Private Proxy Solutions: Safeguarding Your Online Presence

Browsing online can get dangerous if you aren’t using any security measures. Websites are tracking visitors for targeting ads, geo-restricting content, and increasing prices. Governments may restrict access to the free press and spy on your personal matters. Changing your IP address is the best way to safeguard your connection.

The problem is even more pervasive if you perform advanced tasks, such as web scraping, online automation, or managing multiple social media accounts. Most privacy solutions aren’t enough for these use cases. Private proxies are what privacy-minded users use.

How do proxies protect you online?

When you browse the Internet, your device is constantly sending and receiving data packets. You send a request to connect and receive what’s needed to load a web page on your screen. Data packets with requests include information to identify you, the basis of which is your IP address.

It is a unique string of characters assigned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that can identify each device on the Internet. From these letters and numbers alone, each web server can tell the name of your ISP and your approximate location.

By logging your IP address, websites can tell what web pages you visited and how long you have stayed on them. Not only do they know what actions you perform online, but they can select what information to show you based on your location. E-commerce websites, for example, determine pricing options based on location.

ISPs and governments can also use IP-related information to block certain IP addresses from accessing information and look into what certain users are doing. It’s one of the main identification methods used in lawsuits to persecute, rightly or wrongly, people for online activities.

Proxies allow you to add an extra step when connecting to the Internet. Instead of your device sending the requests directly, you can route them through a proxy server, which will shield your IP address. As such, proxy servers ensure anonymity and security from websites and ISPs or the government.

Websites will not be able to see your original IP address and will display information that is geo-targeted for the proxy server location. Governments and ISPs will only see that you are sending your requests to a proxy in another country.

This function can also be accomplished with VPNs or other tools, but proxies have at least two major advantages.

Proxies can be used with third-party software for various use cases – web scraping, online automation, social media management, SEO, email protection, and more.

Proxies come in a variety of types, so it’s easier to find one that fits your use case and budget constraints.

However, the flexibility of proxies also comes with a responsibility to choose the best type for your needs. If you don’t know where to start, safeguarding your online presence with private proxies is the best option.

The benefits of private proxies

Each proxy type comes with the possibility of having exclusive access to the IP address. Such proxies are called proxy private or dedicated. When you choose such proxies, no one else can use the bandwidth at the same time, which brings a few critical benefits compared to shared proxies.

Speed

You can never be sure how many other users access a shared proxy server. Naturally, the more users access a server, the lower its speed is. Some proxies are better at supporting multiple users, but if you choose a private proxy server, you won’t have to double-guess.

Stability

As the number of shared proxy users fluctuates, so does the performance. As a rule, shared proxies are used the most during busy working hours, just when you need to use them actively. Purchasing a private proxy ensures you are the only one with access and always get the same performance.

Legitimacy

IP bans and or other restrictions are a headache for shared proxy users. Other users might get shared IPs banned before you even visit a needed website. It’s more difficult for the provider to enforce rules when there’s a large number of users. Private IPs can only be restricted because of your own actions.

Choosing a private proxy type

Both private and shared proxies come in different types based on the origin of IP addresses. The two main types of proxies to consider are residential and data centers.

Residential proxies are run on physical devices with IPs verified by household ISPs. It’s the most legitimate proxy type because you will appear as any other internet visitor. However, this proxy type tends to be slower than routing your connection through professional hardware.

Datacenter proxies differ in that they are created virtually in high-tech data centers using commercial internet connection. It’s a faster alternative to residential proxies but does not have such legitimacy because it’s easier for websites to differentiate these IP addresses.

Residential proxies are more commonly used with exclusive access for one user. The first reason is speed. Sharing the bandwidth of residential proxies has a larger effect on the performance simply because household internet and devices used for residential proxies are less powerful. 

Datacenter proxies have a larger capacity to support multiple connections and are frequently compiled in large IP pools that rotate.

The second reason why residential proxies are better for private use is the price. Residential proxies can be two or even three times more expensive than Datacenter ones. They are used for cases when you need the highest legitimacy, so it makes sense not to share them with anyone.

Sharing residential proxies not only hinders their performance but can compromise your anonymity while using them. Dedicated data center proxies are worth a look, but most of their use cases (such as web scraping) may be accomplished cheaper and equally efficiently without paying for private access.

Conclusion

Proxies provide a possibility to safeguard your IP address and bypass geo-restrictions with a lot of room for integration. While dedicated data center options are viable, private residential proxies are the best combination of speed, stability, and performance.