How your end users access the internet depends entirely on your proxy server configuration; this assumes that a proxy server is in use to regulate and filter access to the web. A typical proxy server configuration enables monitoring of the sites viewed by users, specifying which sites each IP address has visited by logging entries to a report database that is stored in cases where inspection is required. The proxy server configuration may also be set to completely prohibit access to forbidding sites, subscribing to a service that monitors the nature of web sites in general, allowing you to block specific types of site, such as ones that distribute spyware, illegally obtained files and software or pornographic and explicit imagery. The proxy server configuration inherently offers protection from intrusion by unwanted software and by attempts at security violations through commonly known exploits that take advantage of security holes in web browsers and operating systems. Proxy server configuration forces all web requests to be sent and received only to itself, then the data is disbursed back to the machines making the initial inquiry. In this manner, proxy server configuration dictates that the only direct contact with outside computers happens via the proxy server itself. Other computers, such as end user machines, receive information relayed to them, and is thus safe from many of the dangers of machines who access the web directly or without proper proxy server configuration. How strictly proxy server configuration is set is entirely the choice of the administrator. Sometimes, corporate policy or upper management will make the final decision as to how to set your proxy server configuration. The proxy server configuration is customizable to suit your individual or business needs, it provides enhanced security when compared to direct internet viewing and allows greater control of what traffic you do and do not allow onto your network.
