There are plenty of reasons you might use a proxy, even if it's a shared one. There can be multiple people sending requests through the same proxy and they can all share the same benefits. Then it finally sends the data back to your computer and your page loads.Ī proxy server isn't necessarily limited to one user at a time. It could check for any malicious scripts or other security issues.
Next the proxy takes the data from the GitHub server and does any checks it has been configured to do with that data. That server now thinks your request has come from a different location and it will send the data you wanted back through that location. Once the proxy has updated the information from your request, it will send your reformatted request to the GitHub server. A proxy request can set headers like Forwarded and Via in the original request before it sends the message to the server you're trying to get information from. One of the ways that proxies handle changing your request is directly in the request headers it sends to the server. This can completely remove your IP address and identifying information from the request to the GitHub server. Then the proxy takes your request, updates it, and sends it from its own IP address. With a proxy, instead of connecting you directly to GitHub with your computer's IP address, your request gets intercepted by the proxy. The way a proxy works is first you make a request, for example you try to go GitHub. Forward proxies act as the middleman between your requests and the server you're trying to connect to. These are the most common types of proxy because they easily handle what most people need. When you hear or see people talking about proxies, they're most likely referring to forward proxies. To get started, let's talk about the most common kind of proxy and how it works, the forward proxy. Similar to filters, there are different kinds of proxies and they all have their specific uses. Just remember that a proxy acts like a fancy IP address filter. The main thing that matters is that the proxy has the configurations you need for the functionality you want. You can set up a proxy on your home computer or you can deploy one to the cloud. They can make all of your internet activity appear as if it's coming from a completely different location.Ĭompanies use them for security and network performance purposes, individuals use them for privacy concerns, and there's also some cool functionality you can tap into when using proxy servers for your internet browsing that we'll talk about later.Ī proxy can be physically located anywhere.
It's a server that takes all of the information you've sent out, like a request to buy new shirts on H&M, and routes it through a different IP address. What is a proxy server?Ī proxy server, or just proxy for short, is like having another computer that your internet requests get sent to before going to the real website.
Have you ever been traveling and couldn't get the same shows you normally watch back home on Hulu? Or have you noticed that some websites are blocked or you can't access certain services while you're connected to different Wi-Fi networks? That's likely due to a proxy being in place.