I'm curious if anyone is still actively using proxy servers to manage outbound web traffic. If you are, what solutions or tools are you currently using?
5 Answers
I’ve noticed that HTTPS is becoming more standard, making regular proxy servers feel a bit outdated, as they can act like man-in-the-middle (MITM) devices. I ran a Squid proxy on my local network a few years back and noted that it was only caching a small percentage of requests.
I remember doing something crazy with a neighbor's WiFi by installing DD-WRT and using Squid to mess with his ads. It was a fun little prank for sure!
From my experience working with cable internet providers, Squid is still heavily in use for proxy solutions. It's one of the backbone technologies, especially on large networks. If you're looking for something reliable, Squid is worth considering!
I currently use Wingate, though I hope to phase it out soon. It's pretty user-friendly for Windows environments, which is a big plus for us!
I’ll check it out! Do you have any plans for what you might switch to, or just going for direct access?
In Australia, especially within government sectors, there are compliance obligations that mandate web traffic to go through a web proxy. If you want to adhere to regulations, using a proxy is often necessary.
I switched to using roaming DNS filter clients instead of proxy servers. I find it more effective for managing traffic without the overhead that proxies can introduce.
Surprisingly, after optimizing it, I managed to cache around 20% of daily traffic with squid! But it obviously depends on the setup and how often clients check for updates.