Proxy serves are a type of barrier between the computer itself and the resources that are being accessed on the Internet. A proxy server gathers and hoards files that are frequently requested by multiple users in a database. This particular database is called a cache. A proxy server can increase the speed of your Internet connection. This is if the cache already has stored some of the information you are looking for. That is how the results can often be returned to you in virtually no time at all. The performance is sped up as a direct result. A proxy server can also help in the event an owner has a restriction. It is not all that uncommon for some of the resources on the Internet to restrict a viewer from their content. This is typically done in order to keep geographical locations and other reasons from being allowed to access particular content. In addition to that, among proxy servers there are so called anonymous proxy servers that hide your IP address thereby saving you from vulnerabilities concerned with it. Anonymous proxy servers are designed to hide your particular Internet address. Every person that logs onto the Internet has an IP address. This address can sometimes be found at the bottom of the screen as your computer is loading. It is generally a set of numbers and periods. The anonymous proxy hides your IP address from the Internet By hiding the IP address it is preventing any unauthorized access to the computer by the Internet No one will have access to your individual IP address as well as keeping the information you look up on the Internet safe by not allowing anyone on the Internet to gain access to it. In addition to the added security that an anonymous proxy server gives, it doesn't tell others that you are using it. Also, it can be used for many web services such as web-chat rooms, e-mail and much more. It is safer to use a proxy server because it blocks everyone from getting any of your personal information while you are on the Internet If you are using your IP address without a proxy server your Internet activity can be screened and even spied upon. Making it fairly simple for your banking account and other personal information to fall into the wrong hands. It is even possible for you to become blocked from viewing a website that otherwise you would have had access to. It is possible with an unblocked IP address for you to become a prime candidate for the marketers that are throughout the Internet By allowing your IP address to be viewed while you are on the Internet you can almost guarantee that your spam box will become increasing on its own. It is common for the unprotected Internet users to become vulnerable. Websites can easily exploit the holes within the security system that you have on your computer. This has been proving to be a very easy task even when using free tools that have been downloaded on the Internet Some of these programs can actually make your computer run slower and have other performance issues.