Proxy blockers prevent users from accessing proxy sites that bypass website filtering rules set by network administrators. Corporate web filtering solutions include proxy blocking. Network administrators restrict sites by maintaining a centralized list of denied sites. Proxy blockers deny access to these proxies using various techniques that must be regularly updated. Peer-to-peer proxies are a new development that turns an ordinary home computer into a proxy server. Proxy blocker developers must constantly update their restricted site lists. Blocking file types rather than domains is a more sophisticated way to block users from accessing specific sites.
A proxy blocker is a software application that prevents users of a computer network from accessing proxy sites that subvert the website filtering rules set in place by the network administrator. Many corporate web filtering solutions now include proxy blocking as part of their security package. Website filtering software prevents users from accessing certain domains such as social networking sites or video streaming portals. Some users, however, circumvent these restrictions by using proxies, websites that provide an indirect, anonymous connection between a client and a web server. Proxy blockers deny access to these proxies using a number of techniques, most of which must be regularly updated.
Computer administrators, especially those in charge of business or corporate networks, can prevent users of their network from accessing certain sites for a variety of internal reasons. Social networking sites are known to reduce productivity; using other sites can damage the reputation of the company to which the computer network belongs. Network administrators restrict sites by maintaining a centralized list of denied sites. Any attempt to access these sites from a client browser within the network will be blocked and, in some cases, a log of the infringement will be made. Before long, however, users realized that they could use proxy servers to bypass network restrictions.
However, proxy blocking technology works both ways, and users can often implement other proxy websites to bypass the original barriers that were put in place. For example, if a television network placed a proxy blocker on anyone outside their normal viewing area, only local residents would be able to access its content. Someone from that jurisdiction may have set up their computer to act as a proxy for others, though, so that users connect to that proxy and then access local content from afar. It tricks the proxy blocker into thinking the visitor is someone they aren’t, so the proxy is defeated by using another proxy.
The average proxy blocker works on a very simple principle; administrators simply add the proxy sites to the restricted websites list. Their problem, however, is that hundreds of proxies are created every day. A new development is peer-to-peer proxies, software that turns an ordinary home computer into a proxy server that can be used to browse limited parts of the Internet. Proxy Blocker developers must constantly update their restricted site lists, a task that typically requires significant amounts of overhead. More sophisticated ways to block users from accessing specific sites are to block file types rather than domains; for example, a video streaming site may be accessible over a computer network, but video uploading will be restricted.
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