About Rotating Proxies

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On the Internet, a proxy server (also called a “forward proxy”) acts as a go-between for computer users requesting data from other servers. Proxies have three levels of anonymity: elite, anonymous, and transparent. An anonymous proxy conceals the sender’s IP address and omits any other identifying information from the web request. Rotating proxies switch IP addresses periodically to avoid rate bans.

Without rotating IPs, the proxy would send just the one unchanging IP address to a remote server. And remote servers can detect and block a proxied IP address that they think is staying on the site too long, making too many data requests. For effective anonymity, you’d need the proxied IP to change periodically – tedious and time-consuming if you have to do it manually. But you don’t. That’s where rotating IP addresses come in.

While concealing your actual IP address, a rotating proxy changes the “go-between” IP address frequently. It draws from a sizeable number of IPs to reduce possible detection, timeouts, rate limits, and bans.

That’s why you may want to use a rotating proxy service, especially if you’re planning a high-traffic research project and want to carry it out quickly and efficiently. For example, you may need web data to:

  • Generate sales leads
  • Keep track of the market
  • Develop employment data
  • Gauge sentiment on social media

Projects on that scale – best done with web scraping or crawling – can be great candidates for a rotating proxy service. But a rotating proxy may also fit quite different needs:

  • Getting access to information censored by dictatorships
  • Bypassing geographical restrictions on entertainment sites
  • Sidestepping corporate restrictions on surfing by employees
  • Avoiding timeouts and rate limits

Features to look for

Those are just some of the possible use cases. If one or more of them are yours, you’ll want to give thought to how a rotating proxy service can best support them. Consider the following features:

  • Reliable, high-level proxy anonymity
  • Security of data and customer information
  • Number and type of proxy servers
  • IP addresses available per server
  • Connections per IP address
  • Geographic location of IP addresses
  • Frequency of rotation (swapouts) of IP sets
  • Method of IP assignment
  • Authentication method
  • Bandwidth provisions
  • Availability of custom headers to control IP addresses
  • User interface, messaging, and help

Published by Proxy Server Staff