Deciding to set up a proxy server is important if you ever want to become a power user. The word “proxy” means “substitute” or anything that serves as an agent, an enabler. In case of telecommunication, it is used for a device or program empowered to act for another. In computer networks, a proxy server is a server,which acts as a mediator for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. Anything and everything needed has to go through the proxy; no exceptions. What the proxy does is screen all requests against its set of filters, rules by which it can deny requests. The most common example of filtering is by IP address or protocol.
When you want to set up a proxy server, a wide variety of choices exist out there. You might start by checking out one of the most popular proxys on the market, a piece of software called WinProxy. The main reason for its popularity is that no software needs to be installed on the client systems. NAT is available since WinProxy is a transparent proxy. This ensures that the client system is unaware of the proxy server’s existence. Apart from caching and the usual security features like filtering, WinProxy supports important protocols like HTTP, FTP, Telnet, Secure Sockets and DNS.
Getting it going is fairly simple and quick to do. It’s a great option when you want to set up a proxy server. Before you begin setting up WinProxy, install the TCP/IP protocol on all systems connected to the network. Then, install WinProxy on the system, which you want to act as the proxy server. You can purchase this the traditional way in a store or through a simple download. When you begin the installation, you get the option to run the Install Wizard. Like most such wizards, you’ll be prompted for your produce license serial number right away. Further screens will ascertain the kind of connection you have to access the internet, dial-up or broadband. You need to select the connection’s type and name. Next,it will ask to enter the username and password of the Internet connection. WinProxy then configures the internal and external IP addresses for the network. Now what’s really interesting is how it turn internal LAN addresses into unique IP addys. What your ISP assigned for your modem or router winds up being the external address. The external address is the IP address,which will be displayed to a user from another network,when his system interacts with any device from your network. WinProxy will then prompt the you to disconnect from the Internet,if you are already connected.In the final step, WinProxy verifies all the steps and ensures that all operations have been performed properly.