Proxy servers are an indispensable tool for affiliates and marketing specialists. The topic is so popular we covered it more than once.
Farming and parsing are two things that are impossible without solid proxies. An attempt to create an account through an inappropriate proxy server will result in an immediate and inevitable block. At the same time, it is not easy for a beginner to navigate the variety of proxy servers, since it is difficult for a non-professional to understand which of them can be considered good and which bad. This article will highlight the main aspects of proxies and define which of them suit your purpose.
Farming And All That
Account farming is the creation of fictitious accounts on a social network that are indistinguishable from real ones owned by ordinary users. Such accounts are created specifically for advertising campaigns. Obviously, to start a profitable advertising campaign, you need to have a solid, veritable account. The more such accounts you have, the more likely your advertising campaigns will be successful. But it's not enough to create and warm up the accounts: there are technologies and tools to be involved.
Approaches
You can't just dive in and farm accounts on Facebook or other social networks. First, do the preps:
- Get anti-detect browser;
- Acquire unique email addresses that are not blacklisted;
- Find clean mobile phone numbers;
- Enable good personal proxy servers with residential IP addresses.
The anti-detect browser will simplify the processes, so you won't get lost in multiple accounts. Such a browser generates a unique fingerprint for each existing account (print or fingerprint contains elements of the browser configuration that allow you to identify the user) and also remembers the login-password info.
In the anti-detect browser, you can assign your own proxy server for each open tab, so you can simultaneously visit and edit several accounts of the same social network. Naturally, each account must be associated with a unique email address, mobile phone number, and IP address corresponding to the selected GEO. Clean emails and phone numbers aren't an issue, but a valid IP address in a desired GEO may be tricky.
The solution to this problem entirely depends on the correct choice of proxy server. Information on proxy farming, proxy accounting, and proxy for Facebook can be found below.
Proxy Servers
A proxy server is an intermediary server through which Internet traffic coursing between the user’s computer and the target servers (where visited sites or downloaded files are located) is forcibly redirected. Proxy servers are most often used to bypass restrictions. When farming, affiliates use proxy servers to mask and replace the native IP address.
Proxy Types
Proxy servers differ from each other in many technical characteristics and parameters, but the most important aspects are:
- the type of data of the transfer protocol;
- anonymity;
- type of IP address provided.
The data transfer protocol is the most vital point of a proxy server. Currently, the majority of proxy servers operate on the HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS protocols.
HTTP Proxies
Previously, these were the most common proxy servers. Since the HTTP protocol does not provide any protection for transmitted data from interception and reading, HTTP proxies are considered unsafe and therefore not recommended.
HTTPS Proxies
HTTPS proxy servers are a subtype of HTTP proxies. HTTPS proxies use a secure SSL/TLS data transfer protocol, thus establishing a secure connection between the computer and the proxy server.
HTTP/HTTPS proxies were developed exclusively for browser traffic, so they may not be a suitable option for processing traffic coming from other programs or torrent files.
SOCKS Proxies
SOCKS is a universal data transfer protocol. SOCKS proxies process and forward data packets of almost all common network protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, etc. Unlike HTTP/HTTPS proxy servers, SOCKS proxies do not distort the headers of transmitted packets. The implication is that from the point of view of the target server, all data goes directly to it from the user’s device.
In other words, the proxy is invisible to the target SOCKS server, and that's what makes SOCKS proxies highly anonymous by default. The SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 protocols are extensions of the SOCKS protocol. For the time being, SOCKS5 proxy servers are deemed the most advanced and versatile, as not only do they support TCP but they also work with the UDP transport protocol. In short, they can process traffic coming from almost any program and are perfect for downloading torrent files.
Non-Anonymous, Anonymous & Highly Anonymous Proxy Servers
Based on the level of anonymity, proxy servers can be divided into transparent, anonymous, highly anonymous, and distorting proxies.
- Non-anonymous or transparent proxy servers transmit the real IP address to the target server.
- Anonymous proxy servers replace (mask) the user’s real IP address but do not hide the fact of using a proxy.
- Highly anonymous or elite proxy servers replace the user’s real IP address and hide the fact of using a proxy.
- Distorting proxies do not usually hide that a proxy is being used, but they transmit a false IP address to the target server.
Resident & Server IP Address Proxies
- A server proxy is a regular server located in a data center. It is very fast, reliable, stable, and quite affordable. However, a target Internet resource can usually relatively easily detect that a visitor is using a server proxy, even if configured and running as highly anonymous. The reason is that the IP addresses of server proxies belong to data centers, not Internet providers.
- Residential proxies have IP addresses that are indistinguishable from the IP addresses of real Internet users. Residential proxies are more expensive than server-based proxies and have lower data transfer speeds.
Backconnect proxy
Backconnect proxy servers, also called rotating proxies, change their IP address after a time interval specified in the settings. The backconnect proxy can also be programmed so that each server request is made from a new (changed) IP address.
Mobile Proxy Servers
Mobile proxies are a subtype of residential proxies. They use the same IP addresses as the servers of mobile operators. Mobile proxies are great for farming accounts from smartphones and tablets.
Private & Public Proxies
Open (public) proxy servers do not require a password and are available to anyone for free use;
Access to private proxies is protected by passwords. Private proxy servers are created by companies for their own needs and for rent. Private proxy servers, in turn, are divided into dedicated and shared.
