Mitf11m020

Punjab university collegeof information technology IAP assignment#2 Web proxy server

ID: mitf11m020 Submitted to: Mam sadia shahzad Submitted by: Umm-e-Ammara Submission date: 20/04/2012

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Web proxy server

Proxy sever:
In computer networks A proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for request from clients seeking resources from other servers. The word proxy means "to act on behalf of another," and a proxy server acts on behalf of the user. Today, most proxies are web proxies, facilitating access to content on the World Wide Web.

Web proxy server:

It is a specialized HTTP server. It functions as a firewall. Protect client computer from hackers by limiting outside access to clients. Allow all clients connected to Web proxy server to access internet from behind firewall. Client computer are allowed access past firewall with minimum effort and without compromising security.

Working:
Web proxy server listens for any request from clients. All requests are forward to remote internet server outside firewall. Also listens for responses or request from outside the firewall and sends them to internal client computer. Usually all the clients with a subnet use the same proxy server. This make it possible for the proxy server to cache documents that are requested by one or more clients. For clients using a web proxy server it is as if they are getting responses directly from a remote server. Most web proxy servers are implemented on a pre-access method basis. It can allow or deny internet requests according to the protocol used. For example:a proxy server can allow calls to FTP while but deny calls to HTTP servers.

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Purposes of proxy server:

A proxy server has a large variety of potential purposes, including: Security: To keep machines behind it anonymous, mainly for security. Caching : To speed up access to resources. Web proxies are commonly used to cache web pages from a web server. Access control: To apply access policy to network services or content, e.g. to block undesired sites. Filtring: To access sites prohibited or filtered by your ISP or institution. Reporting: To provide company employee Internet usage reporting. Security control: To bypass security controls. Blocking: To circumvent Internet filtering to access content otherwise blocked by governments. Content scanning: To scan transmitted content for malware before delivery. Improve performance: To scan outbound content, e.g., for data loss prevention. Gateway to private networks: To allow a web site to make web requests to externally hosted resources (images and music files etc) .

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Functions of proxy server:

Security:
An anonymous proxy server as a link between your browser and an end server. Instead of contacting the end server directly to get a web page, the browser contacts the proxy server, which forwards the request on to the end server. When the end server replies, the proxy server sends the reply to the browser. No direct communication occurs between the client and the destination server, therefore it appears as if the HTTP request originated from the intermediate server. The only way to trace the connection to the originating client would be to access the proxy server . So an anonymous proxy server can protect your identity by stripping a request of all identifying information.

Caching proxy server :

A caching proxy server accelerates service requests by retrieving content saved from a previous request made by the same client or even other clients. Caching proxies keep local copies of frequently requested resources, allowing large organizations to significantly reduce their upstream bandwidth usage and costs, while significantly increasing performance. Most ISPs and large businesses have a caching proxy. Caching proxies were the first kind of proxy server. Some poorly-implemented caching proxies have an inability to use user authentication.

Gateway to private networks:

Proxy servers can perform a role similar to a network switch in linking two networks.it can connect a user with a server at the same time.User can communicate with the others using world wide web.

Access control:
Some proxy servers implement a logon requirement. In large organizations, authorized users must log on to gain access to the web. The organization can thereby track usage to individuals. Some anonymizing proxy servers may forward data packets with header lines which may reveal the IP address of the client. Other anonymizing proxy servers, known as elite proxies, only include the remote adder header with the IP address of the proxy server, making it appear that the proxy server is the client. A website could still suspect a proxy is being used if the client sends packets

Filtring:
A filtering web proxy server provides administrative control over the content that may be relayed in one or both directions through the proxy. It is commonly used in both commercial and non-commercial organizations to ensure that Internet usage conforms to acceptable use policy 4 Punjab university college of information technology

Mitf11m020 A content filtering proxy will often support user authentication, to control web access. It also usually produces logs, either to give detailed information about the URLs accessed by specific users, or to monitor bandwidth usage statistics. Many work places, schools, and colleges restrict the web sites and online services that are made available in their buildings. This is done either with a specialized proxy, called a content filter.

Improve Performance: Proxy servers can dramatically improve performance for groups of users. This is because it saves the results of all requests for a certain amount of time. Consider the case where both user X and user Y access the World Wide Web through a proxy server. First user requests a certain Web page, which we will call Page 1. Sometime later, user Y requests the same page. Instead of forwarding the request to the Web server where Page 1 resides, which can be a time consuming operation, the proxy server simply returns the Page 1 that it already fetched for user X. Since the proxy server is often on the same network as the user, this is a much faster operation. Real proxy servers support hundreds or thousands of users. The major online services such as America Online, MSN and Yahoo, for example, employ an array of proxy servers. Filter Requests: Proxy servers can also be used to filter requests. For example, a company might use a proxy server to prevent its employees from accessing a specific set of Web sites. Anonymizing proxy server: An anonymous proxy server (sometimes called a web proxy) generally attempts to anonymize web surfing. There are different varieties of anonymizers. One of the more common variations is the open proxy. Because they are typically difficult to identify. The server receives requests from the anonymizing proxy server, and thus does not receive information about the end user's address. However, the requests are not anonymous to the anonymizing proxy server, and so a degree of trust is present between that server and the user. Many of them are funded through a link to the user. Content-filtering web proxy: A content-filtering web proxy server provides administrative control over the content that may be relayed through the proxy. It is commonly used in both commercial and non- commercial organizations to ensure that Internet usage conforms to acceptable use policy. A content filtering proxy will often support user authentication, to control web access. It also usually produces logs, either to give detailed information about the URLs accessed by specific users, or to monitor bandwidth usage statistics.

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Types of proxy server:

The other types of proxy servers are as follows: Hostile proxy Intercepting proxy server Transparent and non-transparent proxy server Forced proxy server Suffix proxy Open proxy server Reverse proxy server Tunneling proxy server

Advantages of proxy Server:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Act as caching server to make load a webpage faster. Masking your real IP address. Proxy servers are used to help you access certain sites that are blocked. By using proxy server you can protect yourself with if you use public computer facilities. Proxy servers are also important because they help you go online much faster than the average speed. 6. Proxy servers will also give you the needed flexibility to navigate through your favorite website. 7. Proxy servers are also useful because it prevents your account from getting hacked.

Disadvantage of Proxy Server :

1. There is data theft while using proxy server. if this server was compromised it mean that all user use the server have possibility to access the same information. 2. If this proxy were located at ISP(Internet Service Provider) Campuss, School and there's a bad employee or staff inside it is also possible data theft happen. 3. Typically, proxy server usage is limited to Web surfing, email and file transferring. 4. One of the major concerns or disadvantages is using an anonymous proxy. By using an anonymous proxy, all data must pass through the proxy server unencrypted, making it a security risk.

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Conclusion :
From the advantage and disadvantage above we can conclude: 1. If you want to use proxy make sure you use the trusted proxy. 2. Usually user from China and some Arabic country people are too desperate because of too many website blocked by their government so they forget to think about the security. 3. Never log in account using HTTP(http://blablabla.com/login.php) when you are using a proxy and If there is no choice to do that do not forget to change your password. 4. Proxy server used by cracker to masking their ip address when performing the attack, make sure you didn't fall into fake proxy trap because every proxy server habitually will record your real IP address. 5. Be wise to use this proxy service and also be careful,keep your eyes open.

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