Types of proxy servers by protocol

On Astro, a trusted proxy website, anyone can buy the best residential, mobile and datacenter proxies or try IPs for free. We offer geo targeted proxies as well as static, rotating, individual, anonymous, public, transparent and other types. 

In our previous article we described what types of proxies there are by access restriction. You can find public, open, shared, private, individual and personal types. The best datacenter, residential and mobile proxies are always individual and paid, and found on a trusted proxy website. Such a reliable provider is responsible for the quality of services. We also found out that free proxies are suitable only for one-time and basic needs, while paid proxies are great for serious anonymous work. It’s only smart to buy residential IPs or datacenter and mobile IPs from a website with the best reviews. Besides, good providers always offer a free trial, so you can try their proxies and rent them then.

Today we will talk about the types of proxy servers by the protocol parameter.

Classification of proxy servers by protocol

There are four types of Internet protocols (CGI, HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS), and two versions of protocol (IPV4/IPV6). Let’s look at them in more detail.

CGI

CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface and is a web proxy that looks like a regular webpage. The main difference between CGI proxies and other types is that they do not have an open port. You don’t have to set them up. They work like a web application loaded in a browser from a remote server.

Using a CGI proxy is similar to the search process in search engines, except you need to go to a site with a web proxy, enter the URL of the desired website and click Go. This will activate an anonymous connection, but it will only work within the open tab.

CGI proxies are also called anonymizers. No configuration needed, so they are very convenient for web surfing.

HTTP

HTTP proxy (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the most common type. When you buy residential and mobile proxies with HTTP, they allow you to work on the Internet using the http protocol. They support data caching and come in different levels of anonymity:

1. transparent,

2. distorting,

3. anonymous.

Proxy servers of this type are the best for full-fledged viewing and working with data on websites. They are more convenient than CGI.

If you enable an HTTP proxy in the operating system settings, then you can use it for connections through all browsers on your computer. Deactivation is as simple as a few mouse clicks.

SHTTP

This type of proxy server supports SSL encryption (Secure Sockets Layer) and this quality differs it from an HTTP proxy. Due to this, when using it, you can view secure sites whose addresses begin with ‘https’.

SOCKS4, SOCKS5

SOCKS proxies (Socket Secure, an Internet protocol that exchanges network packets between a client and a server through a proxy server) are used when proxy server settings are necessary for individual applications. With it, you can run through proxy programs with Internet access, which initially did not have such an opportunity. This type of proxy supports additional data transfer protocols and can process any traffic.

SOCKS5 differs from SOCKS4. The former one has a more modern network addressing (IPV6 instead of IPV4). It also supports the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) network protocol and can be used in strong authentication schemes.

Which protocol is suitable for what?

1. CGI proxies are good for connecting through a different IP address in order to visit a specific website,
2. HTTP proxies suit for simplified web surfing,
3. HTTPS proxies are for visiting sites with a secure connection,
4. SOCKS5 are great for serious work with large content. They are chosen by marketers, SEO-specialists, and programmers to do parsing. Such protocols are used to bypass blocking in the social networks like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and on foreign sites, access to which is restricted for certain countries. They provide the desired anonymity level: with a SOCKS5 proxy on a PC, it’s hard to figure out the user’s real IP address.

Astro: three benefits

Our trusted proxy website offers the best datacenter, residential and mobile proxies which you can buy or try for free. You have private, anonymous, dynamic, geo targeted proxies at your disposal. They are provided in the standard form IP:PORT; SOCKS and HTTP(S) protocols supported.

Our advantages:

• We provide proxies of a new generation; we use a completely new approach to form proxy networks,
• Legal network, clean and live IP addresses to help you avoid blocking,
• Easy to use: all proxies in one dashboard, flexible configuration for any software and tasks.