The internet has become increasingly more convenient over the last decade. From social media to GPS and food delivery, various services and websites are moving online. Our lives are almost unimaginable without it. Unfortunately, this progress has happened at the expense of privacy and security.
The only way to counterbalance this is by hiding our tracks and concealing our IP addresses. Some tasks, such as web scraping, are not possible without hiding your identity. This article offers a solution for ensuring your anonymity and security by using rotating proxies.
What are Rotating Proxies?
The concept of rotating proxies might sound complicated, but it’s quite simple once you know what an IP address and proxies are. In ordinary circumstances, your Internet Service Provider (ISP, for short) assigns a unique combination of numbers and letters to your network devices.
This identification method is essential for transferring data over the internet, as it ensures that every participant knows where to send the needed data. Unfortunately, it is also used by websites and other dishonest actors to identify and track internet users.
That’s where proxies come in. They are intermediary servers that can mediate your requests. As a result, your original IP address is concealed, and the website’s server can only see the proxy connecting.
Proxy servers allow you to bypass geo-restrictions, as the proxy server can connect from a different location. It also ensures security, as you are never connecting to the website directly.
A common problem with proxies is that the web server can detect you are using one. After a while, it might still track your activities or block your access. That’s why rotation is crucial.
Rotation typically means that IP addresses are changed on set periods or for specified tasks. Best proxy providers allow users to choose when the IP address rotates. It’s best to decide on rotation parameters depending on your proxy type.
Rotating vs Static Proxies
As you might guess, static (or sticky) proxies are the ones that are not rotating. Sometimes, they are mistaken for dedicated proxies. However, this type is opposed to shared proxies as it means that only one user has access to the proxy at a given time.
While static proxies can be accessed by multiple users, it means the IP address is not rotating for the given user. They are more beneficial when you need more uptime and a stable IP address for a task,
However, in most cases, rotating proxies remain similarly performing and more secure than static ones. Their use cases depend on the type you choose.
Types of Rotating Proxies
Mobile Proxies
All proxy types can rotate, but the conditions of rotation and possible usage limitations are important. Mobile proxies, for example, are by design dynamic and automatically rotate the IP addresses.
Mobile devices are constantly on the move and look for the most efficient connection. Each time a mobile device, a smartphone, for example, connects to a cellular tower, the provider assigns him a new mobile IP address. Many providers change the IP address automatically without the device reconnecting.
That’s why all mobile proxies are rotating by definition. You can keep the same IP address for a short while, but it will change eventually. It’s also why mobile proxies are the most efficient while rotating – they are created for it.
Rotating Datacenter Proxies
Datacenter proxies are also very often rotating. They are set up in high-performance data centers, and one server can house thousands of IP addresses. In practice, this means datacenter IP addresses can differ only in a couple of digits or letters. It makes them similar, and websites can learn to recognize them.
It isn’t hard for more resourceful servers to detect and mass ban datacenter IP addresses or track their connections. For this reason, they are often sold in large quantities. A user forms his own personal pool of datacenter IPs and then rotates them to avoid detection from the server.
In some cases, datacenter proxies can also be used as static ones, for example, when you need to download a large data packet quickly. Then, you risk exposing yourself to the server, so rotating datacenter proxies are used more frequently for tasks like web scraping.
Due to being housed in servers, datacenter proxies are especially fast, so rotation does not limit their performance very much. The same can’t be said about rotating residential proxies. These proxies have their IPs tied to physical devices and locations verified by the ISPs.
Rotating residential proxies
Residential proxies are slower but more reliable than datacenter ones. Websites will perceive you as an ordinary internet user, while you use residential proxies. That’s because every residential IP address is uniquely tied to a physical device and its ISP verified location.
Rotation isn’t so common for residential proxies, as they are quite costly, and you might lose some performance. While purchasing a pool of datacenter proxies is cheap since the IPs are created in bulk, every residential proxy requires access to a different physical device.
Rotating residential IPs also creates a loss of performance. These proxies are not run on high-speed internet connections and servers, so switching between them is less efficient. Still, there are instances where it’s useful to rotate residential proxies.
Suppose you want to download multiple files simultaneously from a website with high-security standards. A rotating residential proxy is the best choice, as a datacenter proxy might get blocked or receive a lot of CAPTCHA requests.
A rotating residential proxy is the only option that will acquire access anonymously and will allow you to download the files one after another with rotation. This action won’t be cheap, and it might take a bit longer than with datacenter.
Conclusion
It should be clear by now what rotating proxies are and how different types can help your online activities. With the choice of a good provider and a suitable rotating proxy type for your needs, the lack of anonymity and security risks are minimal.
