Squid is a caching proxy for the Web supporting HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more. It reduces bandwidth and improves response times by caching and reusing frequently-requested web pages. Squid has extensive access controls and makes a great server accelerator.
Along with server caching, Squid offers a wide range of features such as distributing the load over intercommunicating hierarchies of proxy servers, defining strict access control lists for all clients accessing the proxy, allowing or denying access to specific websites with the help of other applications, and generating statistics about frequently visited web pages for the assessment of the users surfing habits. Squid proxy is not just a generic proxy. It normally proxies only HTTP connections. It does also support the protocols FTP, Gopher, SSL, and WAIS.
- Set ACL for which networks have access to internet
- Block/Allow access to certain websites
- Block/Allow Content Based on MIME Types (e.g image, text, mpeg)
- Set time in which users can access the internet at certain times in the day
- Cache frequently accessed websites, cache files/media
- Hide users internal IP Addresses
- Load balance with other Squid proxies
- Clustering
- Traffic Interception with WCCP
- Set authentication to get users to Authenticate (LDAP, Active Directory, RADIUS, POP3, DB, etc)
- Allow/Block IM (Instant Messaging)
- Block coin-mining scripts from using CPU/memory on users browsers. A new modern trend.
- Adaptation protocol (C-ICAP / eCAP)
- Caching Dynamic Content
- Fully Transparent Interception with Squid-2, TPROXYv2 and WCCP
- Configuring multiple interception ports using WCCPv2
- WCCP2 and NAT on a private internal network
- PHP Redirectors
- SMP Carp Cluster
- Torrent filtering
- Webwasher integration – prevent downloading of virus-infected files or to filter out adult content