Static Residential Proxy : Best Residential Proxy in 2023?
Static Residential Proxy Servers : A Premium Residential Proxy – How Does It Work?
If you’re not using residential proxies in 2023 then your money is likely being wasted – there are actually few safe alternatives. The majority of standard proxy services now are easily detectable by most web security services. Indeed most them almost announce that you’re using a proxy without actually making any significant difference to your anonymity. Here we explain the best option for those important tasks – the static residential proxy.
What is a Proxy
A Proxy is a computer system or server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients outside the local network. It typically makes those requests on behalf of other clients inside the local network, and forwards the responses back to the clients outside the network. A Proxy server may be either an application-level gateway, embedded in a firewall appliance or integrated into web servers, that runs with one or more IP addresses
On the internet it’s basically a way to assume alternate and additional digital identities. These are useful for a huge variety of reasons from simply staying anonymous, bypassing internet blocks and filters to running multiple, multinational businesses from a single computer.
All over the internet, proxies are used to battle the intrusion and control of web’s major sites. There’s one thing for sure, if you run any sort of online business then you should almost certainly be using proxies for many tasks.
So a Residential Proxy ?
The problem with almost all standard proxies is that they use commercially registered IP addresses. These are very simple to detect and mark any incoming connections as from a commercially based server. This kind of defeats the objective of using a proxy for anonymity and privacy.
A commercial IP address is a big red flag to all sorts of websites especially e-commerce servers. In fact for many commercial transactions, you can get all sorts of problems when using a commercial IP address especially if you’re pushing the boundaries a little.
This is not to say the commercial addresses and indeed the standard proxies are completely useless. After all there’s millions of ordinary users browsing the internet from work who will also be using commercial IP addresses. It’s just they simply won’t be as trusted as using IP addresses from a residential range.
Apply a Residential IP to a Proxy – Residential Proxy Server
That’s really the only major difference for most residential proxies although it depends somewhat on how you get the residential IP. You can actually have a a proxy which switches between datacenter and residential IP addresses too – using the most appropriate address for whichever tasks.
Some of the most sophisticated proxy dashboards like those from Bright Data allow this sort of functionality. Your proxy can be configured to switch between different IP addresses. There’s even something called a waterfall feature which tests access on each type of IP address – using the cheapest first to see which works best!
How Residential IP Addresses are Obtained
Proxy companies aren’t supposed to be able to get residential IP addresses at all. Residential IP address ranges are supposed to be exclusively for the use of ordinary home users. It’s the reason why they are so trusted and valuable online.
Obviously they do manage this however the method can influence how the proxy is able to function. The most common method is one pioneered by the company originally names Luminati (now Bright Data) based on a user lease scheme,
Basically the company provides access to software, API or other related program in exchange for temporary use to the user’s internet connection when idle. This can be used to obtain lots of residential IP addresses from all over the planet.
The problem with this method though is that although you get variety and anonymity, there’s no direct control over the IP address itself. Basically it could disappear at any moment if the user closes the application or disconnects their computer. This means that you cannot get a genuine static residential IP address like this without some sort of end user agreement.
Also there are performance issues as the proxy has to route it’s connection through the users connection which could potentially be very slow.
Types of Residential Proxies
So if we understand that every residential proxy has one specific requirement – residential IP addresses. We can look at some of the variants within this category.
Rotating Residential Proxies
This means that the proxy will rotate the IP address automatically. This is great if you want to make lots of different connections to the same resource. For instance doing any sort of data collection or harvesting having lots of IP addresses switched like this is ideal. These are generally from ‘borrowed’ user’s connections through shared applications.
For some situations having an IP address which can switch automatically is not ideal. For example sneakerheads who aim to complete multiple transactions in the hunt to cop the best sneakers – don’t really want their IP addresses changing during checkout. However for many mass, automated tasks make proxies like these great for Bots.
Static Residential Proxies
Again similar to rotating proxies except for one crucial difference – your IP address won’t change without warning. For things like e-commerce and managing high value social media accounts this is much safer. What’s more having control over a static address means that you know the address isn’t being abused by someone else !
These proxies are hard to find though as it involves the proxy company having direct control or registrations of the IP address which can be harder to obtain. There are a few methods including obtaining direct full time leases of addresses or setting up individual internet accounts. However these are time consuming and expensive to manage which can be reflected in the price of the proxy.
