Proxy server
computer server that makes and receives requests on behalf of a user
In computer networking, a proxy server is an intermediary server application between a client requesting a resource and the server then providing that resource.
Instead of connecting directly to a server that can fulfil a request for a resource, such as a file or web page, the client directs the request to the proxy server, which evaluates the request and performs the required network transactions. This serves as a method to control the complexity of the request or provide additional benefits such as load balancing, privacy or security. Proxies were devised to add structure and encapsulation to distributed systems.
Types
A proxy server may reside on the user's local computer, or at any point between the user's computer and the destination servers. A proxy server that passes unmodified requests and responses is usually called a gateway or sometimes a tunneling proxy. A forward proxy is an Internet-facing proxy used to retrieve data from a wide range of sources (in most cases, anywhere on the Internet). A reverse proxy is usually an internal-facing proxy used as a front-end to control and protect access to a server on a private network. A reverse proxy commonly also performs tasks such as load-balancing, authentication, decryption, and caching.
Open proxies
An open proxy is a forwarding proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user.
The public source identifies “Proxy server” as computer server that makes and receives requests on behalf of a user. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Proxy, server and computer.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11189. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Proxy server” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.