Premium Proxy Server – What the Pros Use in 2022
Want to Know Why the Pro’s Use A Premium Proxy Server ?
If you think you might need a proxy server, then you’re probably right. There aren’t many online tasks especially business related that won’t benefit from using a proxy. The problem is which one to use, do you need a premium proxy server at all? There’s a huge range and many of them are actually worthless.
Here we examine some of the common types and what they actually mean!
What is a Proxy Server?
A proxy server is a server that allows a computer to behave like it is directly attached to another computer. In fact, it is not, a proxy server is also able to monitor a user’s computer use and potentially intercept web traffic. In order to ensure the use does not violate a number of organizations’ or institutions’ rules or policies.
The reality is that proxies are capable of lots of many things, but mostly we use them to hide our identity and location online. Not in some sort of criminal way, although most cybercrime is conducted behind proxies. It’s because if you want to operate on any sort of scale on the internet or in a different country. You simply have to hide your real identity.
Proxies allow people to operate multiple accounts on the same websites. They allow you to bypass the huge amount of geo-restrictions which block people from different countries.
Types of Proxy Servers
In order to maintain its anonymity, there are indeed lots of different types of proxies. A basic proxy service provides its users with a way to avoid censors, malware and all types of malicious downloaded software. It’s vital when you’re browsing the web. However, many websites are installed with advanced security systems which can detect and block connections from proxy servers.
Depending on the task and scale you may very well need one of the specialized types of proxies. Here’s a few important terms and what they actually mean. Remember though many providers misuse these terms so be careful when you’re purchasing a premium proxy service.
Residential Proxy Server
A residential proxy is basically one that uses residential IP addresses. That is IP addresses that are registered for use by home or residential users. This might not sound like a big deal, but in fact it’s hugely important. Standard proxies generally use IP addresses registered for commercial use usually in large datacenters.
Many large websites look up where incoming IP addresses are registered and can detect proxies simply based on the IP address. Residential IPs are real IPs often linked directly to home accounts, allowing users to imitate their behaviour through proxy servers. For market research or business intelligence it’s vital to use residential IP addresses to look like a ‘standard home user’
So that’s what a residential proxy is ! A proxy server that makes all its outbound connections using a residential IP address. This means the proxy is virtually undetectable and looks like a standard home user visiting whatever resource you use the proxy to access.
There are certain variances within this category, which mostly refer to how these residential IP addresses are obtained. See premium proxy server for one of those different types.
Datacenter Proxy Server
The vast majority of proxies come under this category and for many tasks they’re perfectly fine. They refer to a standard proxy running in a server farm based in a large datacenter. These are generally the fastest and most reliable proxies simply because of the environment they are running in. The increasing problem with these proxies is that they have IP addresses registered in the same datacenter.
That means that although the IPs work fine they are easily detectable because of their origin. What’s worse is that they are also often flagged automatically by any major website as a potential proxy or VPN service. If you’re trying to stay anonymous and connect as an ordinary user this is not ideal. Unfortunately, increasingly datacenter IP addresses don’t work for many online tasks. They do hide your real location though and also give you some level of anonymity online. You can still use these depending on your requirements, for example basic SEO tasks and simple data harvesting through Bots can sometimes work with these proxies.
Shared Proxy Server
Why would anyone share a proxy? Well in fact a huge number of proxy services are shared between lots of users. This is simply the best way to supply a decent proxy service at a reasonable price. Indeed, the lower the price then the more users are usually sharing each proxy. There are many different models for these shared proxies. One of the most common is the rotating proxy where each server has a pool of IP addresses which it rotates between individual connections.
The advantage of this system is that although the proxy is shared, the IP addresses are switched between users. This means that nobody will be using the same IP address at the same time as another. It’s not always ideal, but does allow access to many IP addresses for a much lower cost.
You’re still sharing though ! The IP address you used to manage your premium Instagram account may have just been used for someone to spam their throwaway account. Shared proxies have an element of risk as you don’t know what other users are doing with them.
Dedicated Proxy servers
More expensive but certainly safer are dedicated proxies which primarily allow you exclusive access to a proxy. Dedicated can often refer to either the entire server or more often to the IP addresses that you use. In reality it’s the IP addresses that are the important part, sharing use a server doesn’t really matter as much.
Dedicated servers obviously cost more as you’re reserving the most expensive parts (the IP addresses) for your exclusive access. It’s like comparing a bus with a chauffeur driven limo, one is obviously going to cost more. It’s difficult to say when you should definitely use a dedicated server. Generally though if high value accounts and methods are involved then it’s definitely the smart options.
Remember you can combine these sorts of servers with each other e.g.
- shared datacentre proxies
- dedicated datacenter proxies
- dedicated residential proxies
and so on…..
Premium Proxy Server
So if you’re looking for the best, and you don’t want to take any risks at all. Then you should be looking at the quality end of the market for a premium proxy server. There’s no doubt that currently these proxies should have the core two elements –
- Residential IP addresses
- Dedicated/exclusive access to IP Addresses
Is that it ? Well no, the very best proxies also have another essential component – static IP addresses. That means that you have exclusive access to the residential IP addresses which never change. The problem with the majority of residential proxies is that the IP addresses are leased or borrowed from home users. Although this is great for anonymity it also means that they have no direct control over these addresses. Residential IP addresses obtained like this are liable to disappear at any moment if the home user disconnects for any reasons.
ISP/Static Residential Proxies
In 2021, we took a significant step forward in the proxy market. A few proxy providers managed to start sourcing residential IP addresses direct from ISPs and Telecoms companies. Technically this shouldn’t really be possible, but it’s happening and the result is the most stable and effective proxy services you can buy.
There are a few significant advantages to having direct control over the address ranges –
- They can be hosted directly in datacenters for fast, reliable access.
- The IP addresses are under complete control – they’re not going to change.
Here’s one of the few providers who offer these premium proxy servers in 2022.
Why Should your Business use a Proxy Server?
Well primarily it’s to keep your identity hidden while performing business operations. If you connect to the internet using a standard, unprotected internet connection you’ll not receive an objective view of whatever site you’re visiting. Your connection and location will be used to tailor your experience which makes any sort of research or marketing almost impossible online.
Imagine you’ve paid for some advertising on Google Ads – there’s literally no way to monitor them without a proxy server. Want to promote a product in a different location than you’re resident in – then you really need a proxy to switch your location.
Every site you visit without the protection of a proxy or VPN is treating you like a commodity and controlling what you see. Operating like this online may work if you’re a consumer. Although it still has huge privacy drawbacks, but it’s no good for any sort of business.
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