A proxy is a representative, a buffer. It can be a stock broker (who proxies between you and a floor trader), it can be a conressman who theoretically acts on your behalf regarding the government, or a proxy server which relays and stores information for various Internet clients.

Q: What are the different kinds of proxies?

Browser Proxies - Ports 8080, 3128, 80 - These can be use to browse the internet anonymously if you're paranoid about people tracking you down.

Here is a diagram to help describe what is happening when you use a browser proxy:

Your Computer -> Internet -=> Proxy Server (An Intranet) -=> The Internet You Visit

Socks Proxies - Port 1080 - Some need authentication, some don't. Sometimes people set up proxy servers, but allow outside access to them. These are your friends, they are kind enough to let you connect through them, even though they probably aren't aware. But beware, your IP is always in the log file, and can be passed along.  But remember to switch your browser back, don't surf with Socks proxies. They usually disconnect you if too many bytes are moved through them.

Here is what happens when you use a proxy to connect to two FTP sites and transfer files between the two:

     
      You
      |
      Commands
      |
      Socks Proxy Server
      /             \
      Commands          Commands
      /                       \
      FTP <=> Files <=> FXPable FTP

Q: How do I know if my proxy is anonymous?

A: The easiest way to tell is to plug it into you're browser and go to one of the many anonymous proxy checking websites.  I'll show you how to plug it into Internet Explorer 6, anything else and your on your own for now.  First load up IE and go to Tools -> Internet Options...  then switch it over to the "Connections" tab.  Here you will need to click one of two buttons depending on whether your on Dial-Up or a Broadband/LAN connection.  Look at the screenshot and click the correct button. Once in there it looks pretty much the same for both buttons.  Select the box in the "Proxy server" section that says "Use a proxy server for your...".  Then press the advanced button to right of the check box.  This brings us to the next screen shot and where you enter the actual proxy information.  If you have a Socks proxy leave everything blank except the "Socks" sections where you will enter the address and the port (usually 1080).  Now get out of all of those dialogs by pressing "OK" on each one.  You're now setup to browse the internet with a proxy. 

Q: How do I get proxies?

A: You can buy service from a proxy provider or obtain one that is less “legal” by using Proxy Hunter

Q: How do I use these things?

A: Many people think this is something complicated and painful but it is so simple you wouldn't believe it until you read this.  It's actually pretty much the same as using a Wingate except slightly different settings. All you need is a proxy capable FTP program. Now all you need to do is go into the options and to the "Proxy / Firewall / Ident" and enter in the correct information.  For the type select either "Socks 4" or "Socks 5" depending on what type of Socks proxy you're going to use.  Enter in your proxy address where it says "Host" and set the port number to 1080.  If you have a proxy on any other port it is most likely not Socks and not really what we want (and it will not work with the Socks settings).  Some pubs also want to request and Ident so enable this and just put "@msn" for the user id.  That's it, your now ready to connect to pubs anonymously and upload without fear.

 

Proxy
By Alex London
Philomel Books, 2013


Proxy is yet another addition to the ever-expanding mass of young adult dystopian science fiction novels. It sets itself apart primarily by being directed at a slightly older audience,

Syd is a proxy -- one of the hundreds of disadvantaged youth who are financially supported by taking punishments on behalf of their patrons. (Yes, this is exactly the same idea as Sid Fleischman's Whipping Boy, except about 400 years later on.) Syd is not a happy proxy. His patron, Knox, constantly gets into trouble, and long ago stopped empathizing with his proxy, no matter how many shock treatments and community labor assignments he has to watch.

Things come to a head when Knox accidently kills a girl. It was an accident, so Syd will only have to spend 16 years in a maximum security labor camp. Fortunately, Syd has long augmented his proxy earnings through electronics repair, and he manages to hack his way out of his holding cell. He shortly finds himself on an improbable adventure that will put him and his patron on the same side, and possibly destroy the abusive society of the upper city once and for all.

This is a pretty good book. It is written specifically for fans of YA dystopian fiction, and is not likely to have the wider appeal found by some recent series, but it is dire, adventuresome, and has a fast-moving plot. The setting is perhaps a bit overly familiar -- a massive slum full of abused and diseased people perpetually in debt to the rich people in the upper city -- but it is well done and well developed. The science is glossed over, and sometimes downright silly, but this is fairly common in this genre.

The most striking aspect of this novel is that it is a bit more gritty than most YA novels. Not in the pain and suffering of the characters, as that has been well covered time and again. Proxy breaks the mold first in that the main character, the 'good guy' kills people, when appropriate, without massive moral dilemmas. This is more or less forbidden in YA books, no matter how horrible the bad guys are. Less striking, Syd is a gay teenager in a society that is severely homophobic, and he has to endure a bit of persecution, and quite a bit of vehement rhetoric. This is fairly standard fair for YA literature, but it is not common to have this in dystopian fiction, as the social problems under consideration are supposed to be 'bigger' than homophobia (or, on the flip side, some books hint that homophobia is an out-dated historical problem, and no matter how bad things might be in the future, at least they aren't homophobes.)

Altogether, this is a pretty good read, and certainly better than some of the books hitting the YA shelves these days. I would recommend it for YA dystopian fans who are 15 and up, and want something more meaty than The Eleventh Plague or Tunnels. A sequel to Proxy, Guardian is due out this year.

ISBN-10: 0399257764
ISBN-13: 9780399257766

Prox"y (?), n.; pl. Proxies (#). [Contr. from procuracy. Cf. Proctor.]

1.

The agency for another who acts through the agent; authority to act for another, esp. to vote in a legislative or corporate capacity.

I have no man's proxy: I speak only for myself. Burke.

2.

The person who is substituted or deputed to act or vote for another.

Every peer . . . may make another lord of parliament his proxy, to vote for him in his absence. Blackstone.

3.

A writing by which one person authorizes another to vote in his stead, as in a corporation meeting.

4. Eng.Law

The written appointment of a proctor in suits in the ecclesiastical courts.

Burrill.

5. Eccl.

See Procuration.

[Obs.]

 

© Webster 1913.


Prox"y, v. i.

To act or vote by proxy; to do anything by the agency of another.

[R.]

 

© Webster 1913.

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