Online privacy has become increasingly important in the age of digital marketing. Many people use the internet with concerns about identity theft, spam advertisements, and other threats. In this case, using anonymous proxies is an optimized solution.
How Do Anonymous Proxies Work?
An anonymous proxy acts as an intermediary that hides your real IP address when you perform activities on the internet. For example, when you use a proxy to access and log in to your Facebook account, Facebook does not see your real IP address but sees the proxy’s fake IP. The proxy server receives your Facebook request and hides your real IP. The proxy server then forwards your request to Facebook. After Facebook sends the data in response to your request, the proxy server receives it and forwards the access data to you. This helps to anonymize, protect you from being detected and tracked when you are online.
Common protocols used with anonymous proxies include HTTPS and SOCKS5. Anonymous proxies are divided into 3 levels, including:
Elite Proxies (Level 1)
This is the most private and secure type of proxy. When you use Elite proxies, the proxy server will hide your real IP, not identify itself as a proxy, and appear as a normal user on the target server.
Anonymous Proxies (Level 2)
The proxy server will hide your real IP, identify itself as a proxy when accessing the target website. The target website’s server knows you are using a proxy and does not know your real IP.
Distorting Proxies (Level 3)
When you use distorting proxies, the proxy server hides your real IP and sends a fake IP to the target website’s server. The target website’s server knows you are using a proxy and only knows the fake IP sent instead of your real IP.
> You may be interested in Rotating proxy – How to ensure Anomynity online
Anonymous Proxies vs VPNs: What’s the Difference?
To stay anonymous online, two popular tools are proxies and virtual private networks (VPNs). So what is the basic difference between proxies and VPNs? Let’s learn about them in this section to understand and choose the right anonymity tool for your online activities.
As mentioned above, proxies act as intermediaries between your device and the internet. Proxy servers hide your real IP address and real location. Meanwhile, VPNs not only hide your real IP address but also encrypt your entire internet traffic. VPNs allow you to protect all the data transmitted between your device and the internet. VPNs help secure all the applications and services you use on your device. Proxies only secure the browser you use on your device. In terms of security, VPNs provide a more secure and comprehensive layer of security. However, because VPNs encrypt all data transmissions, they are slower than proxies.
Proxies are often more popular because they are cheaper than VPNs. However, many proxies are too cheap and are shared with many users. These proxies can be blocked or flagged for suspicious activities by many other users. Therefore, when using a proxy, you should choose a reputable provider with a reasonable price. With moderate anonymity and fast speeds, proxies are suitable for simple activities such as accessing geo-restricted content, data collection, web browsing, etc. VPNs, with complete anonymity and slower speeds, are ideal for activities that require a very high level of security, such as accessing sensitive data. Both proxies and VPNs provide anonymity, but each offers different levels of anonymity, speed, and cost. Whether you choose to use proxies or VPNs depends on your needs and the nature of your online activities.
> You may be interested in Private Proxy – Boost Your Online Security and Anonymity
Top Cases to Use Proxies
Proxies are very popular in online activities in many different fields. This section discusses the cases where users often use proxies as an ideal tool.
Managing multiple social media accounts
For marketers or users who want to create and manage multiple social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., using proxies is a smart choice. Proxies allow logging into multiple social media accounts with different IP addresses. This helps you bypass the rules and policies on social media platforms’ accounts. For example, if you login more than 10 Facebook accounts with the same IP address, your Facebook accounts will be disabled. Using proxies to login multiple accounts will be safer and more effective.
>> You may be interested in Proxy Services for Safe Social Media Automation on TikTok, Instagram & More
Collecting and Mining Data from Websites
For marketing campaigns that require extensive market research, researchers often use proxies to collect large amounts of data. Proxies allow researchers to overcome geographical restrictions, easily access websites in any location, and collect data.
SEO Optimization
In competitor analysis and SEO optimization, experts often use proxies to test different SEO strategies. Keywords in different regions are often tested with proxies in each separate region. At the same time, with proxies, experts can also track and analyze competitors in different geographical areas without being detected.
>> You may be interested in Residential Proxies – Key To Boost Your SEO Strategy
Join Online Games
To improve ping times, many gamers use proxies whose servers are located near the game servers. For example, if you are in Europe but play a game with a game server located in Asia, using proxies from Asian countries (such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.) can help you reduce latency and play the game more smoothly. Furthermore, with competitive e-sports, opponents can attack you with DDoS to quickly win. Using proxies in these games helps protect you from this dangerous attack.
Tricks to Effectively Use Proxies and Avoid Risks
Using proxies in online activities has many benefits but also has potential risks. Below are tips that you should apply to avoid risks and use proxies effectively.
Avoid free proxy services
Free proxies may seem attractive and beneficial but in fact, they have many potential risks. Free proxies are used by many people with different complex activities and are often blacklisted by websites and platforms. Most of your online activities and account quality will be reduced or disabled if you use free proxies.
Regularly monitor proxy status
When using proxies, you should regularly monitor the status, speed, and latency of proxies. Regularly monitoring proxies helps you quickly grasp the situation if an error occurs. After that, you can contact the proxies provider to request improvements or find a suitable solution.
Choosing a reputable proxy seller
This is extremely important when using proxies. A reputable proxy provider provides proxies at prices that match the quality. Proxy parameters such as speed, country (region), and geographic location should be carefully considered before purchasing. A reputable proxy provider like Proxygeo.com helps ensure the quality of proxies and supports you when you need it. Contact Proxygeo.com today to buy proxy and level up your anonymity.
> You may be interested in Best Proxy Server – Top Proxy Providers
