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Are you concerned about your online privacy and security and want to enjoy the benefits of the internet without being tracked by hackers and other third parties? If yes, then surfing anonymously by keeping your IP address or any other private information undisclosed will surely help. For doing so, the best thing would be to use a proxy server.
It is used by many organizations along with sole internet users as well because privacy and data security are of extreme importance for everyone. Nowadays internet users want to keep their personal information secure and protected from various cyber threats and dodge any threats or undesirable attacks. With the help of a proxy server, any user or organization will leave no trace on the web because these servers allow people to keep their personal information anonymous and make the internet a secure place.
What Exactly is Proxy?
Proxies are considered to be a gateway between users and the internet. So, when a user visits a website on the internet using a proxy, all of the associated details get saved on the server, instead of saving on your computer. This provides high anonymity to the users while surfing the web. A lot of individual users and businesses use proxies because of the following reasons:
- It optimizes the overall web surfing experience and increases the speed of requests and data transfer between browser and website.
- Encrypts all of the data and information to keep them secure while ensuring improved privacy.
- Helps businesses in obtaining a better competitive analysis and information regarding data on products, pricing, services, marketing trends, etc.
- Offers high-end security on email and helps avoid suspicious links or malicious content.
- Helps to protect a brand reputation and maintains uniqueness by scanning the web for analyzing fake websites that use the brand’s name and also checks for plagiarism.
Are you wondering how competition data can be captured with the help of proxies? Well, the answer is simple. If someone tries to process a huge amount of information from a website, it automatically recognizes them as suspicious and also blocks that particular IP instantly. So, using a good proxy server that changes IPs over time by a proxy rotator is recommended. Following are the main types of proxies that are widely used:
- Residential proxies: These proxies are tied to a physical location and uses a genuine IP address that imitates the user’s behavior.
- Datacenter proxies: They give IP addresses to users from surfing the internet. Therefore, they come with better anonymity and faster response to all the data requests.
- Shared proxies: IP addresses given by these proxies are used by various users at the same instance. They are extremely affordable and also work well but come with certain restrictions.
- Semi-dedicated proxies: Just like shared proxies, semi-dedicated proxies also allow multiple users to use a single IP, but the total number of users is restricted. Surfing highly-secured websites such as Instagram with these proxies may end up blocking the account as they may consider your activities as suspicious.
- Dedicated proxies: They offer a dedicated IP address that will not be used by other users. Dedicated proxies offer the highest level of security and are majorly used by organizations.
10 Top Proxy Servers in 2021
1. Smartproxy
Smartproxy is one of the most popular and widely-used proxies that come with affordable pricing plans as compared to several of its competitors. You can either opt to have a data center or residential proxy that also works on mobile devices. They have a big database of nearly 40 million IP addresses that rotates for keeping more anonymity.
Smartproxy is very efficient in avoiding blocks or cloaking, advertisement verifications, blocking others from competitor research, eliminating affiliate tests, and tons of other benefits. Moreover, this proxy also allows users to manage social media handles without the fear of getting blocked by the server. Users are allowed to select from the large number of IP addresses listed on the dashboard. As a result, users can select an IP address considering various factors such as type of session, location, etc. Following are some of the key benefits of Smartproxy:
- Works smoothly with all the major operating systems.
- 40+ million IPs that rotate from time to time among themselves.
- Comes with an interactive and robust dashboard for better management
- It allows users to choose from 194+ locations and 7+ cities globally.
- Employs a 24*7 customer support team for providing all the essential help to users all the time.
- Compatible with many browsers so you can use it on different devices with ease.
- Offers multiple pricing plans, which makes it easier for you to choose one that suits both your needs and budget.
Besides, Smartproxy has its browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that allows users to access its features instantly. Its price varies based on proxies selected and incoming traffic.
2. Hide.me
They are considered to be one of the fastest and free proxy servers because they do not save users’ logs and history. This free proxy service provider is worth giving a shot as it offers decent anonymity. Users can either choose to access the services directly from the official website or download the extension available for Firefox and Chrome browsers.
