What is a proxy? Proxies can be useful, especially when you are running a business, gameplay, or any transaction online. But you have to know where and how to use them correctly.
This article will guide you step by step on how proxies work and give you tips on how to use them to your advantage.
What is a Proxy?
You may have already been warned about the threats that lurk when you browse online. When you search the net or visit websites, you expose your IP address to these sites.
What is wrong with that? If the site is reputable, then it’s okay. But you never know when you’re visiting a website created to scam people or hack your system. When these harmful sites get hold of your IP address, they can trace your location and other details.
This is where proxies or a proxy IP address can be useful. It becomes the middle person between the internet and your device. It has a separate and unique IP address that blocks the websites you visit from knowing your actual IP address.
This term is commonly confused with a proxy server, but they are different. You will use a proxy to communicate with sites using a different IP address indirectly. A proxy server is a device used to manage and store an extensive collection of proxy IPs.
Now that you know what is a proxy, let’s move on to learning more about its advantages.
How Can You Benefit from Using a Proxy?
Proxies offer many benefits for users, which include the following:
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Continue accessing websites despite IP bans
You can never tell when someone using the same IP address as you gets the IP banned from a website you frequently visit for certain offenses. In this case, you can still access the site by using a proxy IP address.
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More security
Proxies will give you stronger security when using a device through public Wi-Fi. You will reduce your risk of hacking since those trying to access your device will get redirected to an IP address from a different location.
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Better online shopping experience
There are many ways you can enjoy online shopping by using proxies but always practice caution. You wouldn’t want to purchase items you don’t need just because you got excited that you can access the sites without exposing your location.
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Faster connection
You will experience faster connections to sites since you can connect to servers worldwide. This will make transactions and entertainment, such as gaming, more fun since you will have no interruptions with your connection.
For example, if you live in Asia but want to connect to a game hosted on a US server, you will connect through a proxy server in the US to get a faster connection.
5 Tips on How to Benefit from Using Proxies
You can benefit from using proxies as an individual surfer. But you will gain more from the experience if you use them for your business.
Here are some tips on how they can benefit your business:
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Using proxies can help prevent data breaches
Many businesses have many private and sensitive data stored on their servers. If they allow their people to use the web without using proxies, they are getting their companies at risk of experiencing data breaches.
Proxies can help protect your data as the work resumes as usual. This setup is particularly helpful for market research firms, insurance companies, and banks.
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It facilitates remote work
This feature will be helpful if you are running a business with people doing remote work from different parts of the globe. There are times when some of your employees from specific locations can’t access websites due to restrictions. In this can, you can ask them to use a proxy IP address so they can do their tasks smoothly and access websites without any trouble.
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Create several social media accounts
This can come in handy if your business has many branches and you want to keep up with the employees through social media sites. The problem is each account can only accept a limited number of friends. You can expand your contacts by creating multiple accounts by using a proxy.
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You can place restrictions on company devices
You can boost your team’s productivity by restricting their access to certain sites during work hours. You can do this by using proxy servers to block inappropriate and unsecured networks or websites.
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Web scraping
Web scraping is the process of using a bot to automatically collect data used for effective market research. As long as you’re using a dependable data scraper, you’ll be able to collect extensive data in minutes presented in a CSV or Excel file.
These scrapers are prone to being banned since many websites see them as malware. You can then provide the scrapers with an alternate IP address to continue accessing sites despite the ban.
Conclusion
There are more benefits of using proxies than the ones on this list. They can provide endless entertainment, learning, and more chances for businesses to expand and grow. However, always ensure that you use the right proxies and properly implement their usage.