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<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
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type="topic" style="question"
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<link type="guide" xref="net-general"/>
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<revision version="11.04" date="2011-04-28" status="final"/>
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<name>Phil Bull</name>
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<email>philbull@gmail.com</email>
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<desc>A proxy filters websites that you look at, usually for control or security purposes.</desc>
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<title>What is a proxy?</title>
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<p>A <em>web proxy</em> filters websites that you look at. They are commonly used in businesses and at public wireless hotspots to control what websites you can look at, prevent you from accessing the internet without logging-in, or to do security checks on websites.</p>
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<p>When you go to a website, the text and images on that website pass through the proxy first before reaching your computer. For example, the proxy may scan the contents of the website and decide whether to display it or whether to show you a different page.</p>
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<p>An example of where proxies are commonly used is in universities. When a student connects to the university's wireless network and tries to visit a website, the proxy will instead redirect them to a log-in page. They will then log in to the network and can go to the page they were trying to look at. Someone who is not a student will get the same log-in page but will not know the password and be unable to browse the web. This stops unauthorized people from using the connection.</p>