A proxy server routes web requests through an intermediary server to access sites that may be blocked locally. It works by sending requests from a user's computer to the proxy server instead of directly to the destination website, and then the proxy server forwards the request and sends the response back to the user, providing an indirect channel to access blocked content. The document recommends getting a list of proxy servers from Proxy.org and routes traffic to circumvent blocks, while also mentioning the related topic of Tor for anonymous web browsing.