10.7 Conclusion

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee proposed creating a “global hypertext system” of “[h]uman-readable information linked together in an unconstrained way.”³⁹ Since then, the World Wide Web has exploded to incorporate graphics, multimedia, interactive chat, and social networking, and pervaded nearly every aspect of modern life.

39. Tim Berners-Lee, “Information Management: A Proposal,” May 1990, http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html.

Web proxies are traditionally used inside organizations to improve performance and filter traffic. Now, we are witnessing the next evolution, in which customized, dynamic content is delivered quickly through a network of distributed caching web proxies. As their functionality increases, web proxies have become invisibly ingrained into the fabric of the World Wide Web, and into network forensic investigations as well.