Web Browsing Through a Proxy - Circumventing Content Filters and Masking Your Identity

Have you ever been denied access to a web page due to a 'content filter'? It is a very frustrating situation experienced by many college students and workplace employees, not to mention the tumultuous residents of Tibet! These filters have been installed to prevent certain people from acquiring access to certain websites. Universities assert, for instance, that college students shouldn't be accessing pornographic websites. Workplaces, on the other hand, argue that employees need not waste their time on social networks such as Myspace or Facebook.

This is why proxies are such a blessing to us. A proxy is an Internet server setup to allow users to freely and privately browse the Internet. A user logs onto a proxy server and then places a request to view a website. The proxy server contacts the website and retrieves the data. Typically, it is your own server (University or workplace server) that retrieves the data. By circumventing your server, you are therefore able to access sites that you were previously unable to view. And since the proxy server itself is contacting the requested site, your private data remains masked behind the proxy.

Through a proxy server, you can access nearly any website that you desire. However, there is a catch. Proxy servers tend to be exceptionally slow. A proxy server essentially functions as a middleman between two servers. Every transaction begins at your end, passes through the proxy, reaches the destination host, and then retraces its steps back to you. This lengthy path tends to slow down Internet TCP/IP transactions to the point that it becomes almost snail-like. Furthermore, most proxy servers do not filter popup ads, spyware, and adware. Unless your computer is thoroughly protected, you may catch a virus from relying on a proxy server.