EN
RU
CNIntroduction
Proxies can be categorized into various groups based on certain factors. One of the most common classification is based on where the IPs originate. They include residential, data centers, and mobile proxies. However, residential proxies often stand out for its high reliability and cost because they are linked to actual physical locations.
Therefore, this guide will examine how residential proxies work, what they are used for, choosing the best residential proxy, and other frequently asked questions.
What are Residential Proxies?
A proxy acts as an intermediary between your device and the internet. Therefore, a residential proxy channels your network through unique IP addresses that are assigned by the Internet Service providers. Subsequently, these proxies imitate real user connections, which is necessary for optimized privacy and security.
Using residential proxies protect your digital identity by masking your real IP address. As a result, they are ideal for accessing blocked content or geo-restricted content. The residential IP address is a special numerical label assigned to a device connected to the internet through a home-based Internet Service Provider. In other words, these type of IPs are associated to actual residential addresses.
How Do Residential Proxies Work?
When you are connected to a residential proxy, it acts as a middleman between your device and the internet. In simpler terms, when you send a request to a website, the traffic goes through the residential IP. Subsequently, the website perceives the request as coming from that particular residential IP instead of your actual IP address. Since this process masks your actual IP address, it provides a form of anonymity and security. You could be in Germany, but using a residential IP based in Singapore makes it seem like you are browsing from the latter location.
Residential proxies stand out from other proxy types because they are highly reliable. Therefore, they are often in high demand, which makes them more expensive to acquire. Here are some basic concepts regarding residential proxies:
IP rotation
Residential proxies often come with an essential feature described as IP rotation. This is necessary to maintain anonymity and security, especially when performing automated tasks. IP rotation can either be manual or automated- it works by switching between various residential IP addresses. Therefore, this rotation is crucial in bypassing website blocks and avoiding IP blocks.
Since it works by emulating the IP address assigned to residential users, it ensures that protective measures available on modern websites are not triggered. Therefore, residential proxies do not only provide privacy but also significantly reduce the risk of IP ban. Subsequently, the constant rotation of the residential IPs makes them more effective in ensuring unrestricted access while maintaining optimal security and anonymity.
Why Use Residential Proxies
Residential proxies hide your true identity but also provides a robust defense mechanism which ensures you enjoy a secure online experience.
Here are some benefits of using residential proxies:
Residential proxies an additional layer of security
Residential proxies provide an additional layer of security as you access the internet. The website you are visiting cannot generate a browser fingerprint to identify and track your activities. Likewise, malicious third parties cannot access sensitive data on your device because your IP address and location are masked.
Residential proxies optimize privacy
Privacy has become a concern for individuals as well as businesses. Therefore, using residential proxies is a proactive approach to ensuring privacy as you use the internet. Since these proxies can hide your actual IP address, they keep you anonymous, as you do not leave your digital footprints that could be used to track you.
Accessing geo-restricted content
Another crucial benefit of using residential proxies is accessing geo-restricted content. Some content is inaccessible to certain users in specific locations. Since your network traffic is routed through a residential IP in another location, you can access this restricted content. Therefore, using residential proxies ensures you are not limited by your physical location.
Web scraping
Web scraping is another concept that is quickly becoming mainstream as data is the new gold. However, many modern websites have advanced techniques to detect scraping activities and block your IP. Subsequently, rotating residential proxies serve as the ideal tools for scraping large volume of data without triggering the anti-bot measures.
Types of residential proxies
Choosing the right proxy type involves defining your purpose and understanding the available choices. Therefore, this section will explore the different types of residential proxies. They include:
Rotating residential proxies
Rotating residential proxies works by randomly changing the IP address after a specific period. Therefore, they are more challenging to detect, which makes them some of the safest proxies in the market. Consequently, they can be quite expensive since they provide high-level security and privacy.
Mobile residential proxies
Mobile residential proxies rely on mobile IPs. They offer a high level of speed, anonymity, and privacy. However, the limitation of using mobile residential proxies is that they are easily blocked.
