A proxy server is a machine that some providers install which exists between you and the Internet and acts as your agent for surfing the net. When you request a Web site, the server will either go out and download the site to its local hard drive before sending you the information or send you previously stored information from its hard drive. Many providers who do not have enough actual bandwidth to the Internet to support the amount of customers they have will setup a proxy server and even market them as an added-value service that will speed up your connection. Be careful with proxy servers: they almost always act as a bottleneck because of the amount of information being sent to them. Imagine if everyone connected to an ISP had to use the processing power of the same machine to surf the Web instead of the processing power of their own computers. An average visit to a Web site may open up as many as 10 sessions from your Web browser to bring in information from that site. If you had