A proxy server acts as an intermediary between you and the internet. When you’re using a proxy server, your web request runs through the proxy server (which conceals your real IP address) first and only then connects to the website. In other words, the proxy server forwards your request to web pages. This is the main thing to know about a proxy server definition.
When a proxy is involved, instead of communication taking place between your computer and the server, the computer’s request to obtain a file or web page occurs through the proxy server before being sent to the requesting computer. This process effectively boosts your online privacy, as the target server can only see the proxy server as the visitor instead of your device.
Make the most of these market-leading proxies to address your business needs and stay ahead of the competitors. Choose the best proxy type based on your specific use case.
Large-scale scraping with real IP addresses
From travel fare aggregation to price monitoring
Web Unblocker
NEW!AI-powered proxy solution to bypass advanced anti-bot systems.
Best for: real estate scraping, travel fare aggregation
Residential Proxies
Scraping on a large scale without IP blocks
Best for: review monitoring, ad verification, travel fare aggregation
Mobile Proxies
IP addresses from real mobile devices for seamless scraping
Best for: ad verification, review monitoring
Rotating Internet Service Provider Proxies
Rotating Internet Service Provider Proxies for smooth data gathering
Best for: brand protection, pricing intelligence
Top-performing solutions at an affordable price
From market research to brand protection
Shared Datacenter Proxies
Cost-effective solution with a rich functionality
Best for: price monitoring, market research, website change monitoring
Dedicated Datacenter Proxies
Exceptional performance and high speed
Best for: brand protection, cybersecurity, market research
SOCKS5 Proxies
Perfect for traffic-intensive scraping via UDP connection
Best for: video streaming, live calls, traffic-intensive scraping
Static Residential Proxies
Combined power of Datacenter and Residential IPs
Best for: managing social media, e-commerce shopping
Semi-dedicated proxy is an upgrade in comparison to a shared proxy. Even though it is still shared, it is done so only by a few users, which offers considerably better performance.
Reverse proxies direct client requests to a particular backend server. It commonly sits behind a firewall in a private network. When it comes to reverse proxies, we should also mention forward proxies.
A private proxy is a type of proxy that is used only by one user, and this type of proxy, also known as a dedicated proxy, provides a user with completely private IP authentication and anonymity.
An HTTP proxy is used for multiple purposes. These proxies can serve as an HTTP client and HTTP server for security. Acting as a tunnel, the HTTP proxy routes HTTP requests from a web browser to the internet.
A sneaker proxy is a proxy that is optimized to work efficiently for sneaker copping – a process during which resellers try to buy limited edition sneakers, hoping to later resell them at a higher price.
Semi-dedicated proxy is an upgrade in comparison to a shared proxy. Even though it is still shared, it is done so only by a few users, which offers considerably better performance.
For more information about different proxy types, check out our colleague Vytautas Kirjazovas explaining them in this video. You'll learn more about datacenter and residential proxies and how they vary based on the privacy level they provide.
A good proxy enhances the overall network performance and speed.
Proxy servers allow you to browse the internet more privately.
Proxy servers offer additional security by encrypting your requests.
With proxies, you can access geo-specific content worldwide.
Octo Browser
Manage browser profiles and control fingerprints with the Octo browser.
ParseHub
Step-by-step guide to integrating proxies with ParseHub data extraction tool.
WebHarvy
Learn more about integrating WebHarvy web scraper with Oxylabs’ proxies.
Puppeteer
Learn the Puppeteer integration process with Oxylabs Residential Proxies.
AdsPower
Find out how to integrate Oxylabs proxies with AdsPower.
See more integrations
Proxies provide a handful of web privacy features, which make it difficult for any third parties to keep tabs on your online life. This includes the ability to hide or change your real IP address. But if you’d like to go a step further in achieving enhanced online anonymity, you’ll need to choose a proxy that utilizes end-to-end encryption while processing your web traffic.
Virtual private networks and web proxies both work in a similar manner as they both mask your IP address, enhancing privacy. However, proxies and VPNs fulfill different roles.
Proxy
Proxies are generally better whenever large amounts of data need to be transferred or retrieved and analyzed. Proxy servers are significantly cheaper per GB of data than VPNs and, at the same time, provide better connection speeds.
VPN
Virtual private networks are generally better suited for all-around use and privacy purposes. Since all outgoing data (instead of the web traffic from just a single application) is encrypted, users can be more assured that they are not leaking any unnecessary data to the destination server.
Free proxies tend to operate through unsecured connections. It means that any sensitive data, such as usernames and passwords, may be endangered.
Proxies store users’ IP addresses and web request data. Depending on the proxy provider and terms and conditions, this data can even be sold.
Most free proxies run on open ports, increasing the security risks. Before starting to use a proxy, make sure it doesn’t operate on open ports.
Free proxies are prone to traffic overload. Servers rarely have the required capacity to be used by thousands of proxy users at the same time. It leads to slow speeds.
All of our products are covered by Technology Errors & Omissions (Technology E&O) and Cyber Insurance.
While ad fraud is on the rise, ad verification companies seek to detect it before it can cause harm. Proxies enable ad bots to test ads without IP blocks and bans.
Scraping travel fare data sets high standards: it has to be real-time, worldwide, and in large amounts. These demands can only be met with an extensive proxy network.
Companies need to use price monitoring solutions to keep up with the ever-changing markets. To enhance their effect, they should be complemented with proxies.
To stay on top of the extremely competitive market, real estate agencies must collect and analyze tons of online data. Without proxy servers, it’s barely doable.
Tracking customer reviews and responding to them in a timely manner is important for a company’s performance. Proxies can significantly boost this process.
Whenever you need to identify threats, enhance security, test applications or perform website monitoring in different locations, proxies are a must to do so without IP blocks.
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