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Proxy circumvention allows users to access blocked websites by using a proxy server. Proxies can be used for caching, anonymity, security, or monitoring. Proxy bypass websites act as intermediaries to access blocked content, but can be short-lived or of poor quality and may pose security risks. Network administrators may monitor and block access to these sites.
Proxy circumvention is a means by which Internet users are able to browse websites that might otherwise be blocked by a network administrator. The term is a misnomer, however, as it is the use of a proxy that provides precisely the circumvention of the blocking mechanisms in place. So in essence, a user isn’t avoiding a proxy as much as he or she is using a proxy to bypass another means by which access to a specific website or service is denied. In many cases, these blocking methods are another proxy server or service.
Using a proxy has come into play for several reasons. Most of these revolve around caching web content for faster access by clients behind a proxy, providing anonymity for users, or other security purposes such as encryption, virus scanning, and data integrity. Another type is used to monitor Internet content accessed by computers behind a proxy. In most cases, these types of listening proxies are used by corporate networks and educational institutions to deny access to websites that are found to eat up valuable time.
This latter form of auditing has manifested itself in several ways. There are some websites or entire networks that disallow access from other Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, essentially blocking access from remote clients originating in a particular region. Conversely, or in addition to external monitoring, network administrators on some large networks implement a proxy server that will monitor requests to content outside the network that will be configured to deny access to certain locations on the Internet in order to to improve productivity or prevent access to certain types of content. Software programs have also been developed that reside on a single computer that will prevent that computer from accessing certain websites. Proxy circumvention provides a workaround to these means of denying access.
In most cases where a service is referred to as a proxy bypass, it is a website that acts as an intermediary, a proxy, for accessing content that falls outside any acceptable use policy implemented on a network or a computer. Proxy-avoidance websites run Common Gateway Interface (CGI) applications, programmed in various scripting languages, that allow a user to access other sites that would otherwise be blocked. A blocked user loads a proxy bypass website into a web browser and then makes the request through it to the otherwise disallowed web address. Circumvention occurs because the system in use to monitor and block access is tricked into believing that the request is coming from or coming from somewhere else.
Due to the somewhat controversial nature of proxy bypass websites, they are sometimes short-lived or of poor quality. If the individual creating the site has limited resources, such as network bandwidth or processing power, the site can become overloaded with browsing demands and create an unpleasant user experience, even if it provides the access where it would not otherwise exist. Careful selection of a proxy bypass site is also required as it can be used to acquire secret information such as passwords or credit card information. Some network administrators also monitor these sites and will update their systems to further block access to or from an address known to be a proxy bypass site.
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