what is socks proxy

A SOCKS proxy is a network protocol that facilitates communication with servers through a firewall by routing network traffic to the actual server on behalf of a client. SOCKS is designed to route any type of traffic generated by any protocol or program. A SOCKS proxy server creates a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to another server behind the firewall on the client’s behalf, then exchanges network packets between the client and the actual server. The SOCKS proxy server doesn’t interpret the network traffic between client and server in any way; it is often used because clients are behind a firewall and are not permitted to establish TCP connections to outside servers unless they do it through the SOCKS proxy server. SOCKS5 is the most recently optimized version of SOCKS, an internet protocol that funnels web traffic through a remote server. SOCKS5 proxies are unique because they’re capable of interpreting and working with almost any protocol, any program, and any type of traffic without limit. SOCKS5 proxies are ideal for P2P traffic because they can transfer smaller data packets than other types of proxies, resulting in faster download speeds.