Proxy, proxy. Why do we need a proxy service?

I've found it interesting that a lot of internet users are searching for proxy, anonymous proxy and free proxy site. For most people, it might be a mystery. But for certain groups of people, it's necessary. So just what's a proxy? A proxy is a site service that let you bypass restriction set by the network admin, it can also be a software. And it's not surprise that most school & company block access to certain website such as facebook, myspace, twitter and friendster. Or certain keywords such as porn, sex & games. Of course, we can't just wait to check on our friends on social networking site or watch some educational info while we have the little free time at work or school. So, the best solution to solve this problem is to use a proxy site to bypass the limitation. Since every info send through a proxy server are encrypted, your network wouldn't be able to track what you are browsing on the internet. Just be careful not to be caught on a CCTV and you'll be fine.

A few years back, it shouldn't be too hard to find a free proxy sites on the net as it's quite profitable for the owner for some reason. But recently, I found it hard to find a decent site that provide a free service, either it's a paid service or the site server is just to slow load. There's still some pretty good one around, you just need to look harder. What I found the best are "hidemyass", although it might not be the best around. If you need a free proxy site that actually do the job, try it.

There's other reasons why people using proxy besides the one I mentioned above. It could be site restriction by your own country as we seen a lot of news that certain countries are blocking access to youtube & facebook. Using a proxy site is just a temporary solution, if it's the case that your country permanent banned a site you visit frequently, you might need to consider buying a proxy software instead of using the free one as it'll definitely be faster.

Maintaining a proxy is not as easy as it seems when you have a lot of users. Proxy site is a resources hog and it can slow down all user if it's use in a shared hosting, and you'd find that not a lot of web hosting company allowed a proxy site. But it might not be a bad idea if you just set up a proxy site for your own use. Web hosting services have become cheaper in recent year, you can easily find one in under $5 per month. As for the script, there's a lot of free proxy script you can use on the internet. Just search for free php proxy script and you should be able to find one. I'm more comfortable with a php proxy script, although I heard that asp or cgi might be a better choice.