From: "kevinla" <
[email protected]>
| XP- 32 Bit
| I am on a home network. If the settings on IE 8 under Internet Options>
| Connections> LAN Settings> Proxy server
| The box next to "Use a proxy server for your LAN" is not checked
Use of a Proxy server is not neccessarily a "security" concept for the Home User but can
be used to enhance security in an organization.
An organization may use a Proxy server such that all nodes with the LAN can only access
LAN resources unless they go through the Proxy because the Proxy sits on both sides of the
LAN and WAN fence. To the Internet, all users come from the POV of that Proxy server.
This may be done beacuse they want to block and filter content and to add extra anti
malware scanning ability. For example the Proxy server may have Sophos anti virus in it
and the the workstations may have ESET NOD32. Additionally Proxy servers cache data.
Therefore if you have 10 workstations accessing a handful of sites the Proxy server caches
the data from those sites and the LAN workstations get the data from the Proxy's cache.
This is something ISPs like to do.
In your case you are using Cox communications and unless they tell you you have to use
their Proxy server, leave the Proxy settings in IE8 (or any other software) disabled.
