What are Residential proxies? A simple explanation

Residential proxies are servers that offer internet access through IP addresses tied to actual user devices. Unlike typical server-based IPv4/IPv6 proxies, residential proxies are recognized by websites as coming from real users rather than bots or automated accounts. This recognition helps circumvent anti-fraud filters and restrictions that many websites and applications impose to protect against multi-accounting, automated requests, and suspicious traffic.

Main features of residential proxies:

• Real IP addresses: a residential proxy uses an IP address assigned to a real-world device like a computer, mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. This IP is linked with specific details about the device such as the Internet service provider, technical characteristics, and physical location.
• High anonymity: since the IP addresses are those of actual devices, residential proxies are less likely to be identified and blocked. For websites and internet services, traffic from these IPs appears normal, making these proxies ideal for bypassing filters, blocks, and restrictions.
• Dynamic IP address change: many residential proxy providers offer a rotation service that changes the IP address at set intervals or under specific conditions. This feature is particularly valuable for web scrapers, marketers, SEO specialists, developers, and testers as it helps prevent blocks and captchas, masks the source of requests, and facilitates testing applications from various locations.
• Wide choice of geolocations: residential proxies are linked to physical addresses. Providers often allow users to select a specific geolocation—country, region, city, and internet provider—which can be crucial for targeting local content or services.
• High trust factor: the characteristics of residential proxies give them a high level of trust from websites and internet services, enabling SMM specialists, arbitrageurs, and marketers to operate without the constant threat of being blocked or having to navigate around captchas.

These attributes make residential proxies a vital resource for ensuring anonymity, stability, and geo-specific access on the internet, beneficial for tasks like marketing, web scraping, and managing social media platforms.

How residential proxies operate

A residential proxy serves as an intermediary by substituting the original IP address with that of another real user. Here’s how it technically operates:

1. Client request: when a client initiates a request to access a website, it is first routed through a residential proxy server. This request includes the client’s IP address, the target URL, and other HTTP headers.
2. Process the request: the residential proxy server processes the request according to the specified routing rules. It masks the client's original IP address using a network port provided by the ISP.
3. Sending the request: the proxy server then forwards the request to the target server. As the request is masked, the target server perceives it as coming from the proxy's IP address, not from the client’s actual device.
4. Receiving the response: the residential proxy server receives the target server's response. It may perform various operations on this data before relaying it back to the client.
5. Processing the response: the proxy may cache the response to quickly fulfill similar future requests or filter content based on predefined rules. Caching allows the proxy server to serve subsequent identical requests from its cache rather than resending them to the target server, enhancing response times for frequently accessed resources.

The use of residential proxies differs from other proxy types in certain key aspects. When purchasing residential proxies, users gain traffic access and a pool of IP addresses that belong to real users in a specified location. This pool of IP addresses includes a list of proxies among which rotation occurs. The aforementioned process takes place between changes in IP addresses, which can happen automatically or according to designated rotation parameters.

Principles of obtaining residential proxies

There are two primary methods for acquiring residential IP addresses, categorized based on their ethical implications:

• Ethical: in this approach, a real user voluntarily agrees to share their IP address with a proxy service provider. This agreement is often incentivized with rewards, such as a premium subscription to services or bonuses in various programs. The user installs specific software that enables the provider to utilize their internet connection to route traffic for other users. This arrangement is transparent and consensual, adhering to legal and ethical standards.
• Unethical: this method involves acquiring residential proxies through illegitimate means, such as the use of viruses, botnets, and other types of malware. These practices covertly compromise a user's device without their knowledge or consent to route proxy traffic. Such actions are illegal in most countries and pose significant security risks not only to the owners of the infected devices but also to those who unknowingly use these compromised proxies. This can lead to severe legal and ethical consequences for all parties involved.

Below, we'll explore ethical ways of obtaining residential proxies:

• Proxy providers: this is the most straightforward method, where specialized companies lease IP addresses from real users and provide them to their clients. Proxy providers offer a wide selection of geographic locations and a stable connection, making these proxies suitable for tasks like data parsing, advertising testing, and bypassing geo-blocks.
• Residential P2P networks: this method involves special P2P software through which real people rent out their IP addresses to other users. The P2P service acts as an intermediary, distributing residential IP addresses among those who need them. This approach often results in lower costs, but it may offer less stability and security compared to other methods.
• A personal network of residential proxies: you can create your own network of residential proxies by recruiting real users, installing special software on their devices, or renting their internet connections. This method allows full control over the network and its configuration, ensuring stability and reliability. It requires technical expertise and resources to establish and maintain, but it offers flexibility and high security.

