Debunking Top 5 Myths About Proxies

OCTOBER 25, 2023 • PRIVACY & ANONYMITY • EXPERT OPINION

Proxies are often misunderstood. For most Internet users, proxies are associated with some advanced technologies that can only be meaningfully used if you have extensive computer knowledge. The truth is these essential tools serve various purposes, from safeguarding privacy to helping access geo-restricted content, and nowadays, providers like Smartproxy offer rather simple proxy integration.

This article aims to dispel the top five myths surrounding our invisible security shields, also known as proxies. Do they really cost a fortune, are hard to integrate, and put you on the radar when accessing various websites? Let’s find out.

One of the most common myths about proxies is that they throttle your Internet connection speed. However, this simply isn’t true for all proxies. While some proxies can introduce latency due to additional traffic routing, the latest proxy technologies, especially high-quality ones originating from dedicated servers, such as datacenter proxies, are designed to minimize this impact.

Premium proxies can even improve your connection speed by caching frequently accessed content and optimizing data transfers. The potential speed slowdown largely depends on the proxy type, quality, and the distance between the proxy server and your location. So, rather than being a single true blanket statement, in fact the impact of proxies on connection speed varies, and with the right proxy provider, you can even improve your Internet connection speed.

Setting up proxies might sound complex, but it doesn't necessarily require extensive technical expertise. While there are some nuances in advanced proxy integrations, the initial setup is rather simple. Providers like Smartproxy offer intuitive user dashboards, comprehensive step-by-step guides, and 24/7 technical support, guiding you through the whole proxying journey. Additionally, proxy integration in Octo Browser is simple and intuitive, so you only need to choose the proxy type that suits your needs.

Another common myth is that proxy detection systems employed by platforms and websites can easily identify when a user connects through proxies. These tools passively fingerprint the TCP/IP stack on the server side. Different operating systems and different versions of the same operating system set different default values for these parameters, so it’s possible to tell from the incoming data packets whether you are using a VPN or a proxy, as well as your OS, connection type, number of nodes traversed, system uptime, and other information.

Another possible trigger for website security systems may be the IP address getting into spam databases and blacklists. After that, the use of such an IP on certain sites becomes virtually impossible, or is significantly limited by constant solving of CAPTCHAs, pictures with distorted texts, or small tasks on the site that check that you are not a robot.

However, the reality is much more nuanced than that. While proxy recognition technologies do exist and protect sites from bots armed with various IP address masking techniques, the effectiveness of proxy detection depends on various factors, such as the complexity of proxy server settings, the techniques used to obscure its presence, and the vigilance of network administrators. Speaking of which, we have prepared an article How can I check if my proxy is secure? that will help you check the trustworthiness of a proxy yourself.

Mobile proxies have an advantage over other types of proxies in this respect, and they allow you to automate social media activity for product or account promotion, or to parse data on a large scale without facing IP-based blocks or CAPTCHAs. This is thanks to the very nature of mobile proxy technologies.

Mobile devices constantly change their IP addresses as they connect to the Internet through cellular provider base stations. Thousands of smartphones share a limited number of IPv4 addresses. When a proxy server uses mobile devices as anonymous proxies for web services, they look to them like regular cell phones connected to the network. With mobile proxies, you get a pool of addresses that automatically change within a set time range. Since the same IP address can be alternately assigned to hundreds of different mobile devices, even when atypical activity characteristic of anonymous proxies is detected, sites do not block the IP address, because a lot of random users might get banned as well. Therefore, mobile individual proxies are less likely to be blocked.

This myth drastically underestimates the versatility and power proxies hold. From accessing geo-locked content and adding an additional layer of security to collecting publicly available data, completing SEO tasks, and running market intelligence research, proxies offer unparalleled possibilities, and the list could go on and on still.

In conjunction with multi-accounting antidetect browsers, proxies open the way to full-fledged multi-accounting. Fingerprint spoofing technologies in Octo Browser provide complete anonymity for your real device data. Each separate virtual profile created in Octo looks to identification systems like a regular user with their unique device. Best of all, the number of separate virtual profiles you can create is limited only by your resources — so your ability to scale up your income in affiliate marketing, e-commerce, betting, and web scraping becomes virtually limitless.

The perception that proxies come with a hefty price tag is another common myth. In reality, the cost of proxies can vary significantly based on several factors. This myth originated when some providers began offering free proxies. However, these proxies are often unreliable and may put your security and data at risk, as those providers might be selling your browser history and cookies to third parties. While there are premium proxy providers that can, in fact, cost you a fortune, there are providers on the market that offer a range of proxy types for more than a reasonable price.

The price depends on the type and kind of proxy. Residential proxies may have a higher cost compared to datacenter and mobile proxies. This is because these IP addresses for proxying are provided by local ISPs from a particular city, region, and country. Since the IP addresses of these proxies are tied to real physical devices, using them makes mimicking regular Internet users connected to their home Internet much easier. Such IP addresses usually have even higher Trust scores, which means more opportunities for multi-accounting.

When considering the cost of a particular proxy, you also need to take into account what the proxy provider offers you together with the subscription. For example, Smartproxy offers residential proxies with a massive IP address pool, free advanced targeting options, 24/7 technical support, and a range of free tools.