However, their proxies are limited to certain countries only, including Netherlands, Germany, and Finland. Furthermore, users will not be able to enjoy additional privacy-enhancing features like encrypting URLs and pages. Here are the key highlights of Hide.me:
- It doesn’t save logs for using them again in the future.
- Provides unmatchable faster experience along with quick downloads and streaming.
- Allows users to get through restrictions and access blocked content.
- Its pro version is available with affordable and diverse plans for meeting the budget of users.
- Extremely easy to get started with and saves IP leakage in case of a connection drop.
Also, it has a straightforward and simple process for installation and you can start using it almost instantaneously.
3. Oxylabs
Oxylabs is specialized in majorly providing residential and data center proxies that are certainly the best options for business or official purposes. So, if you’re looking for providers that specialize in offering high-quality business intelligence, brand security, assistance in robust competitive research, and ad verification, then Oxylabs can be a good choice.
They offer around 2+ million IP addresses that cover around 80 geographical locations from all around the world. Users have the option to go with static or rotating residential proxies that ensures high-end anonymity and fast internet speed. Below are the major highlights of Oxylabs that are worth noticing:
- Comes with a wide range of pricing plans for users to select according to their budgets.
- Around 70+ million residential proxies to provide high-end security and the best-in-class user experience.
- Comes with a robust dashboard that can track the proxy usage and allows the creation of sub-users.
- Its data collection tool helps in saving time and resources.
4. Luminati
Backed by a large pool of around 72 million IPs, Luminati enables users to choose from all types of proxies such as residential IPs, static IPs, and rotational IPs that utilize residential addresses. Also, the addresses will always be unique for the targeted website. They also have mobile IP addresses that are more resilient. It is a go-to choice for businesses because it provides a lot of unique features such as data gathering, price comparison, brand protection, SEO monitoring, etc.
Moreover, it can also be used by sole professionals as well as affiliate marketers that can use it for quick ad placement, verifying affiliate links, and optimizing marketing campaigns. Following are some of the main features of Luminati proxy servers:
- A huge number of IP addresses are available that are served globally.
- Users have the option to choose from shared or exclusive IPs as per the need.
- Specifying IPs based on countries or cities is possible.
- Work as a website unblocker and helps in robust data gathering.
- Emphasize providing brand protection with advanced security and anonymity.
Luminati offers various ways for assisting customers at any time of the day via phone calls, email, social media, or messages.
5. RSocks
RSocks breaks the barriers for any type of traffic allowance and currently have more than 3 million IP addresses in their arsenal. They offer various pricing plans and support HTTPS, HTTP, and SOCKS5 protocols. They also have a dedicated pricing plan for mobile IP addresses. The best part about RSocks that sets it apart from competitors is that it allows users to pause the use of proxy when not in use.
Here are some of the prime highlights of the proxy servers offered by RSocks:
- No restrictions over traffic that enables web surfing without worries.
- Flexibility in paid plans along with various payment options.
- Option for mobile proxies that too at affordable rates.
- Comes with an interactive user interface.
Also, users with the help of the proxy checker can select the shared proxies as per their choice and criteria. Their pricing plans are not based on the number of IPs or bandwidth, instead, the total bill is based on the needs and services selected by the user.
6. Storm Proxies
They have their major focus on users looking for basic proxy servers with minimal features along with affordable pricing plans. Storm Proxies has been in the market since 2016 and emerged as a top proxy service provider.
Below are the key features of proxy servers offered by Storm Proxies:
- Pocket-friendly pricing plans allow everyone to enjoy robust proxy servers.
- Keeps everyone anonymous for improved security and privacy.
- Comes with an IP rotation feature to take anonymity to the next level.
- Enables users to enjoy unlimited bandwidth along with a money-back guarantee.
- 24*7 customer support for resolving all types of issues.
The best thing about Storm Proxies is that all its proxies come with unlimited bandwidth. Their pricing for rotating proxies is based on the number of simultaneous connections and the rotating residential proxies prices depend on the number of ports. Every individual port can run up to 50 connections simultaneously.
