Proxy settings and how they affect the scan

A proxy server sits between the client application and the server. It intercepts all the requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server.

To take advantage of the proxy server capabilities, web browsers must be configured to explicitly use it. In the "proxied" environment, the client computer might not have direct Internet access. To access the websites you intend to scan, it is important that the proxy information be set up correctly. An incorrect proxy setting might cause links to be reported as broken, when they really do work. If there is some reason that you do not want or need to use the Internet Explorer settings, select the proxy server connection.

If the proxy server is improperly configured, external and possibly internal links might be reported as broken. Configuring a proxy server involves specifying:

• Addresses for server protocols, which are standards that govern the transmission and reception of data between the workstations and server
• Authentication details, which means verifying the identity of a user logging on to a computer network
• Exceptions such as URLs or directories that can be ignored by the proxy server engine