What are squid proxies and how do they work?

Squid proxies are caching proxies serving web content for the purpose of reducing bandwidth usage and improving response times by caching frequently requested web pages. They work as an intermediary between a user's device and the internet; whenever an internet user makes a request, the Squid proxy intercepts it. If the requested data is found in the proxy's cache—meaning it has been previously stored after another request—it supplies the data from there, greatly speeding up the transaction. However, if the data is not in its cache, Squid fetches the content from the appropriate server on the internet, delivers it to the user, and stores a copy in its cache for future requests. This process allows for efficient use of bandwidth and faster delivery of web content to users.