Cyber-attacks are commonplace in recent years. Many third-party resources exist in combating this issue, and the most fundamental is a proxy. A proxy is a server that acts as an intermediate between a user’s network and the internet.
As an intermediary, proxies make it hard to detect the source of a particular web traffic. This is possible because the proxy replaces the user’s IP address with a new one when requests get sent—doing this provides anonymity – a highly coveted internet browsing status.
But in a world where highly sophisticated web tools exist and big tech is watching your every move, Does your proxy make you anonymous? To answer this question, we’ll first examine the factors contributing to anonymity.
Factors Influencing Proxy Anonymity
A user’s digital footprint can be easily traced without proxies. With proxies, however, tracing your web activity becomes complicated. Proxies can give you anonymity, but the extent to which your online actions are secured depends on these factors:
IP address type
There are two IP address standards; IPv4 and IPv6. As you can see, IPv4 is the earlier version and suffers more limitations than its newer counterpart. One of IPv4’s drawbacks is its finite count of possible web addresses. There are ~4.2 billion possible IPv4 IP addresses.
Remember, for every device that can access the internet, there’s a designated unique IP address. But in a world with more than 5 billion devices accessing the internet, IPv4 addresses are not enough. That’s where IPv6 comes in, with an infinite number of addresses possible.
The infinite nature of IPv6 addresses ensures better anonymity, as you can get new IP addresses for each unique request forever. If you use a rotating proxy that supplies IPv6 addresses, there are no risks of using the same address more than once.
Origin
Location is a big deal when it comes to anonymity. For instance, if you’re trying to access geo-blocked content, using a proxy from a blacklisted region will do you no good. Only when you get a proxy from a whitelisted country can you be granted unmetered access.
The flip side of origin as an anonymity-influencing factor revolves around how well the server can secure yours. This factor is why many experts advise you to get residential proxies with large address pools. If you do, when your traffic is traced back to the server, it becomes impossible to pinpoint your address in the sea of IPs.
Rotation
The more a proxy server rotates, the better. This is why rotating residential proxies are one of the best services you can get for personal use. Rotation refers to the process where a unique address is attached to each request emanating from your computer. The better the rotation, the higher the anonymity you enjoy.
With each new IP address attached to your internet connection, your location switches to a new location. This makes it difficult for any third party to track you.
Types of Proxies and their Anonymity Levels
Proxy anonymity levels are divided into three. These are transparent, anonymous, and elite. Transparent proxies don’t hide your computer’s IP address, nor do they alter any header information in your internet request.
On the other hand, anonymous proxies don’t reveal your IP address, but they can let any third-party entity know that your network connects through a proxy. As you probably predict already, elite proxy servers reveal no information about your address or the state of your connection through a server.
Level 3 anonymity – Transparent proxies
These are the most common types of proxies, which users can easily set up, and leverage to get past basic restrictions. You can also use it as a firewall against unwelcome connections to your network. Unfortunately, since these proxies still send somewhat comprehensive header information with every request, you aren’t guaranteed absolute privacy.
Though transparent proxies don’t give privacy, they more than make up for browsing efficiency and performance. They cause web pages to load fast thanks to their caching functionalities, ultimately reducing your upstream bandwidth.
Level 2 anonymity – Anonymous proxies
These proxies protect your IP address, but it remains easy to know whether you’re using a proxy. The same header information sent via transparent proxies is transferred with anonymous proxies. Owing to this, your access to some websites may be restricted in cases where the owner is totally against anonymous visitations.
If the only concern is ensuring that your original IP address doesn’t make it to the public, then this is your best option.
Level 1 anonymity – elite proxies
These proxies are designed to hide your IP address, and no one will be able to detect that you’re using a proxy. This offers the best level of anonymity. The X-forwarded-For and Via headers aren’t transferred to the destination site with every request. With this, you look like a regular internet user visiting the website. Many residential proxies are at the elite level of anonymity.
How Residential Proxies Provide Anonymity
Many common proxies are from data centers, so they quickly look like they are not from a regular user. However, the IP address used by residential proxies belongs to a physical home. As such, while that is not the right home of the user, any tracing leads back to an actual physical address. This makes it difficult for website owners to flag the traffic. At the same time, it doesn’t reveal the exact users visiting the site.
Conclusion
The degree of anonymity you get with proxies depends on the proxy you use. Hence, you must know what a specific proxy offers before investing your money in its purchase. If you need proxies for personal use, it’s best to get a rotating residential proxy.