proxies and firewalls

[Jorn Argelo]

When one is connected to a proxy server, the proxy server makes a connection 
to the outside world and transports the data to the computer who is 
requesting that information. So the client computer won't make a true 
connection to the outside world, but it only connects to the proxy server. In 
there the administrator can give several rules to the proxy server what to 
allow/dissalow. For example you can disable that clients connect to the MSN 
port. If you use a proxy server your internal IP address will almost always 
be shown on sites that show your IP address rather then your true external IP 
address. Also, a proxy server caches files it collects from the net, thus 
making it accessable faster.

NAT (Network Address Translator) does nothing more then translating your 
internal IP address to an external one. So there is a direct connection to 
the internet like that, and there is no caching done by the NAT server NAT is 
handy for home use, since you don't have to really tight up your security as 
you do with your company. 

So if you got a big company then you should definitely use a proxy server to 
let your people connect to the outside world.

Cheers,

Jorn

On Monday 02 February 2004 10:38, Hiren wrote:
> greetings all
>
> i often come across proxies and firewalls under the security section of
> tutorials and guides, i have read that one can create proxies of any
> internet service like ftp www etc.
> my question is what exactly is a proxy and how does it play a role in
> security, why and how does it replace NATing, and how does it play a
> role in security with regard to NAT. what services can be proxied, is it
> worth having and general advice.
>
> thanks all
> Hiren.
>
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