What You Should Know About Private Residential Proxies?

What You Should Know About Private Residential Proxies
What You Should Know About Private Residential Proxies

To explain private residential proxies, we first need to understand what a proxy server is. 

Usually, proxy servers provided for private use by companies, like PrivateProxy, are the transition point between your computer or local network and a larger network (like the Internet itself). We can use a proxy server for different purposes, such as increasing security and productivity on the one hand and monitoring your online activities on the other. And then we will talk about the specifics of private residential proxies that you need to know in order to use them effectively.

How are resident proxies different from the proxies we are used?

As you already know, proxy servers are coordinated by data centers. These proxy servers do not relate to specific ISPs. Therefore, sites and resources cannot identify the service provider used by the client by its IP address. Proxy data centers are more accessible and widespread than resident proxies because they make it easier to hide the IP address.

A resident proxy server is an IP address that, in turn, is provided to homeowners by the Internet Service Provider. Specifically, this address is assigned to a device (smartphone, laptop, PC, tablet, etc.) that acts like a proxy server and uses the services of a commercial ISP. The resident IP address is bound to that device and reflects its physical location. If the user changes location, he gets a new resident IP address.

The principle of operation is as simple as possible. Your primary IP address appears to be “hidden” behind a resident IP address. It is the latter that will appear on the website you visit. Resident IP addresses appear to websites as real, so they don’t see the point in blocking them. In addition, resident IP providers don’t keep logs of IP addresses, which means they don’t provide them to third parties.

Resident proxies are not designed to provide complete anonymity, so they have a “cleaner” reputation than the data center proxies often used by hackers. Private residential proxies are ideal for the following tasks:

  • Web parsing of large websites;
  • Email monitoring to prevent phishing attempts;
  • Accessing content with geographical restrictions;
  • Ad validation;
  • Social media management;
  • Marketing research.

Types of resident proxy server networks

There are different types of resident proxy servers. First, reverse-connect proxies allow you to work on a network under another person’s IP address. Your Internet Service Provider may provide you with this capability by acting as a gateway between you and private resident proxy servers in your country or abroad.

Moreover, you can buy your own proxies from your ISP, and they will connect you to safe and secure addresses. One of the major advantages of resident proxy servers with reverse connection is the ability to change IP addresses every 5 to 10 minutes.

Unlike free proxies, which are neither reliable nor fast, private residential proxies will make networking more enjoyable. With private residential proxies, you get several high-speed private resident proxies and the ability to connect to a new one if the current address gets blocked.

Who uses resident proxies?

Many users choose private residential proxies when they need to hide their IP addresses from the sites they visit. These servers are good for parsing and scraping (collecting) information from these sites with the help of bots. In particular, they are useful for tracking ads, collecting data on prices of goods and services, and social networking.

Because resident IPs are assigned to user devices, they look like normal users, do not make websites suspicious, and are not blocked. However, search engines set limits on the number of requests from specific IP addresses, which should not be exceeded. Otherwise, your address may be blocked.

Also, ISPs provide before mentioned reverse-connection proxies that allow you to hide IP addresses behind multiple addresses at once. Each subsequent connection you make will be through a new server. The proxies will change at short intervals (5-10 minutes), so the resources you visit simply will not have time to identify you.

What are the advantages of resident proxies?

The main advantage of the residential IP is high anonymity. But why is it considered high? As we mentioned earlier, they are provided to you by your ISP. This makes them seem real, and so no website will block a resident IP. However, if you work, proxy servers are not only used for anonymity on the Internet, but also for data collection. This is common practice for many companies, and resident proxies are chosen precisely because they look real and have almost no chance of being blocked if the proxies are of good quality.

Disadvantages of using proxies

From this, we can deduce the following disadvantage of such proxy servers. Despite the advantages mentioned above, the proxy has a rather significant disadvantage. Indeed, being your intermediary on the Internet, everything you do online goes through it. The owner of the server, if he has malicious intent, can access and store all the information you enter using it.

There are many resident networks today, and it is not easy to choose a bona fide provider. So we advise you to be careful and choose a reliable proxy, from PrivateProxy. Or limit your use of the proxy server to activities that do not affect your sensitive personal information.

In addition, the proxy may take a little longer to respond than the usual Internet connection, especially if it is very busy. In addition, it may be impossible to connect to some sites if you are hiding behind a proxy.

If you are blocked from the site of interest, you will have to fix the problem caused by your real IP. The best way to hide your real address is to use a network of resident proxy servers that allows you to connect to the site of interest through a server located elsewhere.

You can also use reverse-connecting resident proxies or dedicated resident proxies, depending on your actual needs. So obviously, resident proxies allow you to use the Internet safely, completely legally, securely, easily, and efficiently.

Jennifer Thomas
Jennifer Thomas is the Co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer at Cybers Guards. Prior to that, She was responsible for leading its Cyber Security Practice and Cyber Security Operations Center, which provided managed security services.