Dedicated & Shared Proxies
A dedicated proxy server is owned by a single user;
A shared proxy is used by several users at a time.
Anonymizers
Anonymizers are public free proxy servers with a web interface. From the user's point of view, an anonymizer is a regular website with an address bar where you enter the address of the target Internet resource. Naturally, anonymizers are not suitable for parsing or farming accounts.
Proxy Server Ports
HTTP/HTTPS proxies most often use ports 80, 3128, and 8080.
SOCKS proxies use 1080 or 1081, but in effect, the port number can be anything: it is determined by the owner of the proxy server during configuration. Thus, to start using a proxy server, you need to know at least its IP address and port number. Therefore, in the lists of available proxy servers for most services, they are presented as a pair of an IP address and port number, for example:
123.45.67.890:8080 or 149.19.224.38:3128.
The numbers before the colon are the IP address of the proxy server; after the colon, you can see the port used.
Proxies for Affiliates
Only highly anonymous HTTPS and SOCKS proxy servers are suitable for farming. In addition, the IP address of the proxy should not be suspicious from the point of view of the target site. The administrations of many popular Internet resources constantly collect IP addresses of proxy servers and blacklist them. Therefore, before you start using a proxy server, it is recommended to check whether its IP address is blacklisted on the target Internet resource. By the way, did you know that you can establish your own proxy?
Checking the IP
If you want to find out whether the IP address of the proxy server you have chosen is included in blacklists, visit any of the checker sites listed below. Naturally, you need to access the checker through the proxy server you are testing. (You can also check your IP address by visiting the checker without a proxy.)
After visiting the checker, it is recommended to delete all cookies associated with it, or use the private browser mode from the very beginning, since, from the point of view of the administrations of social networks and search engines, just visiting a checker site can arouse suspicion.
- Privacy Analyzer provides detailed information about your visible IP address and tests browser fingerprints for authenticity. To start testing, click on the START TEST button.
- Pixelscan.net is the simplest resource that checks the authenticity of the IP address and browser fingerprints. If the checker does not detect any problems, the test result will be consistent. For a more detailed IP address check, go to pixelscan.net/ip.
- Whoer.net is a simple IP address and browser-checking service. If your IP address is non-resident, the service will detect that you are using a proxy server and indicate whether it is blacklisted.
- Fake.Vision is a powerful IP address and browser fingerprint testing resource. To begin a full test, scroll down the page and click Start Advanced Tests to get comprehensive information about your current IP address and the browser you are using. Problematic items will be highlighted in red. Click on the BLACK LIST button to make sure that your current IP address is not included in any database of suspicious IP addresses.
- CheckerProxy.net is a service for checking proxy servers for functionality and anonymity. You can test several proxy servers at the same time. To check, enter the IP addresses and port numbers of the proxy servers you are testing in the appropriate field, separated by a colon, and click the CHECK LIST button.
- Getipintel.net evaluates the likelihood that the tested IP address belongs to a proxy server or TOR node. The test result will be a number from 0 to 1. The closer the result is to one, the higher the likelihood that the IP being tested is bad, belonging to a proxy or TOR network node. To start testing, enter the IP address in the Enter a valid IP address field (no need to specify the port number) and click the Lookup button.
Please note that many companies that provide proxy servers for rent have their own checkers on their websites. However, it is always better to use the services of an independent service.
Proxy for Facebook & Instagram
Facebook software tracks and blocks users who access the site through a proxy. Obviously, only highly anonymous SOCKS and HTTPS proxy servers with residential IP addresses are suitable for farming Facebook accounts. The location of the selected proxy must match the language settings of the browser. Detailed information on Instagram can be found here.
Proxy for Search Engines
Search engines generally do not block traffic originating from proxy servers. However, having detected suspicious activity associated with a particular IP address, Google offers to solve the captcha. Therefore, it will not be possible to parse Google results automatically from the same IP address for a long time. Hence, for this purpose, you need to choose Backconnect (rotating) proxies as well as mobile proxies.
Proxy for Messengers
Since instant messengers are most often used by owners of smartphones and tablets, mobile proxy servers are the best option.
Proxy for Parsing and Brute Force Attacks
To regularly collect large amounts of data, it is necessary to constantly change IP addresses. Therefore, Backconnect (rotational) proxies, and, to a lesser extent, mobile proxies are best suited for the purpose.
Rent Your Proxy
- Luminati Proxy Network is one of the most popular proxy server rental services in the world. Tens of millions of virtual proxy servers of this company are located in almost every country. Proxy servers of various types are available for rent: residential, mobile, and server.
- Proxy-Seller.com is a decent service, owning millions of proxy servers in dozens of countries. The service offers a proxy server adapted specifically for registration and work on social networks and website parsing.
- Microleaves seems to be the world's largest proxy server rental service. In addition to back-end proxies, Backconnect (rotating) proxies are also offered.
- Storm Proxies provide proxies with server and residential IP addresses, as well as Backconnect (rotational) proxies.
- Zyte Smart Proxy, formerly known as Crawlera, is an old, trustworthy service that changed its name after rebranding. The service offers smart Backconnect (rotational) proxies that automatically change the IP address if the previous IP is blocked by the target web resource. Probably the best choice available.
- NetNut offers a huge number of server and residential proxies, there are also rotating proxies with residential IP addresses.
FAQ
