Proxy server

For other uses, see Proxy (disambiguation).

Communication between two computers connected through a third computer acting as a proxy server. This can protect Alice's privacy, as Bob only knows about the proxy and cannot identify or contact Alice directly.

In computer networking, a proxy server is an intermediary server application between a client requesting a resource and the server then providing that resource.

Instead of connecting directly to a server that can fulfil a request for a resource, such as a file or web page, the client directs the request to the proxy server, which evaluates the request and performs the required network transactions. This serves as a method to control the complexity of the request or provide additional benefits such as load balancing, privacy or security. Proxies were devised to add structure and encapsulation to distributed systems.