What exactly are proxies

proxygo said:

and another user talking rubbish . if you want a detailed answer wiki is your friend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server

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You've made a great point.

A proxy is an intermediate between you and the internet.

You can easily understand it from the picture given. But you need to know that in a normal connection there is no proxy server so your identity like location ETC is revealed .Because its just you and internet with no layer to hide these details.But by using proxy your identity is secure.

HydraProxy said:

The best way to explain it is to show you a diagram.

View attachment 140923

Basically, a proxy is a server sitting between you and the Internet with the goal of anonymizing your web traffic.

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Here's another visual explanation that you'll find useful:

It helps to imagine proxy servers as your personal representative or a lawyer, managing all your external communications.

In layman's terms, proxies conceals an IP address by providing a different one.

As you read about it, you'll get to know more about it's application, usage and types. Each type is created differently and serves various purpose.

I suggest reading related articles or watching related videos in YouTube. It can help you understand proxies better.

bluhat said:

In layman's terms, proxies conceals an IP address by providing a different one.

As you read about it, you'll get to know more about it's application, usage and types. Each type is created differently and serves various purpose.

I suggest reading related articles or watching related videos in YouTube. It can help you understand proxies better.

Click to expand...

yeah the concept is pretty simple. super easy to understand. the IPs can either be rotating or static, residential or otherwise.... the list goes on.

HydraProxy said:

There's a major difference between the two:

• A proxy forwards traffic from selected apps and is used to anonymize your traffic from third-party websites without any extra layer of encryption
• A VPN encrypt's your system's whole traffic and anonymized even from your ISP.

Here's another diagram to see it better.

View attachment 141033

So, the major difference is that anyone sitting between your device and the server can see your traffic requests if you use a proxy. Whereas with a VPN they can't.

Also, another difference is that you can really use only one VPN connection, whereas with proxies, you can use several at once.

And finally, the goal of using either a proxy or VPN is different:

• A Proxy is used to anonymize web traffic requests from accessed websites (simply, you don't want websites to know your real IP address).
• A VPN is used for privacy and personal anonymity (you use it to hide your traffic even from your ISP or any snoopers located between your device and the VPN server).

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You got the best explanation there. Thanks.

dicten1 said:

You got the best explanation there. Thanks.

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thanks for bumping a thread almost a year old

HydraProxy said:

There's a major difference between the two:

• A proxy forwards traffic from selected apps and is used to anonymize your traffic from third-party websites without any extra layer of encryption
• A VPN encrypt's your system's whole traffic and anonymized even from your ISP.

Here's another diagram to see it better.

View attachment 141033

So, the major difference is that anyone sitting between your device and the server can see your traffic requests if you use a proxy. Whereas with a VPN they can't.

Also, another difference is that you can really use only one VPN connection, whereas with proxies, you can use several at once.

And finally, the goal of using either a proxy or VPN is different:

• A Proxy is used to anonymize web traffic requests from accessed websites (simply, you don't want websites to know your real IP address).
• A VPN is used for privacy and personal anonymity (you use it to hide your traffic even from your ISP or any snoopers located between your device and the VPN server)

Click to expand...

Just had a couple of questions if any knows the answers;

What are the difference between a cheap proxy and an expensive proxy? I say this as I hear about not buy very cheap proxy because the quality isn't as good, not too sure?

When buying a proxy, how can you identify if your the only person using that proxy if you was to pay more for it, Is there a way to tell?

Last question I had is, as I understand that proxies can be used for connecting to individual sites by using an anti detect browser, but does the anti detect browser encrypt your traffic if your just using a residential/mobile proxy and not a VPN?