A forward proxy is like a middleman for your internet requests. When you use one, your device sends requests to the proxy first, and then the proxy fetches the data from the web.
It’s not just about hiding your IP—though that’s a big use case. Companies often use forward proxies to control employee internet access or log traffic. Caching can speed things up if the proxy stores frequently accessed stuff, but it depends on the setup.
For casual browsing? Probably overkill unless you’re paranoid about privacy. Tools like Squid or NGINX are popular for setting one up.
It’s not just about hiding your IP—though that’s a big use case. Companies often use forward proxies to control employee internet access or log traffic. Caching can speed things up if the proxy stores frequently accessed stuff, but it depends on the setup.
For casual browsing? Probably overkill unless you’re paranoid about privacy. Tools like Squid or NGINX are popular for setting one up.