CODEWITHSUNDEEP
proxy
user8794024
user8794024

Reputation:

HTTP tunnel vs HTTP proxy

Is there any different between HTTP tunnel and HTTP proxy?
In some software I see two fields for proxy either HTTP and HTTP tunnel. I see the traffic of some http proxy but I cant understand the different between http proxy and http tunnel.

Upvotes: 6

Views: 7116

Answers (1)

neuhaus
neuhaus

Reputation: 4094

The terms are often intermixed, tunnel providers are called proxies.

Originally, tunneling is the technique of using one protocol to transport data inside another protocol.

A proxy (as in proxy representative) A proxy acts as an intermediary. It will hide your IP address from the destination (unless it adds it in a HTTP header field such as "Forward"). A proxy uses the same protocol throughout, it can alter the network flow, do caching or security scanning etc. So it's more of an extra hop on the way to the destination.

For example you can use a SOCKS proxy as a HTTP tunnel, i.e. you transport HTTP over it. This is due to the fact that SOCKS is a protocol that is designed to tunnel IP packets.

To add to the confusion, you can use a HTTP proxy to transport some other protocols such as FTP.

A good example for a tunnel is a VPN. Tunnels are often used to evade censorship or firewall rules blocking traffic.

Upvotes: 6

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