Ensuring your online security doesn’t have to be either expensive or complicated. Though many think of expansive IT infrastructures, costly equipment, and cutting-edge technologies when talking about online security – those aren’t essentials unless you’re in a highly specialized field.
Most individuals and small to medium-sized businesses only need a couple of simple tools to ensure their security – the most important one being a proxy.
Proxy servers come in all shapes and sizes, from shared and dedicated to forward and reverse proxies. However, it’s residential proxies you’ll need to consider when upgrading your security.
Read this blog post to learn about residential proxy servers and determine whether they’re the right solution for your needs.
What are residential proxies, and how do they work?
Regardless of the type of proxy we’re talking about, they all work similarly. In a nutshell, they form a bridge between your computer and the rest of the internet, routing all your traffic through their servers.
If you didn’t use a proxy, your computer (or other internet-connected devices) would need to connect directly to the websites on the internet. When you make this connection, you gain access to the information on the website. Simultaneously, the website gains access to your device’s information, including its IP address, operating system, and other device specifications.
If you did use a proxy, the website couldn’t gain this information.
While routing your traffic through its servers, proxies hide your identifying device information and give their own information to the websites. This information could sometimes be completely artificial, such as an IP address not connected to any device or internet service provider (ISP). Other times, you might use an IP address related to a specific household, as is the case when using a residential proxy.
These proxies don’t route your traffic through remote servers or data centers. They route your traffic through real, genuine devices with authentic IP addresses that belong to real-world ISPs. To put it plainly, they route your traffic through residential networks just like the one you have in your home.
How residential proxies affect your online security
Proxies of any kind improve your online security, but residential proxies take things a step further.
As mentioned, during your regular browsing sessions, it’s not only you collecting information from the websites. It also works the other way around.
The reasons for collecting data from your device and the types of data points collected may vary. Most commonly, sites will collect your data for marketing purposes – understanding your browsing habits and personalizing product recommendations to your needs. However, some sites (or third parties that have access to these sites) can collect data for more notorious reasons – hacking, planning cyberattacks, and more.
Whatever the case is, if you want to keep your data private and protect yourself from cyberattacks, a residential proxy can help.
With a proxy, sites cannot access any type of information from your device, nor can they track you across the internet. Since hackers cannot gain insight into your identifying information, you’ll be safe and sound as you browse the web.
While a proxy isn’t always a cybersecurity necessity for individuals, it’s a godsend for SMBs. After all, SMBs are the main target in over 43% of all data breaches, so upping the ante on security is critical.
The benefits of using residential proxies
Whether for business or personal purposes, residential proxies can offer various benefits. The main ones are as follows.
Improve privacy
Proxies give you almost complete anonymity as you browse the internet. Since your online activity is routed through remote residential networks, no site or third party will gain insights into your identifying information. Whether you’re using P2P platforms or monitoring business competitors, no one can tell that the online traffic comes from you.
Gain access to geo-blocked content
Many sites and platforms will have geo-restrictions, presenting users from different regions with different types of content. If you want to unlock access to content that’s not available in your region, all you have to do is choose a residential proxy located in the country or zip code you prefer to access the information you need.
Improve your connection
Residential proxy servers often have unlimited bandwidth and excellent speed, making them an ideal choice when time is of the essence. Unlike VPNs that frequently introduce unnecessary lags, proxies can improve your connection and make browsing much faster.
Collect data
The most significant benefit of residential proxies is that they make collecting public web data using web scrapers quick and easy. Many sites will quickly recognize and block bot activity, but your traffic will seem genuine and authentic when you’re using residential proxies. You’ll encounter fewer blocks, anti-bot technologies, and restrictions.
Conclusion
Residential proxies are an essential part of every great online security system. They protect your privacy, up the ante on your security, bypass geo-restrictions, and simplify your data collection processes, among many other things.
They’re as useful to individuals as they are to businesses. The key is finding a reliable proxy that will keep you and your information protected at all times.
