Network Security
A firewall and a proxy server are both components of network security. To some extent, they are similar in that they limit or block connections to and from your network, but accomplish this in different ways.
Firewalls can block ports and programs that try to gain unauthorized access to your computer.
proxy servers basically hide your internal network from the Internet. It works as a firewall in the sense that it blocks your network from being exposed to the Internet by redirecting Web requests when necessary.
proxy servers basically hide your internal network from the Internet. It works as a firewall in the sense that it blocks your network from being exposed to the Internet by redirecting Web requests when necessary.
Blocking of virus and worm
Firewalls and proxy servers both can help you block viruses and other forms of malware from infecting your computers. A firewall can block ports commonly used by malicious viruses and worms.
Firewalls and proxy servers both can help you block viruses and other forms of malware from infecting your computers. A firewall can block ports commonly used by malicious viruses and worms.
You can also use the firewall to specify which ports can be open or close. Common ports that are usually open are HTTP (port 80), SMTP (port 25), POP3 (port 110) and HTTPS (8080).
Proxy servers, on the other hand, create a barrier by being the "middleman" that sits between your network and the Internet. Users outside your network can see only your proxy server, while those inside the network can access the Internet only by passing through the proxy. This limits the window of opportunity through which viruses and worms can enter.
You can block websites through a firewall, but you may bring your Internet access down. A firewall can block port 80, which the HTTP protocol uses to serve Web pages, disadvantage of this is that no websites would be able to access. That is , no website would go through.
A proxy server is better suited to this purpose in that it is work by filtering websites. For example, you can choose to block all social networking sites during office hours but allow access to them during lunch breaks and after hours.
Functional Differences
A firewall essentially blocks communication, while a proxy server simply redirects it. When you cannot access a website because a proxy is blocking it, it is not exactly blocking the communication.
When a user tries to access a disallowed website, the proxy server has an internal mechanism that redirects those requests to a Web page in network. It appears to the user that the website is blocked, but the request was simply redirected to another allowed website page
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