Sep 19

・2 min read

What is Proxy ?

We hear the words "proxy" during the automation process, web scraping job etc

Before we can talk about what a proxy is, we need to know what an IP address is and how it works.

An IP address is a numerical address that is allocated to each device that connects to an Internet Protocol network, such as the internet, and gives each device a distinct identity. The majority of IP addresses look something like this:

192.168.2.xx

A proxy server is a third-party server that allows you to route your request through their servers while also using their IP address. When you use a proxy, the website you're requesting no longer sees your IP address, but rather the proxy's, allowing you to scrape the web anonymously if you want to.

However, there are 3 main types of IPs to choose from. Each type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Datacenter IPs
The most prevalent sort of proxy IP is a datacenter IP. They're the IP addresses of servers in data centers. These IPs are the most frequent and the least expensive to purchase. You may construct a very comprehensive web crawling solution for your organization with the correct proxy management solution.

Residential IPs
A residential proxy network is made up of real residential IP addresses that are leased or purchased for commercial use straight from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In every country and city around the world, the Residential Network is made up of actual real household Wi-Fi-based IPs. These IPs allow your data collecting requests to be recognized and treated as requests from real-world addresses, making them more effective.

Mobile IPs
A Mobile proxy network consists of real 3G/4G connections assigned to individuals by their mobile carrier. Mobile proxies are the IPs of real-user devices, making them undetectable when used correctly.

Best Proxy

For Web Scraping / Data Collection jobs for websites like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, BestBuy, Homedepot, canadiantire.ca and other sneakers websites like Stockx, Footlocker etc, you might need clean proxies with less fraud score. The fraud score should be between 0-25, its it goes above the antibot firewalls like Akamai, PerimeterX, Incapsula will block the scrapers and throws captchas. So try to go with good proxy services like Bright Proxy (Free Trial)

Not only for the data collection or scraping jobs. But also you can use the proxy for the automation jobs like bidding applications(example opensea automation), Product Carting, Stock Checking, etc.

Advantages of Proxy

• Less chance of Blocking
• Unblocking or Bypassing Captchas
• Anonymity

Actually by using these proxies which have less fraud score can help you to resolve answers for multiple questions in stack overflow like below.

• Why amazon blocking me ?
• Am getting 403 in Walmart ?
• Stockx unable to get product details ?
• How to unblock captcha in scraping?
• Web scraping blocked ?