Editing Proxy server (section)

===CGI proxy===
A [[Common Gateway Interface|CGI]] web proxy accepts target URLs using a [[Web form]] in the user's browser window, processes the request, and returns the results to the user's browser. Consequently, it can be used on a device or network that does not allow "true" proxy settings to be changed. The first recorded CGI proxy, named "rover" at the time but renamed in 1998 to "CGIProxy",<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marshall |first1=James |title=CGIProxy |url=https://www.jmarshall.com/tools/cgiproxy/ |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116035804/https://www.jmarshall.com/tools/cgiproxy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> was developed by American computer scientist James Marshall in early 1996 for an article in "Unix Review" by Rich Morin.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Limits of Control |url=http://www.cfcl.com/rdm/Pubs/tin/P/199606.shtml |date=June 1996 |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806165208/http://www.cfcl.com/rdm/Pubs/tin/P/199606.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The majority of CGI proxies are powered by one of CGIProxy (written in the [[Perl]] language), Glype (written in the [[PHP]] language), or PHProxy (written in the PHP language). As of April 2016, CGIProxy has received about two million downloads, Glype has received almost a million downloads,<ref name="archive.fo 2013">{{cite web |title=Glype® Proxy Script |url=https://www.glype.com/ |website=glype.com |archive-date=3 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103162849/http://www.glype.com/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2019-05-17 }}</ref> whilst PHProxy still receives hundreds of downloads per week.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/poxy/|title=PHProxy|website=SourceForge|access-date=7 April 2016|archive-date=14 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314150947/https://sourceforge.net/projects/poxy/|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite waning in popularity<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=glype+proxy|title=Google Trends|website=Google Trends}}</ref> due to [[VPN]]s and other privacy methods, {{as of|September 2021|lc=on}} there are still a few hundred CGI proxies online.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://getproxi.es/proxy-stats/|title=Proxy Stats :: Get Proxi.es|website=getproxi.es|access-date=2021-09-05|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901072646/https://getproxi.es/proxy-stats/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some CGI proxies were set up for purposes such as [[Web Accessibility Initiative|making websites more accessible]] to disabled people, but have since been shut down due to [[Web traffic#Traffic overload|excessive traffic]], usually caused by a [[Slashdot effect|third party advertising the service]] as a means to bypass local filtering. Since many of these users do not care about the collateral damage they are causing, it became necessary for organizations to hide their proxies, disclosing the URLs only to those who take the trouble to contact the organization and demonstrate a genuine need.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Estrada-Jiménez|first=José|date=March 2017|title=Online advertising: Analysis of privacy threats and protection approaches|journal=Computer Communications|volume=100|pages=32–51|doi=10.1016/j.comcom.2016.12.016|hdl=2117/99742|s2cid=34656772 |hdl-access=free |issn = 0140-3664}}</ref>