Finding how to set up a proxy server is important if you ever want to become a power user. To be a proxy means to be a facilitator, an enabler, something that effectively substitutes for something else. Online a proxy is usually a computer that acts as a substitute server. In computing a proxy server is simply an informational middleman, if you will; it handles exchanges between the requester and the ultimate server. A client connects to the proxy server and requests some service, like web page or access to a file. The proxy server analyzes the request according to its filtering rules. The most common example of filtering is by IP address or protocol.
To properly set up a proxy server, it helps to do your homework and thoroughly research all that’s involved. One of the most popular proxy servers for Windows-based systems is WinProxy. One reason why it’s so popular is that nothing actually needs to be installed on the client (or requester) side. WinProxy is a transparent proxy server, which means that it also provides NAT (Network Address Translation). This ensures that the client system is unaware of the proxy server’s existence. Other than administrative stuff like caching and security, the usual complement of protocols are available.
Getting it going is fairly simple and quick to do. There’s really no better way to set up a proxy server. Just make sure to take common initial steps such as installing TCP/IP on your network. After that you can go on to install WinProxy itself on your system. You can purchase this the traditional way in a store or through a simple download. Now once you fire up WinProxy for the first time, you should use the included setup wizard for ease and peace of mind. Like most such wizards, you’ll be prompted for your produce license serial number right away. From there the programs automated setup routine will determine your internet connection type for you. You need to select the connection’s type and name. Then comes the login info – namely, username and password. Just leave everything else to the program to handle. It assigns a unique address automatically,to each device on the LAN as internal addresses. It uses what your ISP gave you and turns that into an external address. It is this external address that will be shown to those outside your network, providing the anonymity you need. And that’s it! WinProxy will handle everything else. Simple, just like that.