What’s A Proxy Server?

A proxy server is a gateway between the user and the internet. This is an intermediary server that separates end users from the websites they browse. It’s completely legal to use a proxy server. Proxy servers have various functionality and they provide security and privacy for individuals as well as companies.

Here are what proxy servers do

• Proxy servers enable remote work
• Protect the internet user and the network from malicious content
• Organizations and parents set up proxy servers to control and monitor how their employees or kids use the internet.
• Individuals and organizations alike use proxy servers to browse the internet more privately.
• Proxy servers allow users to circumvent content restrictions imposed by companies or governments.
• Help set up a support system for users who are located outside a specific network
• Stream online content from outside a country

The two most common types of proxies are:

1. Residential proxy – an IP address provided by an ISP to a homeowner. It is a real IP address attached to a physical location, thus allowing users to imitate organic browsing behavior when web scraping. 
2. Datacenter proxy – not affiliated with an ISP, and it only imitates a real internet connection. They come from a secondary corporation and provide you with completely private IP authentication and anonymity.

Here Are 5 Proxy Servers and Their Features

Smartproxy

Smartproxy is a rapidly growing proxy solution for scraping high-value websites. It is a rotating residential proxy network which enables users to gather any data from the web using a pool of over 40 million proxies. Smartproxy has disrupted the proxy industry due to its professional 24/7 customer service people and product performance, gaining customer trust. 

There are several reasons why Smartproxy is so good at what it does: 

• Millions of residential proxies in any country and major city around the globe. 
• Name any tool you use – they have a guide for it. 
• In case you run into trouble, you only need to get into their GitHub to get everything you need. 
• For pro proxy users: the best API. 
• A vast residential IP address network for data access. 
• Highly advanced 24/7 live customer service. 
• Offers unlimited concurrent connections. 
• Free IP rotation, Chrome extension and proxy generator.

Oxylabs

Oxylabs have partners from all over the world, who help them to equip their clients with the best proxies. They have a proxy pool with over 100 million residential IP proxies.

Benefits Of Using Oxylabs

• With Oxylabs residential proxy dashboard, you’ll be able to see detailed proxy usage statistics, create sub-users, whitelist your IPs, and manage your account. You’ll also be able to contact support via live chat, or your dedicated Account Manager quickly and conveniently.
• Their data collection tool has a 100% success rate and does all of the heavy-duty data extraction from e-commerce websites and search engines for you.
• Perfect for collecting data from complex targets, it will help you achieve scraping free of CAPTCHAs or blocks. 
• Oxylabs provide 24/7 live support.

Companies Use Oxylabs Proxy Service for:

• Market research
• Brand protection
• Travel fare aggregation
• Ad verification
• Sales intelligence
• SEO monitoring
• Product page intelligence
• Email protection

NetNut

Unlike other providers who use peer to peer (P2P) networks, the NetNut service depends on the unique position and location of DiViNetworks’ existing data delivery and network management solutions. 

NetNut’s Residential IP Features Include:

• Direct ISP connectivity provides 24/7 IP availability. 
• NetNut provides one-hop ISP connectivity with no dependency on an end user, making it fastest in the market.
• NetNut helps you gather any data.
• NetNut rotates proxies per each browser session by default and can be seamlessly integrated into any browser.
• Fully optimized private proxy pools based on your target to ensure highest success rates at the maximum speed.
• Along with the dashboard access, all usage statistics are available in near real-time for retrieval via a simple API.
• NetNut’s architecture is unique in its ability to provide residential proxies with one hop connectivity. 
• All traffic is routed exclusively through the NetNut network; no third-party computers are utilized. 
• As all the servers are located on major internet routes or at ISP network connectivity points that are completely controlled by NetNut.
• Provide you support from a dedicated account manager. 

Storm Proxies

Rotating reverse proxies and residential IPs proxies are something very unique on the market. This feature is offered only by Storm Proxies. The dedicated proxies they offer are hosted on a server network owned by them. Storm Proxies own all of their inventory, which gives them the opportunity to sell them for much lower prices.

Reasons to Choose Storm Proxies:

• Rotating proxies automatically change IP on each HTTP request, or every 3 or 15 minutes, making it ideal for tasks that require huge amounts of different IPs such as scraping sites, traffic bots, bulk accounts registration, SEO tools, tickets and sneaker sites.
• They offer premium private dedicated proxy, optimized for tasks that require high-speed fixed IP addresses.
• Storm Proxies’ 1GB network is optimized for high performance and fast multi-threaded tools.
• They give you instant access after payment so you don’t need to wait for account activation or proxies’ setup.
• You get unlimited bandwidth.
• No hidden costs, no limits on bandwidth.

Luminati

The Luminati business proxy network is the most powerful way to browse anonymously from anywhere in the world. They have a residential proxy network of 72M IPs worldwide and proxy management interface for zero coding.

Benefits Of Using Luminati

• Luminati has the most advanced data center network offering multiple IP types across the world in a shared or dedicated pool.
• It is the first static residential IPs network that offer real-IPs directly from an ISP and owned by the user for their personal use.
• Offers 72+ million real-peer IPs in every location across the globe.
• 3G/4G connections assigned from a mobile carrier to a real-user with carrier and ASN targeting.
• Their Data Collector provides you with automated data intelligence whenever and wherever you need it.
• They also offer data unblocker, in case you get blocked.
• Luminati’s easy-to-use chrome extension allows you to target a specific geo-location and edit your proxy settings with ease.

By Gary Bernstein