Horry wrote:

> In the sense the word is currently being used, here's a quick answer:
>
> It's a computer that acts as a "middle-man" between you and the website
> you're accessing.
>
> Rather than sending a request (e.g., for a webpage, image, or other file)
> directly to the webserver, you send the request to the proxy server,
> which then forwards your request to the webserver.
>
> The end-result is that the webserver (in this case, Google's server) will
> be aware of the proxy's IP address, but not the IP address of the end-
> user.

That's a good explanation. Most companies and universities use proxies to
funnel all the traffioc to/from the Internet. In that case, all users
data appears to be coming from the same IP address.

I kinda refer to proxies as "brokers".

Open proxies: Ususually misconfigured servers or even home machines that
allow hackers to use your IP address as if it were their own.

Anonymous proxies: servers purposely configured to allow public, anonymous
web surfing and possibly has other ports open for other uses. Generally
they are very slow and a PITA.

-sw