Proxy Lists: What Are They and How Do They Work?

This blog post covers all the basics you need to know about proxy lists and discusses some of their most popular types. Let’s dig right in!

What is a proxy list?

A proxy list is a list of different IP addresses received from proxy servers that can vary in type (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5, SSL, etc.) and are used to access the internet.  Usually, a proxy list contains information such as port, speed and response in ms (milliseconds), uptime, latency, and more.

How do proxy lists work?

A proxy list is created by gathering potential proxy IP addresses and running them through multiple tests and filters. The selected IP addresses are then used for different scraping purposes. 

What are proxy lists used for? 

Proxies come in handy when you need to access blocked websites, bypass geo-restrictions, and protect your identity. By allowing for proxy rotation, proxies improve your anonymity and ensure your scraping activities can be performed uninterruptedly. 

How can I use a proxy list?

There are various sites offering both free and paid proxy lists. Choose your preferred provider, select a proxy server that fits your specific needs (for instance, if you’d like to access content from the US, choose a US proxy), and move forward with your scraping tasks. 

Most popular proxy lists

Free proxy list

As the name suggests, a free proxy list is a list of IP addresses that users can access and use without charge. These lists are easy to obtain and can offer various proxy types depending on their speed, performance, and proxy specifications. However, as with anything free, these proxy lists can come with their drawbacks, so it’s important to carefully weigh all the benefits and risks before using them.

How can I get a free proxy list?

Many websites offer proxy lists free of charge. Simply surf through the search results using the proxy server list keyword and choose the provider that fits your needs best. 

Is free proxy list safe?

While free proxy lists may work fine for one-time small-scale scraping tasks, it’s not recommended to use them on a continual basis. This is because free proxies often come with various performance issues, not to mention the providers that can invade your privacy and spy on your activities to gather sensitive data. 

Proxy server list

A proxy server list offers IP addresses obtained for the same proxy server. The overall performance, effectiveness, and speed of such proxies will depend on that specific proxy server’s quality. 

Public/open proxy list

A public or an open proxy list can be used by anyone who wants to access the server itself and utilize its proxies. These lists typically contain all the necessary proxy information, such as country of origin, type of proxy, request times, etc., which means that users can easily choose which proxy fits their needs best. However, similar to free proxies, it’s better not to rely on public proxies for complex projects as they usually come with a number of performance issues.

Fresh/virgin proxy list

This type of proxy list contains IP addresses that have not been used before. Most users prefer to use fresh proxies as, due to the fact that their IPs are untouched, there’s almost no risk of running into blocks and anti-bot systems implemented by the websites.

Country or city-specific proxy list

Country or city-specific proxies are used to access geo-specific content. For instance, companies that need to gather pricing data from Germany-based e-commerce marketplaces, should use high-quality German IPs to make sure they can collect this information hassle-free.

The Oxylabs team maintains one of the largest proxy pools in the market with 102M+ IPs in 195 countries and territories with continent, country, city, and coordinate-level targeting opportunities.