Direct Connection vs. Proxy: How it Works

This is you, and this is the website you're trying to access. When you connect

directly, your device sends the request using your real IP address, for example,

208.32.3.7, and the website responds straight back to you. Now,

here's what happens when you use a proxy. Your request still starts from your IP,

for example, 208.32.3.7, but it goes first to the proxy server. The proxy forwards

that request to the website using its own IP, for example, 172.5.8.5.

The website responds to the proxy, and the proxy sends the response back to you.