Why do people use a proxy server?

Proxy server are widely used in companies to establish a secure connection. Lets say I have sensitive documents in my PC and I am abroad and cannot access my PC physically. I can set up proxy connection in my PC and authorize only my laptop which I carry with me abroad. So I can connect to PC anywhere from the world.

This type of proxy connections are used in software companies. The proxy will be setup in onsite (USA) and offshore people (India) can connect to onsite server.

Home users/End users use proxy to bypass blocked website

In some countries say Dubai you don't have access to Facebook (as per the information from my friend). To access Facebook from Dubai you need to connect to other computer that has access to Facebook. Now I already have a computer in India which is proxy configured. So from Dubai I will first connect to my PC in India. As my PC in India has access to Facebook I can access from Dubai.

Here Facebook gets unblocked because Dubai network recognizes the data is transferred between your Indian computer and Dubai computer not as a connection between Facebook and your Dubai computer.

A proxy server is an intermediary between you and the Internet. Corporate world widely uses proxy servers for a myriad number of reasons. For instance, you type in a website address and it is sent to the proxy server which in turn is sent to the website. The website then returns the page to the proxy server which presents the website to you. Thus the website sees the proxy server as visiting it, not you.
Now, why are they used so widely? Here are the reasons

Controlling Internet usage

Most of the corporates don't want their employees to visit certain sites. Normally some sites like adult sites, popular social sites and a few untrusted sites are banned by these corporates. By using proxy servers, they also have access to a detailed log of each employee's Internet activity. This allows them to identify misbehaving employees.

Saving bandwidth and improving speed

Proxy servers compress the content and cache pages. With hundreds hundreds of people accessing the same websites, this helps the company to save precious bandwidth and also also improves the speed since Web pages are loaded from cache.

Privacy

Proxy servers can hide your IP address and in turn stop the website from accessing your private information. It can also block cookies which can provide personal information to the server. You remain more anonymous when using a proxy server.

Security improvement

Proxy servers raise the level of your Internet security. They can be used for blocking malicious websites. You can use encryption services so that your information will not be sniffed.

Gaining access to restricted resources

Some websites are banned in certain countries. Using a proxy server can circumvent this censorship and access the Web page you you want to. There are a few contents that are region specific. Use of of a proxy server can help you access this content even even if you don't belong to the region.

This is a simple question in which you have to tell your reason for using proxy. Just write your answer why (what purpose for) you are using a proxy and VPN .

If it was a poll, then there was no need to post it in AE section. Whole question becomes irrelevant in that case. One should have posted it in the forum section and created a poll. Just as simple as that. The question has been posted in the AE section, it's anybody's guess that it needs responses as those posted above.

There are many reasons to use proxy server and some of them are given below.

• For sharing Internet connection on a LAN


• It speeds up your Internet surfing


• To hide the IP address of a person which is considered to be a bad activity


• To bypass all the security restrictions and filters


• For scanning outbound content


These were some of the reasons that why people use proxy server. As per my opinion its a bad activity as you are hiding your IP address from this which are mainly the activities of criminal.

For your kind information, Aman, proxy servers are not used by criminals, but bigger corporates to take care of malware and also to control the online activities of their employees. It is also helpful in restricting access to some unwanted sites thus keeping a check on unproductive activities during working hours. Read my response above for getting to know the positive aspects of proxy servers.

I can say all of the above reasons are valid. Most of the time proxy server access gives you a way to see the content that is restricted to you. Also the amount of data collection that happens it is better to be behind the proxy. You may feel that the proxy services are not good for the games and application but some games require proxy for safety purpose. Browsing through either cognito mode or through proxy is becoming more common these days. So all these reasons makes you worry about the security and privacy. Getting proxy server plugins like zenmate is a good option.