Do we need a proxy server

I work for a large company as a Senior IT Security Analyst. A proxy server allows controlled access to the internet. If you are going to allow internet connectivity you want a proxy server and probably a firewall. When I say internet connectivity, I don't mean dialing out with modems. A proxy server will only allow certain traffic to go through to your network. You can also use a filtering product to keep users from accessing smut or non business related items. The cons of not having a proxy server is that a hacker can damage your investment, servers etc and steal valuable information. Send me email for more info. jhamm99@hotmail.com

A proxy server is a program that literally acts as a user's proxy in fetching (and sending) information from another network - usually the Internet. A web proxy, for example, receives an HTTP GET request from a client machine, performs the GET request itself (while it maintains a separate connection with the client), and then forwards the results to the client. A good proxy server lets the administrator specify who can use which protocols may be accessed by which users. Some also include packetfilters and other tools to improve network security.

I generally go with MS Proxy Server as my first choice - it is VERY stable, performs pretty well, and works very well with a Windows environment (it includes a winsock client that ensures that almost any Winsock 1.1 compliant application that needs access to the Internet will work without extensive setup on the server. It also integrates with NT's security model).

System specs? Largely depends upon load, although I've seen it run just fine on mid-range Pent

The above are both correct, but also, Proxy is used as a cacheing server, so that if some sites are used by more than 1 person in your Company, you dont have to use bandwidth for all the requests. My proxy has a 2gb Cache.

As a Firewall, it is OK for your Network Security, although it is limited in its ability to be a "real" Firewall.

My proxy is only a P2 400, 256mb and seems quite happy looking after about 300 users who are allowed access to the Net.

Also, I have all the DNS setup for mail, OWA and remote access to Pop3 mail to enter our WAN through the proxy, and be routed to the real Mail Servers..

If you do not utilise a Proxy to be between your wan and the net, then your relying on NT security alone to protect you from attacks, IE I filter all udp pings etc so we are fairly safe against a DOS attack. At most, they could bring down our Proxy server...

This question was closed by the author