Public, shared or free proxy. What is this?

A proxy is an intermediate transit web server that is used as an intermediary between the user and the destination server.

• The main purpose of a proxy is to change the IP address.

Let’s imagine a situation where a user visits Google.com through a proxy. In this case, the user sends a request to the proxy to open the website. The proxy opens Google.com on its own behalf and then transmits the data to the user.

Types of proxies

Proxy servers can be of several types:

• Socks proxy sends all data to the destination server as a client, therefore it is considered the most anonymous protocol, but it is used for programs.

Types of proxies by anonymity level

HTTP proxy by anonymity level are divided into the following types:

• Transparent/shared/public/free proxies state that a proxy is used and convey the user's real IP address in HTTP headers. Public proxies are dangerous to use, as they do not provide anonymity.
• Anonymous proxies notify you that they are using a proxy, but they do not convey the real IP address of the user. Anonymous proxies cannot guarantee real anonymity, since they state that a proxy is used - depends on level of anonymity.
• Elite proxies do not notify that its owner use a proxy and do not transmit the real IP address of the user. Only elite proxies can be used for complete anonymity.

Free proxies

There are websites on the Internet where free proxies are published. What is the purpose of publishing free proxies? It is definitely difficult to answer this question. Free proxies can be used to learn how to work with proxies. Free proxies are right choice if anonymity is not important thing for you.

The reasons for the emergence of free proxies:

• Incorrect configuration of proxy access by the local network administrator. The network administrator has not closed access to the proxy from the Internet
• Universities and educational institutions open a proxy access to the library of their university. In this case, the proxy falls into the list of public ones
• Proxy from government organizations

Use of public proxies is very dangerous. Since we already know that the proxy can cache, collect statistics on users. Accordingly, some organizations are interested in placing public proxies for the purpose of tracking users.

We do not recommend to use free public proxies. To ensure the safety of personal data on the Internet as well as serious work (betting in bookmakers, parsing, arbitration, etc.) we recommend to buy personal proxies with round-the-clock technical support on our website Proxy-Seller.com.