Facebook Proxy - What’s the Deal?

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After our exam in Literature, I went to the cafeteria to meet the gang and get my thoughts off the grueling exam. I found the group huddled tightly at our favorite table. “That’s weird, they seem to be in one heck of a serious conversation”, I said to myself as I hurried to join them.

“Hey! What’s up? Everyone’s so serious! Did someone die or something?”

“Don’t you know?” Ken asked glumly. “Know what?” I innocently replied.

Then Ana blurted out, “The school just installed a new firewall! Say goodbye to Facebook, Friendster and MySpace.”

Snap. Is the admin seriously blocking social networks? Can we unblock Facebook?

Just when I felt that my whole social life was starting to crumble, the tech geek Nikko arrived. “Don’t worry guys we can use a Facebook proxy.”

He said in a matter-of-fact voice. We all sighed in relief then Ana went goggle eyed and exclaimed, “Oh! A Facebook proxy! Umm… What exactly is a Facebook proxy? Come to think of it, what is a proxy?”

WHAT INDEED is a proxy? According to Nikko:

• A proxy is a computer system or application program that takes the role of a go-between for client requests about resources from other servers.

• A proxy is also used to cache web pages from a web server in order to increase the speed of access to a resource.

• A proxy gives someone online privacy by protecting his IP address from the web server he is visiting. In other words, it gives him a little anonymity while browsing through the web. Only a Little anonymity though because the ISP still logs completely all his web browsing activities and the hops taken in between.

• Furthermore, a proxy can be used to go around internet filters and firewalls. On a darker note, this could also mean that it is utilized to gain unauthorized access to websites and other networks.

“Okay, so a proxy mainly has the purpose of anonymity and speeding up web browsing. But how does it work?” I asked and Nikko continued to explain:

• The client requests a service available from a different server—maybe a file, a connection or a web page, by connecting to the proxy server.

• The request is evaluated by the proxy server according to its filtering rules, i.e. IP address or protocol.

• Then the proxy connects to the relevant server and requests the service in behalf of the client. The proxy server has the option to change the client’s request or the server’s response and can even provide the request without contact from the target server (caching).

• In a normal HTTP transaction (i.e. requesting a web page), the IP address of the user is transmitted along with the request so that the information can be relayed back to the user. This then is placed in the web server’s log. In using proxies, the IP address is sent only to the proxy server which then requests the information for him. A correctly configured web proxy will not forward the user’s IP address to the web site he is visiting. However, anonymity is limited to the target server as the proxy will still have a record of his IP address and his web browsing.

“Ah, so that’s why Facebook proxies are so popular. They let you access Facebook anonymously and they can go around filters and firewalls. That is so cool! ”, I said excitedly.

“Don’t get too excited yet”, Nikko remarked. “The choice of what proxy to use is crucial. You should only use a proxy server of which the owner is known and trusted and one that has a clear privacy policy. Otherwise, you would be compromising your privacy for a little Facebook time.”

Nikko’s final words got me thinking. After finding out what a proxy is and what its uses are and after discovering that no matter how good it seems, there still is a negative aspect to it, should I really risk things and use a Facebook proxy? What do you think?