???????

best i know is it is a computer that you route your internet connection through. this is usually to disguise your ip address with the ip of the proxy. some proxies are:

-transparent - i don't really understand what they are for, but you ip goes right through it

-anonymous - changes what your ip appears to be

-encrytped - special type, hard to find, that you use the internet through, but the data between the proxy and your computer is encrypted so it is very hard to figure who is searching what data.

i hope i am correct in what i said. my education on the subject has been like other things i've learned. sources here and there over time. i have heard about SOCKS 4 and 5 but i'm not sure about those.

Uh besides being obvious, Dictionary.com?

webopedia.com-

057

Ski is correct. A proxy, in the context you would be using it, is a server that simply masks your IP. The other reason for proxy servers would be for businesses, schools, or government offices to regulate what goes in and out of the building by means of filters, that are installed into the proxy server.

I was reading an article on MacWorld.com, and apparently you could theoretically take one of those old i383 PeeCees that everyone has at least one spare of and turn it into a proxy server, with filters, to work as an anti-viral hardware divice. But then correct me if I am wrong.

Further more, Ski was correct, in labeling the three types of proxies. The first being transparent is only useful in the sense of being a hardware filter device, the second, being anonymous simply hides your IP from other servers, and the third Encrypted (or high anonymity by some) is the one that allows for the benefits of SSL without an SSL connection, BUT THIS IS NOT SSL!

[This message has been edited by John Brown (edited 01-27-2005).]