Not everyone is aware of proxy websites and the benefits they offer to internet users. Proxy websites are an extremely handy tool for browsing the Internet. There are many websites that are blocked because of their content by servers. Examples are social networking sites such as My Space, Facebook or YouTube. Many corporate or business servers will block access to these sites because they distract their employees from work. A proxy website or server offers you a way to get around that and still be able to access sites that are commonly blocked.

How Does Typical Web Browsing Work?

When you log into your computer on the Internet, your computer is identified by an IP address that is located on your server. Server security settings will define which types of websites or web content you are able to access. As long as you are surfing through that specific IP address or server, you will have the same limitations on what websites you can access. The web content filters on your IP address will simply block access to those websites.

How Does a Proxy Website or Server Work?

A proxy website is essentially a type of web page that allows you to bypass a content filter. The way it does this is that you will not be accessing the website from your normal server IP address. Rather, the proxy website acts as an agent between your server and the website. As far as your server is concerned, you are simply accessing another website that doesn't contain content to be concerned about. When using a proxy website, you will log into a specific website address. In the website coding, the address that is shown will be that of the proxy website and not of the actual destination website. The other benefit is that it masks your visit to the website as your IP address is not identified. All the cached information stored on your IP address and server is that of the proxy site and not the actual website that you were looking at.

The Benefits of Using a Proxy Website

While many people may see proxy websites as a way to access content that is less than savory, there are a number of legitimate and above-board reasons why you may want to use a proxy server. Often, filters are set up according to specific keywords. This is to prevent employees in a corporate context from spending time browsing the Internet for content that is completely unrelated to work. However, sometimes these filters block some words because they form part of a sentence or phrase but independently they may actually relate to work content. Rather than having to go through the tedious process of phoning the IT department and explaining to them the reason why you need to access the website, you can simply use a proxy to do so. Proxy servers operate as web browsers so are fast and efficient. You can then access the information you need and be able to continue with your work. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of proxy websites is that they ensure greater and security and privacy for the user. Because the proxy acts as the intermediary, your IP address remains encoded and hidden so there is no trace back to you as the user. In this way, it allows you a way to browse the Web anonymously.

Other Uses of Proxy Websites

In some countries, governments place heavy restrictions on access to information. Often newspapers and television stations are government controlled and internet access can also be restricted. In such countries, proxy websites are a convenient way to be able to access information about the outside world. Often, proxy websites can stay under the radar in terms of restricted content and provide you with access to world news and any other information you might want.

What You Need to Know About Using a Proxy Website

Because of the nature of proxy websites, they are only effective so long as they are not identified by content and server filters. The minute they are, proxy websites no longer act as the go-between for websites and users. For this reason, proxy websites change frequently. The proxy website you used last week or last month may no longer be available. However, it is often easy to find a reliable alternative proxy website so you can continue to access the Internet.