Question : public proxy server

Hi
Although i have some idea of using a proxy server.while surfing the net i found some public proxy servers and how to use them.But a few thing remains to be answeres and that is my question.
1. why and who should use the public proxy servers.
2. Is it recomended for home users for for corp users.
3. Is it safe to use.
4.What is transparent proxy server, i can understand anonymiser and anonymous and which one to be used.

I hope i am clear in explaining.

Answer : public proxy server

1. Generally there is no reason to use a public proxy server as it does not anonymise you (it sends your actual IP address in the request). The benefit is for ISP to provide one for their customers so that they use it and hence speed up their web requests as less of the ISP's bandwidth is used.

2. If your ISP provides one and it works well then you can use it. For corp users the company is far better having a proxy server internally so that the load on their internet connection is reduced.

3. If you trust who provides the proxy then it is safe. They can log every page to visit though so there are privacy concerns.

4. A transparent proxy is where you think you are connecting directly to the web site and you don't have a proxy configured but the ISP is intercepting your request and forwarding it to their proxy. Some ISP's do this to force all web requests to use their proxy and hence save bandwidth.