hiding the user’s IP address but also not revealing that a proxy is being used at all. The destination server sees only the proxy’s IP and assumes it is the real client.

Use Case:

Let’s say a researcher wants to gather data from a website that blocks known proxies. Using a high anonymity proxy, the researcher can access the site without being flagged, as the site cannot detect that a proxy is being used.

Benefits:

  • Highest Level of Anonymity: Completely masks the fact that a proxy is being used.
  • Security: Provides strong protection against tracking and surveillance.

6. Web Proxy

A web proxy is accessed through a web browser, allowing users to visit websites indirectly. It acts as an intermediary between the user’s browser and the target website.

Use Case:

A student in a university where certain social media sites are blocked might use a web proxy by visiting a proxy website, entering the URL of the blocked site, and browsing it through the proxy. The university’s network sees only the proxy server’s address, not the final destination.

Benefits:

  • Ease of Use: Accessible through any browser without special software.
  • Bypassing Restrictions: Useful for accessing blocked websites.

Common Proxy Protocols

•HTTP Proxy: Used for web browsing, handles HTTP requests. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, an HTTP proxy can forward your request to the web server, fetch the page, and return it to you.

•SOCKS Proxy: A lower-level proxy that can handle any type of traffic, not just HTTP. For example, a SOCKS proxy can be used for peer-to-peer file sharing, gaming, or other applications that use different protocols.

•SSL/TLS Proxy: Encrypts data between the client and the proxy, providing secure communication. For example, a company might use an SSL proxy to encrypt traffic between employees’ computers and the internet to protect sensitive information.