How to choose a proxy server correctly

Choosing the right proxy is an important task that should be handled responsibly. Unfortunately, most users have little idea of what a proxy is and what a proxy is.

What is a proxy server

Modern actual proxy servers can be called specialized remote computers, which can be accessed by anyone. A computer working as a proxy is an analogue of a strip or layer between the client and the site where the client is going to work, whether it is downloading data or vice versa.

The functionality of the proxy server includes

• an opportunity for the client to get complete anonymity in the network;
• the ability to speed up your current connection;
• regain access to sites where the user has been blocked or to sites that the user cannot access because of his or her ip address;
• the ability to create and use additional accounts on social networks or resources that do not allow you to have 2 accounts with the same ip address;
• uses a proxy to bypass the locks. And also for parsing in programs;
• You can bypass the blocking of multiple online gaming accounts or even launch multiple accounts at the same time;
• One of the main features of the modern proxy is protection against virus attacks, theft of confidential and personal data by cybercriminals.

One of the peculiarities of using a proxy server is that the target site sees a spoofed IP address of the visitor assigned to it by the proxy server being used. In fact, for maximum security, you can use multiple proxy servers by connecting to them in series, in a chain.

Existing proxies are divided into the following categories:

• private proxy servers, most often cgi, used for corporate networks;
• so-called Socks, which provide a high level of encryption;
• The most common, convenient for surfing through the http proxy browser;
• proxy for local ftp networks.

More proxy can be divided into free and paid. Free often offer a minimum set of functions and features, paid offer a high quality connection, speed, ping, the ability to choose a particular country’s proxy, choose a variant for their own purpose.

Which option to give preference to

The main advantage, which give paid servers, is stability. Disconnecting the proxy server, which is popular and for the use of which the payment is charged, happens very rarely. The user has to spend his money, but in exchange for them he gets a quality connection, stability, a lot of additional features.

Free proxies lose in this respect – they can be disconnected at any time, the set of features and capabilities is scarce, the speed will be even slightly worse than if you connect directly, without any proxies. But even this option has its advantages – you do not have to pay anything, and in the case of a critical decline in quality you can move to another server.

Quote: Proxy servers can be changed whenever and as many times as you like. It has no negative consequences.

There are proxy servers with login and password. Such a variety often offers some extended options and is often available only to a limited number of people, for example, users of a single forum, or frequent visitors to a certain resource. In this case, we can talk about a slightly higher quality of the server, because not everyone can connect to it.

There are also the cheapest variants – proxy server for a browser in the form of an extension. In that case, you don’t have to pay anything. Such a solution will be very convenient for inexperienced users – switching the server on and off in just one click.

There are proxies for chrome, opera, yandex browsers. Again, free and paid versions or trial versions are available – allowing you to use your functionality for several days free of charge, and then at a charge or limiting your functionality, which can be opened for an additional fee. Additional features include improved connection quality, the ability to select or even assign a virtual IP address, etc.

What to look for when selecting proxy

When planning to install a proxy, you should measure your current Internet connection. Interesting to measure are the inbound and outbound speeds, the ping value and the ip address.

Then, in turn, you can connect the selected proxy servers and test them on the site for speed measurement.

Access to the site through a proxy, speed and ping will be different from the test results of a normal connection. Choosing a proxy server, it is worth to reject those variants that will show a significant drop in values compared to the standard connection. Having selected several servers, it is worth to make a comparison between them and thereby determine the best one.

Quote: All proxy server tests for connection quality should be performed on the same site. Do not use multiple proxies at the same time, or even install them in the operating system.

Importance of the obtained values when testing proxy servers

It doesn’t matter which proxy was chosen – proxy server for Yandex, chrome, manual connection setting or installation of a specialized program. If the inbound and outbound speeds are low, it means that you will have to spend a lot more time downloading data from the site or uploading data to it, than in the case of a normal connection. If you plan to work with large data volumes, you should select the proxies according to their speed.

In case it is necessary to get access to Asian resources or nodes, to which access is characterized by high ping, to choose a proxy should be guided by it. The same Asian servers for users from Russia and the CIS countries are inconvenient, because when working with them there is a high ping – a long time of server response to user actions. Therefore, it is worthwhile to install a proxy server at home only one that has the lowest possible ping value.

Finally, the ability to select an ip address from several possible ones and the service of booking them will allow you to access any site at any time, which does not allow the user to use the default ip value.

This is what you should be guided by when choosing a proxy server.

It is worth mentioning the fact that it is necessary to periodically check the used proxy server, to compare it with other, especially fresh ones. This way you can monitor the deterioration of the connection quality in time and replace it with a more convenient one.

Such advice is relevant for both proxy extensions and ordinary proxy servers and programs.