Definitive Residential Proxy Server Selection Tips for Data Mining

The Internet is very similar to the nature of our universe. Internet doesn’t seem to have borders, and it keeps expanding its boundaries just like the space. We still do not know if we are alone in this universe or not, yet we are aware that on the Internet, there is everyone. Happy ducklings videos, random name generators, car dealerships, good-intentioned people, bad-intentioned people. So, just like in real life, you need to distinguish between good and evil. Residential Proxy servers are great services to help you to surf freely and safely on the Internet, with anonymity. Proxy servers have warning systems, a list of malware websites that notification users are accessing these websites.

Furthermore, Proxy server services are also important for businesses. For instance, if you are working in a market data analysis firm, you can not survive the jungle of the web without the help of a proper Proxy server. For the market analysis, it is necessary to scan thousands of web pages and analyze the contents on these websites. These experts often use web scraping or web data extraction tools to conduct their job to automate the steps. However, accessing all those thousands of websites without a Proxy server seems impossible due to the geo-specific restrictions of service providers or bot-like actions detecting security systems of websites. Besides that, even though market analyzers dodge geo-restrictions and IP bannings, it is not safe to surf thousands of websites with your real IP address. In this article, we will talk mostly about Proxy servers and why Proxy servers are important services when it comes to mining the web with web scraping tools.

What Is A Proxy Server- And How Does It Work?

The job of a Proxy server is to stand between you, your online devices, and the Internet and convey any interaction between the two. So, as it stands still in the middle, like a security guard, proxy servers are often used to stop cyber attacks trying to access a private network by keep sending requests. Think about Brooklyn Bridge, how it connects New York City and the city of Brooklyn, and how it enables the daily interactions between the two. So, similar to a real bridge-like Brooklyn Bridge, a Proxy server is basically a “gate” between daily users of the Internet and the websites they visit.

When a digital device connects to the web, it does it with an IP address. It is like when you are entering a country for a holiday and show your visa at the entrance. IP address works like your identity card. Your online device’s unique IP address contains all the necessary information to distinguish it from other online devices. When you send a request to a web page via a residential Proxy server, your IP address reveals some information related to your online devices, including your city, the ZIP code of your location, your ISP, and the name of your ISP.

‍

How Does Proxy Server Use For Data Mining And Why Does It Necessary?

As we also mentioned in this article, when you are surfing on the Internet, a unique number is assigned to your online digital device, which is your unique IP address. And your IP address should look something like this; 254.249.197.101. An IP address is the identity card of the Internet, and it basically provides host/network identification and location addressing services. So if you are in a location you do not know, you can use your IP address as a map to find out where you are at.

Using a Proxy server enables you to convey your request from your online device to the web pages with the unique IP address of the Proxy server. Hence, when you are using a Proxy server as an “intermediary”, you also use its identity card, IP address. So that the websites would not be able to see your real IP address, thanks to this, you are able to mine data throughout the web with anonymity, lower chance of getting banned, and more safety.

‍

The Reasons Why It Is Necessary To Use A Proxy Server While Data Mining?

A Proxy server is a crucial detail for to mine data from websites, and these are the main reasons:

Avoid Rate Limits

Admins of web pages generally take the security of their websites seriously. To take care of their server’s stability, they frequently use rate limits so as to check the incoming and outgoing traffic of their website. Moreover, most websites with a valid security measurement have software designated to detect any suspicious bot-like actions, such as sending multiple requests from the same IP address. Multiple requests coming from the same IP address in a very short period of time generally means that there is an automated bot-like action.

Admins of these websites are aware of this fact and prefer to use rate-limiting software so as to reduce the unnecessary rush on their websites, which harms the condition of their server. When the number of the request exceeds the normal rate, the security software of websites steps in and ban the IP address to avoid any future request for some time. This is an annoying situation to face if you are mining the web with web scraping tools, as it limits web scraping tools range of scanning thousands of web pages daily.

To avoid these restrictions, to free your web scraping tools, you need more multiple IP addresses to send those multiple requests, and this is possible with a residential Proxy server. So, the target website will encounter multiple requests from various IP addresses, which is quite usual. There is nothing to worry about. And, as all these servers will send a number of requests within the limits of security software, they do not trigger any scraping-bot detector. Therefore, you will be using web scraping tools to mine data from thousands of websites freely and safely. They will not know that you are coming.

The Anonymity That Is Coming With Your Hidden IP Address

Proxy services are mostly used to hide your online digital device’s IP address. Therefore, you don’t have to reveal your IP address which reveals some information about you, including the city you are living, and the exact ZIP code of your location. This information could be dangerous when they are in the hands of ill-wishers people. However, when you use a Proxy server as an “intermediary”, the websites only see the IP address of the residential Proxy server, as your real IP address is hidden. And due to the similarity of the assigned IP address and your device’s original IP address, the website will not realize what your real IP address actually is.

Moreover, since your device’s IP address is hidden, you are provided with anonymity, which enables you to access the websites that are geographically banned in your location. Geographic Internet restrictions are also serious obstacles for web scraping tools as these restrictions stop web scraping tools from reaching these contents and extracting data out of them. For instance, if you want to watch American content on Netflix from Belgium, the content probably has geographic limitations due to the regulations and policies of Netflix. Yet, with a Proxy server, you can use pull an IP address from the USA and freely send requests from that American IP to the American content on Netflix. Besides that, now you are able to scrape these geo-IP restricted websites freely.

Can Residential Proxy Servers Be Detected?

Generally, residential Proxy servers are hard to be detected as their online footprint is very small for web pages’ security systems to realize. Besides that, residential Proxy services use their residential IP addresses, and this also makes things difficult for websites’ security software.

Nevertheless, some websites take their security more seriously and use IPQS’ Proxy Directions services which applies more than one test so as to determine whether the origin of the coming request is from an IP address related to a Proxy server, botnet, or does it just belong to the daily Internet user.

‍

Does Proxy Server Increase The Speed Of Your Internet?

Yes, it is possible. Proxy servers are sometimes used to have an increased speed of the Internet and to save bandwidth by accessing websites and documents which had already been accessed by various users, and the data is already on the desk of the Proxy server. So, descendent users are able to reach without using the bandwidth of their Internet.

Your internet speed might also increase via a Proxy server as they often compress traffic and have ad-block systems. So, you do not have to spend some of your bandwidth on loading unnecessary ads on websites, which speeds up your Internet.

Are Proxy Servers Illegal To Use?

No, it is not. It is legal to use Proxy server services. Proxy servers have various different functions, such as during these pandemic days. The proxy server enables people to work remotely, securing online users from the malicious contents of the Internet, and accessing online services from outside of the country, etc.