7. Hide My Ass
It is a free-of-cost proxy server that is extremely handy and straightforward to use for browsing privately. It saves users from going the extra step to download additional software or extensions. However, switching to its paid version will offer a faster speed, better security, and encryption along with malware protection.
Below are some of the key features offered by this proxy service provider:
- Comes with a robust encryption system for keeping the data safe.
- Its rotating IP feature helps in shuffling the IP on the fly.
- An opportunity to select a server in a particular city.
- Prevents data leakage with the help of the Smart Kill Switch feature.
- It doesn’t have restrictions on bandwidth.
Hide My Ass successfully masks the identity and IP address and allows users to select specific websites instead of locations for routing the requests. As of now, their free version supports servers in New York City, Seattle, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, and Prague.
8. ProxyHub
ProxyHub offers versatile solutions that can fit the needs of both individual users and businesses. ProxyHub offers dedicated and semi-dedicated proxies, and users can choose one based on their requirements. It comes with no restriction on bandwidth and also offers various payment options including cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. Their proxy supports HTTP protocol and offers high-end anonymity to users and every month they come up with a new set of IP addresses for users to never run out of options.
Users can access social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. without the fear of getting blocked by them. Moreover, it is compatible with various SEO tools and also comes with a Proxy Manager for two popular browsers that are Chrome and Firefox. Following are the main highlights of ProxyHub:
- It comes with multiple pricing plans that are available at affordable rates.
- Allows users to get their money back anytime if not satisfied with the services.
- Provides a highly anonymous environment for users along with advanced security.
Also, it offers a 3-day trial for users to try their services before purchasing any plan.
9. Hidester
Hidester is best known for bypassing the geo-blocks and helping individuals to avoid getting snooped and browse anonymously. It is super easy to get started with because users don’t have to sign up or install any software.
You simply need to visit the Hidester website from any device and place the URL where you want to enter with anonymity. It will route your request through US-based servers that can also be switched to European servers. Below are some of the key highlights about Hidester:
- A considerable amount of privacy and security is assured.
- Enables users to bypass geo-blocks and prevents them from getting snooped.
- They don’t save users’ logs and therefore, eliminates the future risks of getting tracked.
- Comes with strong privacy control.
Users will be able to encrypt URLs along with an option to turn off cookies and remove scripts. Also, they never share the personal data of the users because they do not save logs.
10. Kproxy
Kproxy can be accessed via browser or an extension for Chrome or Firefox. It is majorly used by educational organizations and businesses. It supports the HTTPS protocol and offers an impeccable speed for users to browse and download data from the internet.
However, it comes with some bandwidth restrictions. Users can use the services offered by Kproxy for straight 3 hours at no cost. But after that, users have to choose from two options to proceed further; either pay to continue using their services or reconnect after 30 minutes.
Following are some main highlights about Kproxy:
- Extremely user-friendly interface along with easy ways to get started.
- Offers various proxy options with a straightforward setup process.
- Comes with extensions for both of the popular browsers, i.e. Chrome and Firefox.
- Secures users with end-to-end privacy and anonymity.
- Kproxy has a portable version of the Firefox extension.
Also, Kproxy is tailored with around ten available proxy servers that guarantee a minimum of 90% privacy and anonymity for users irrespective of any criteria.
Conclusion
Proxies are a gateway for individuals who want to surf the internet without any security or privacy issues. They help users to be completely anonymous and get through restrictions and access blocked content, encrypt personal information, and protect their personal data from hackers.
The blog contains the top 10 proxy service providers in 2021 that you can use to meet your different needs. Some of them only offer premium versions whereas others proxy servers are freemium (free+premium) and allow you to select free or paid plans according to your budget and requirements. Before choosing a proxy server, users should first go through the features and benefits the proxy comes with and then match it with their requirements. Some of the common criteria to choose a good proxy server are pricing, bandwidth, number of proxy servers, level of security, and compatibility with protocols.
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