Purchasing from proxy providers is the easiest and most accessible way to obtain residential proxies, allowing for a quick and straightforward way to start using reliable IP addresses for your needs. Users also benefit from a variety of residential proxy types and options for their rotation.

Shared and dedicated proxies

Providers typically offer two main types of residential proxies:

• Shared residential proxies: these proxies provide access to IP addresses that are used simultaneously by multiple users. This shared usage makes them more affordable but also decreases the level of security and anonymity. The simultaneous use of a single IP by several users can increase the likelihood of blocking and reduce connection speed.
• Dedicated residential proxies: with dedicated proxies, the IP address is assigned exclusively to one user. This exclusivity provides better data protection and reduces the risk of negative consequences from the activities of other users. Dedicated proxies are ideal for tasks requiring a high degree of privacy and stability.

Shared residential proxies are suitable for activities like web scraping, SEO analytics, testing advertising campaigns, viewing content, and bypassing geo-restrictions. On the other hand, dedicated residential proxies are better suited for tasks such as managing multiple accounts on social networks, traffic arbitrage, and other scenarios where high anonymity and protection from anti-fraud systems are crucial.

Methods of rotating residential proxies

There are several effective methods for rotating IP addresses, each suited to different online activities:

• Sticky sessions: this method ensures the IP address remains constant for the duration of an internet session on the device handling the traffic. Sticky sessions are beneficial for activities requiring prolonged interaction with websites, such as account management, online shopping, or web scraping, where frequent changes in IP address could lead to issues.
• Time-based rotation: here, the IP address is automatically changed at predetermined intervals, such as every 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes. This approach is ideal for minimizing the risk of detection and blocking, particularly useful when handling a high volume of requests.
• Link-based rotation: this method involves changing the IP address with each new link clicked or page visited. It's particularly effective for bypassing geographic restrictions, managing numerous social media accounts, and ad testing.
• Request-based rotation: in this strategy, the IP address changes after a certain number of requests. This helps distribute server load more evenly and reduces the likelihood of being blocked due to frequent access from a single IP address. It's especially useful for web scraping, SEO analysis, and automating scripts.

The most generally applicable methods are sticky sessions and time-based rotation, which meet a wide range of needs while minimizing the risk of being flagged by anti-fraud systems. Rotation by link and by request count is more niche and should be employed when specific IP address management strategies are required.

How to purchase residential proxies

1. Access your account on the Proxy-Seller website and navigate to the “Residential Proxies” section.

   

2. Choose the “3-day trial” option to use 200 MB of traffic for $1.99, or click on “View plans” to explore other tariff plans. For this guide, select the “3-day trial”.

   

3. In the new window that appears, select your payment method and click “Submit an order”.

   

4. Provide your email address and country in the corresponding fields.

   

5. Enter your card details and proceed to make the payment.

   

6. After your payment is processed and the order is fulfilled, you will be allotted 200 MB of traffic for the residential proxy. To verify this, go to your profile and click on the “Orders” section, where all current applications will be displayed.

   

7. In the “Orders” section, scroll down to find a menu where you can name your proxy list, and choose the rotation type, authorization method, and geolocation. You can also select an Internet provider from the “ISP” field and choose the proxy list export format.

   

8. Once all settings are configured, click “Create”. Navigate to the top of the page where the list of ready-to-use residential proxies is displayed.

   

Residential proxies are highly valued for their ability to bypass anti-fraud systems effectively. They have the highest trust factor among proxy types because they use IP addresses from real users' devices. This characteristic makes them less susceptible to detection and blocking by security systems. Their ability to mimic genuine user behavior explains why residential proxies are popular among marketers, targeters, SMM specialists, and data analysts. These professionals rely on residential proxies for various tasks such as data scraping, audience, and competitor analysis, testing advertising campaigns, and managing multiple social media accounts without encountering restrictions.