What are the Advantages of a Proxy Wall?

If you’re particularly conscious about your security on the internet, you may want to know what a proxy wall is. A common understanding is, proxy walls make internet surfing safer. For example:

• You can get access to restricted sites
• Your privacy is not compromised
• You can collect relevant data from any location, and more.

But that’s not it. Proxy walls serve much better purposes. 

In this post, we’ll explain what a proxy wall is and why you should have one for your business. So, keep reading.

What is a Proxy Wall?

A proxy wall filters messages at the application level to limit the applications a network can support. In addition, they use an antivirus solution or intrusion prevention systems (IPS), which increases security by protecting against threats.

There are different types of proxies based on their functionality and purposes. For example, there are proxies for free from proxyscrape and datacenter proxies that are third-party corporations, mostly cloud server providers. These proxies are known to provide

• Authentic IP address
• Device and user anonymity  

Why Use a Proxy Wall 

Every computer on the internet has a unique IP address, more like a street address. In contrast, a proxy wall works with its own IP address. So it does not let external network connections directly receive data from the internet. 

Primarily, a proxy wall guards against cyber threats. How does it protect your device and application? These are the basic functions of a proxy wall:

• Discovering advanced threats. 
• Providing you with a single point to assess the threat level. 
• Implement error detection and validity checks.  

So, whenever you attempt to access an external site using a proxy wall, the following process occurs: 

• When you send a web request, it’s received by the proxy first.
• The proxy then makes the web request on your behalf. 
• It then collects the response and ensures the site is safe for use without viruses.
• If it’s safe enough, the proxy then forwards you the web page data so you can view it in your browser.

Proxy walls do more than forward web requests. They act as firewalls and web filters, keeping the user safe from the wild side of the internet. Let’s check out how beneficial it can be.

11 Advantages of a Proxy Wall

Most people don’t realize the danger of security breaches and data thefts that come with random advertisements or a cute pet picture that pops up on a page. 

Thus, a proxy wall is not just meant for tech-savvies. Anyone, from an individual sitting at home to a business of any size, can use it.  

So, how beneficial can a proxy wall be for you and your business? These are the 11 advantages: 

1. Controls Your Internet Usage

Proxy walls can be used to monitor the usage of the internet efficiently. It’s used by organizations to keep track of their employees and proves beneficial for parents to keep a check and balance on kids by denying access to unsuitable sites. 

2. Anonymity 

Proxy walls serve the key benefit for masking your IP addresses. Hackers can not access your computer; they will be logged into the proxy instead. Besides, websites will be unable to track you due to the hidden IP address.  

3. Traffic Balancing

Is there anything more annoying than websites crashing when you need it?  Proxy servers improve customer satisfaction by ensuring this doesn’t happen. The proxy balances servers so it doesn’t overload. 

4. Bandwidth Saving 

Organizations get better network performance with a proxy wall. It caches websites. So even when numerous users hit a website simultaneously, the proxy wall sends one request to the website, saving the company’s bandwidth.

5. Better Security 

Proxy walls understand the difference between privacy and security. You can configure your proxy wall to forbid anyone from reading your transactions. 

Additionally, coupling your proxy wall with a VPN allows remote users to access other resources as emails while protecting the company’s confidential data. 

6. Gaining Access to Blocked Resources

What do you do when you desperately want to watch a game that’s blacked out online? Or use an app that’s unavailable in your country? 

That’s right! You login into a proxy server on the other side of the country or anywhere else in the world. Proxy walls let users overcome content restrictions imposed by companies or the government. 

7. Speed and Performance 

Proxies easily cache data when you visit a website; the proxy wall stores all the necessary information. Due to this, when you open a website again, it loads faster. This improved speed makes surfing on the internet easier and more fun. 

8. Malware Protection 

The chances of ending up on malicious content on the internet causing irreversible damage to your system are high. Likewise, various untrustworthy websites reside on the internet. 

Using proxy walls limits the threats imposed by these sites by not making the requests directly. Thus, protecting your personal information. 

9. Long-term Investment

Organizations often worry about data breaches, demanding a hefty sum to recover data. Proxy walls avoid any mishaps of data breaches from the start by adding an additional layer of security between your servers and outside traffic. 

10. Logging Capabilities 

Proxy walls can investigate an entire network, not just the network address, which proves to be a valuable resource for businesses.

11. Better Than Traditional Firewalls

A traditional firewall acts as a portal between two networks.

• It protects computers and networks behind it from unauthorized attacks. 
• It blocks unwanted external traffic.

On the contrary, proxy walls serve as a gateway between individual users and the internet.

• It can be installed by a remote server as well as an organization. 
• It provides security to the internal network by monitoring traffic to and from the internet. 
• Suitable for all age groups.

What Type of Proxy Wall Suits You?

As said earlier, proxy walls vary in terms of purpose. Plus, the amount of protection you’ll get also varies. While there are different types available on the market, these are the major classifications of a proxy wall:

• Transparent proxy: It identifies you to the web server by your own IP address while telling it about the usage of a proxy wall.
• Anonymous proxy: It masks the user’s IP address with the proxy wall’s address.
• Distorting proxy: this kind of proxy wall passes along a fake IP address for you to identify itself as a proxy. An anonymous proxy differentiates this as it serves a false IP address from a different location while hiding the user’s identity.   

Conclusion 

Turning heads on your security is the last thing an organization or individual should do. Instead, security should always be put foremost, considering the advancements of cybercrime these days.

Finally, from this post, you can easily understand the perks of using a proxy wall for better security and maintaining privacy on a budget. You are now ready to embark on your journey of untroubled surfing.