ISP Proxies
These are essentially the same as the above category in that they supply static IP addresses. ISP Proxies are essentially the gold standard in proxies as they use residential IP addresses registered with ISPS and telecommunication companies. It means that they have exclusive access to these IP addresses and can even host them wherever they like. Most of these proxies are hosted in datacenters so that they have access to a secure, fast infrastructure.
If you want the best currently that’s definitely ISP Proxies.
Uses of Residential Proxies
So what’s sort of tasks do people use residential proxies, especially static ones? Well there’s a host of tasks and fortunately the cost of residential IPs and proxies has fallen over the last few years.
Here’s some of the areas that proxies are commonly essential tools for –
Data Aggregation ?
A data aggregation is a process in which raw data from different sources are combined and summarized. Data aggregations can be used for many purposes, such as to spot trends or other patterns that may not be evident in individual data sets. Data aggregations are also used to create datasets that can then be analyzed using statistical software like SPSS or SAS, for example.
Digital Advertising
The use of a residential proxy is also used in digital advertising when advertisers want to target certain areas or types of people with their ads. The advertiser will set the proxy to use an IP address for a specific type and location to target specific audiences.
Market Price Monitoring
Market price monitoring is the process of observing and analyzing prices in a given market. Traditionally, this was done manually by collecting data from all sources and then checking them against each other for discrepancies. In the age of big data, this process has been greatly simplified. In fact, many companies now rely on automation to do most of the work for them by using proxies to ensure the sources are not blocked.
Social media management
Social media management is the act of utilizing different social media platforms to get a specific message across. The use of residential proxies has become essential for this type of work, due to the increased censorship on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Web scraping
Web scraping is a method of data extraction from web pages. It can be used to extract data such as location, contact info and reviews for companies or products. Web scraping typically involves using computer software to create an automated program that extracts information from a website.
Web scraping is a common way for companies and individuals collect data on competitors, as it provides access to their websites’ content without the need to purchase or license it. Normally volume is important here if you’re making lots of repeated requests, many use datacenter bulk proxies for these sorts of tasks.
Web scraping is a form of protection for websites against spam and automated requests, as the web scraper’s computer software must perform a task that a human could also do.
Which Proxy Company to Use ?
I’ve spent about ten years trying all sorts of proxy services for all sorts of tasks. Increasingly any sort of money making activity online requires some sort of proxy to operate effectively. However the difficulty is choosing the right company and service to use.
All too often if you choose the wrong proxy service it can actually hinder your efforts rather than help them. Certainly if you’re looking after valuable resources like social media accounts then definitely use the best quality proxies you can afford.
Many people make the mistake of going for volume however it’s not always the best tactic. A cheap static residential proxy is not always the best solution if that IP address is blacklisted !
Bright Data (Formerly Luminati)
They’re definitely not the cheapest proxy service out there, however as far as quality, infrastructure and size of network there’s no-one else to compare. If you’re using proxies for any sort of corporate activity with a reasonable budget then they’re definitely the best choice. You won’t cause any problems by using this company which is something you can’t always say about many proxy companies.
Payment and Budgeting
Although as often mentioned they’re not the cheapest company around – they’re not that expensive too. In fact if you use the proxy dashboard properly and the various features of switching IPs then they can actually work out rather good value.
There’s a variety of payment options including some free trials available too. Don’t be afraid to discuss your requirements with your account manager. They are more than happy to assist in all sorts of scenarios where proxies are required. They’ll also help tailor a solution to fit your budget.
Proxy Locations
Don’t neglect these as they’re often crucial even when you don’t expect it. Accessing accounts from random, obscure locations across the world is not a great idea. Finding a cheap source of Russian IP addresses might seem useful but they’ll be risky to use with North American and European accounts. For many sites like watching UK TV they just want work at all.
If you’re trying to look and act as a standard user then make sure your IP address mimics that behaviour. Find proxy companies that can support your location requirements and don’t be fobbed off with obscure locations. Proxy companies who push these do so because they’re cheap!
So when using an e-commerce server in Britain, your ideal is a UK Static residential proxy (or ISP Proxy). It’s often vital to buy static residential proxy services in the country you’re doing business in.
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