Dedicated residential proxies
If high-level security and privacy are a major concern, then you may choose dedicated residential proxies. In other words, you don’t share IP addresses with others. Since they offer higher levels of speed and reliability, they are usually a more expensive option.
Shared residential proxies
Shared residential proxies are some of the less expensive proxies. Like the name suggests, a group of people will need to share residential IPs from a particular proxy pool. Therefore, you may want to consider them if you are looking for a cost-effective option. In addition, they offer a decent amount of speed which makes it suitable for browsing and streaming. However, they are often less secure and reliable which increases the risk of IP ban.
Choosing the Best Residential Proxy Provider- NetNut
Choosing the best proxy provider can be challenging with all the options in the market. However, you need to choose a reputable and reliable proxy provider like NetNut.
NetNut offers some of the fastest unlimited residential proxies in the market. We also boast of optimized anonymity with over 85 Million residential IPs in 200 countries. In addition, NetNut proxies stand out because it combines ISP and P2P options for an optimized experience.
Here are some of the benefits of using NetNut unlimited residential proxies:
- Unlimited concurrency for infinite scalability
- Excellent proxy management with the best plans for the growth of your business
- Easily bypass CAPTCHA and anti-bot measures to minimize IP blocks
- Uncompromised speed and stability that you need for large-scale data extraction activities
- Uninterrupted data access
- Eliminate geo-restrictions for unlimited access to any websites
Conclusion
This article has covered residential proxies, how they work, and their significance to businesses and individuals. These proxies can unblock websites, bypass geographical restrictions, and optimize ecommerce activities like web scraping, ad verification, and more.
Although they are expensive, they are highly reliable and secure since they are associated with actual residences. You can explore options like shared, dedicated, mobile, or rotating IPs, depending on your use case.
Feel free to contact us to speak with an expert that will guide you on making a decision regarding the best proxy type. Finally, register today to get a free 7 days trial on any plan that best suits you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to use residential proxies?
Since proxies are gaining increasing popularity, it is only natural to consider their legal status. However, there is no straightforward answer to the legal issue of proxies. Regardless, you should not be suing residential proxies for illegal activities like collecting copyrighted data. We recommend seeking the advice of a legal expert on the laws of your country or state regarding the specific reason why you need a proxy, especially when it pertains to web scraping.
In addition, it is crucial to obtain residential IPs from a provider that ethically sources their resources. You can check out a recent article on “Is Web Scraping Ethical?” to get more details on the topic.
What are some factors to consider when choosing the best residential proxy provider?
There are several proxy providers in the market, so choosing the right one can be a challenge. Here are some factors to consider before choosing the best residential IP provider:
- Purpose: Before choosing the best residential proxy provider, consider the use case, as this helps you streamline your choices
- Budget: Since residential proxies are expensive, it becomes crucial to compare the prices of different providers before settling on the best one for your use case.
- Speed: You need to consider providers that provide residential IPs that have optimized speed and reduced latency.
- Compatibility: The proxy provider should have plans for successful integration with automation tools.
- Coverage: The residential IPs should cover a wide range of locations across the world including those relevant to your needs.
- Support and resources: Choose a proxy provider that offers excellent customer support as well as resources that guide on how to use the proxies
What are the applications of residential proxies?
Here are some applications of residential proxies:
- SEO monitoring: Residential proxies can be used to scrape Google search engine results to analyze ranking and competitor performance.
- Ad verification: These proxies can be used to cover more locations so that businesses can verify that ads are visible to the target audience.
- Managing multiple accounts: To maintain anonymity, privacy, and security while managing multiple accounts, you need to leverage residential proxies.
- Price monitoring: This is the process of collecting, sorting, analyzing, and making inferences from competitors’ prices. Residential proxies provides access to real-time data updates so you can stay ahead of the competition.
- Review monitoring: Residential proxies can be leveraged by businesses to find out what the customers are saying about product and services.
