According to the statistics of the year 2018, more than 26% of people around the world have used VPN or proxy servers to access the internet. But while web scraping, it is always safe to use a scraping proxy server because it protects the details of the scrapers and portrays them as anonymous.
There are many websites that have started offering scraping proxies for web scraping. To learn more about this, top read the article thoroughly.
What is a Proxy Server?
A proxy server acts as a mediator between the website and the user. For instance, if a user is trying to request access through a proxy server to the website, the website shares its data to the proxy server, which is then received by the user. This is possible because the proxy server has its own IP address to which the data from the website is sent.
Both general users and website owners use proxies. Website owner uses this to improvise security, and the user who is web scraping uses proxies to hide one’s own identity or even to get access to the websites that are blocked in their countries.
Advantages of Using Proxies while Web Scraping
There are business owners who perform web scraping using proxy about the other industries and market while making decisions based on data. This helps them to make the right decision and also to web scape effectively.
Some other benefits of using proxy scraping are as follows;
Privacy and Security
Every user has their own IP address, which can be seen by the website owners, but by using the proxy, the IP address of the proxy will appear. This protects the identity of the user from others.
Avoid IP Bans
There are a few business websites that set limitations in the number of crawlable data, which is called as crawl rate, to ban scrapers from making many requests. But using a proxy for scraping will allow the crawler to get past the rate limit by requesting the website with different IP addresses.
Get Content Specific to the Region
Proxy helps the user to get content that is based on the location they live in. For example, if a business owner tries to use web scraping to improvise their business, then he/she will need data about their own region. Hence, proxies allow to get access to the content from the specific region, and also, the request for information from the same region will make the website feel safe.
Do Large Scraping
If the scraper is reaching a website a large number of times or in a fixed time every day, the user can be easily tracked. This can make them be banned, but using proxies allows the user to visit the website many times without being recognized.
Different Types of Proxies
If you are a beginner who is trying to learn about the proxy, it can be very confusing but at the same time intriguing. You can also experience difficulty in choosing the right proxy.
In the below details, we have explained the differences between the available proxies, which will help you solve a few common doubts that you may have. Also, after reading the difference, one will be able to find the proper proxy for them based on their need.
Datacenter IPs
This is a common type of proxy, and they are the IPs of servers housed in a data center. If you choose the right proxy, you can have the perfect web crawling solution.
Residential IPs
These are private IPs used with a residential network, which is very expensive. These IPs can raise legal issues, and the same work can be done with a much cheaper IP.
Mobile IPs
These are the IPs of private mobile devices, which are also expensive. This can feel useless unless you want to scrape details that are enabled only for mobile users.
Hence, according to our recommendation, it is better if you choose a data center IP that is cheaper and safer.
