A proxy server will hide your true IP address and make the server controlling your target website unable to detect your real address. In this case, a proxy might come in handy and enable you to visit the website you want.

Just as you can use a proxy to obtain access to a website, you can use it to restrict certain websites to people using your network. If you are a company, you can get proxies which will stop your employees from accessing websites.

If you browse the Internet directly from your IP address (without a proxy as an intermediary), the level of security is rather low, which leaves you at risk of being attacked by hackers. Some proxy servers even use a firewall as an additional security measure.

Some proxies use cached data but this probably says nothing to you and leaves you wondering what are the benefits of caching proxy servers. The answer is very simple. If a person using the same network as you want to visit the same page as you did, a proxy server will not have to go to the target website.

If, for any reason, you would like to remain anonymous while online, proxy is the way to go. You would be wrong if you thought that only hackers use proxies for such purposes. There are many users who prefer that their IP, thus their identity, remains unknown.

If you own an international company and you want to show different content to visitors depending on their country, you will need a great proxy server. It will detect the location of your website visitors and load pages that are appropriate for their local market.