What characteristics distinguish fast proxy servers and how to define them

Proxy server is a modern and most convenient solution for many issues. With the help of a proxy connection it is possible:

• to replace your own IP address with a virtual one;
• to hide your personal information;
• to protect confidential information;
• to bypass most of the site blockages.

The only difficulty will be to choose the right proxy, which in addition to these functions and features will be easy to work with: will allow you to receive and send data at high speed, wait for a minimum of time when responding to the server.

What is a proxy and how it works

Why a proxy server on a computer is needed, its main task is clear: bypassing locks, ip spoofing, data protection. However, what he is and what he is. As the most convenient example of proxy can be designated as some bridges between the user, the proxy itself and the final destination in the network. With a normal connection, the user sends and receives data directly to and from the target node, the site. In case of using proxy all data as an intermediate station will arrive on a proxy and only then will be sent to the addressee depending on the purpose – to the user or to a site on which the user wants to get and on which will work.

It is necessary to note, to include a proxy in a browser on the computer for the separate program it is possible – all depends on desire of the user and the purposes which it pursues.

Quotation: There are proxies adapted not only for Windows, but also for android. Therefore, it is possible to use a proxy on your computer, as well as on your phone, tablet.

Therefore, before you start installing or configuring a proxy, you should decide what it is for and what programs you want to use it for.

Proxy connection features

Let’s consider the simplest example, when a proxy is necessary for surfing the network through a browser and to ensure the security of the user or to bypass the blocking of sites by ip. In this case, it is easier and more logical to start a proxy server through a browser. In this case, the installation will take a minimum of time to set up. If you use Google Chrome, Mozilla, Yandex, you will need to install special extensions, similar to download master, utorrent magnet or adblock. Installation will only take a few seconds, after which the extension will be ready for use.

Quote: To ensure correct operation of proxy extensions for browsers, it is worth restarting the browser completely after installing the extensions.

The advantage of extensions is that the user does not have to change the network connection settings himself. Using proxies in Firefox, Chrome, and Yandex means controlling the extension with just one click to enable or disable the proxy function. This is very convenient because it allows you to quickly switch to a standard connection, change it to a proxy connection.

Regardless of version and browser type, extensions are simple and convenient. In rare cases, they offer additional functionality (for example, the choice of ip certain region) or a large expansion of functionality for an additional fee.

Extensions can be deleted via the control panel and can be done in the same way – in one click. It is not necessary to establish some identical expansions in one browser – they can disturb each other or work incorrectly. And, besides, such a solution can significantly slow down the computer.

It’s easy to change a proxy in a browser – you can install another one after deleting one extension. This way, you can find the best version that will suit your needs.

Quote: Tor and opera browsers offer built-in proxy, although it is also possible to install extensions.

Now it’s time to deal with the selection problem and the criteria for evaluating the quality of proxy servers.

How to choose the right proxy

The quality of the connection should be assessed first. To do this, you need to visit any site that offers to check the current IP address and speed of Internet connection. We’re running a test and writing down the results. We are interested in inbound and outbound speed, ping, ip address value.

Then it is necessary to start the program through a proxy. In our case, it’s a browser. After making sure that the proxy is running, we visit the check site again and run the test.

Quote: To ensure that the speed measurement of the normal and proxy connection is correct, you need to run the test on the same site.

We are writing down the result again. Next we try several proxy servers, each time fixing the result. The more tests are performed on different servers, the better. This will allow you to find the fastest proxy server out of a wide range of options. A minimum of 5-6 servers will be sufficient. Once we’ve completed the test, we start comparing the results.

First of all, all tested proxy servers must replace the actual ip address. If this does not happen, the proxy does not work correctly and should not be used.

If you start using proxy settings, you should pay attention to ping. This value determines how quickly the server receives a request from a user’s computer and how quickly it responds to it. In the case of high value work with the site will be uncomfortable. The optimum ping value is difficult to determine, as it depends on the initial value of the standard connection. And it may vary from provider to provider, from district to district and from region to region. For example, 50ms is an acceptable value, but for online games will be too high – it requires a value of 30-40, or better – even less.

If the proxy ping increases and its value exceeds 100, you should refuse this server and look for another one.

It is also worth changing the proxy in the browser when the incoming and outgoing speeds are much lower than with a standard connection. A slowdown in speed when connecting a proxy is unavoidable, but it should not be critical. It is difficult to give an example with an exact figure, because for a user with a standard connection speed of 2 Mbit/s and a user with a value of 100 Mbit/s, 1 Mbit/s connection will be critical in the first case, in the second case it will be inconspicuous, because in the first case the loss will be 50% of the speed, and in the second – only 1%. However, if the user plans to download a large amount of information from the network or download it, using a proxy, it is worth paying attention and choosing a proxy that can give an acceptable speed.

If you have a question whether you can use another proxy and how often you can do it, it is easy to answer: it is not only possible to change the proxy, but also necessary. It is worth checking the quality of the connection on a regular basis, and in case it gets worse, you should find a new server. In addition, testing of new servers can produce unexpected results – a new proxy server that is accidentally detected may offer a better connection quality than the one used by the user. Proxies are legal programs, and using them is quite common and normal.