If you’re reading this, it is safe to assume you have a use case that requires the ability to make many connection requests that are easy to authenticate because they come from residential Internet service providers or mobile carriers. (Residential & Mobile Proxies)
But how in the heck can you choose between so many proxy companies and service models?
At ProxyEmpire we know all too well what this feeling is like because we were once in your position. In this expository text, we’re going to outline the most important parts you need to consider when finding a proxy partner, and dare I say we will do it in an unbiased way.
Let’s start with the idea of what a proxy partner is.
It’s more than your typical software as a service business model. We use the term partner because it is an infrastructure that is supposed to work alongside your business.
You integrate this infrastructure into your software stack or business model. It becomes a key component in your ability to access information, disseminate data, and provide bilateral support to major assets globally.
This brings us to our first item on the checklist…
How Reliable Is Your Proxy Partner?
If your website was to vanish for a day or car not start, would that be acceptable? You rely on everyday tools to get a job done right. A proxy partner should be no different than the parts of your life you already have learned to trust will work when called upon.
How then do we determine if a proxy company is reliable?
The first step is to understand where this residential and mobile proxy partner is sourcing their IP Addresses from. If a proxy company is involved in nefarious activity, it can compromise you.
There are four ways to source IP addresses.
1) Big proxy companies that are well established have created apps like free VPNs that ask permission to use a person’s network that downloaded the app. Most of the time users are still unaware of such fine print and it can cause legal issues just like the ones seen here.
2) The Cheapest services are cheap for a reason. These so-called proxy providers are hackers disguised in a cloak of corporatism. They master their craft by injecting remote access programs within people’s machines creating zombie computers. (Botnets.) You can read about the latest take-own here.
3) Finally, a proxy company can gain access to people’s routers and mobile devices by working with established software companies that ask users to use their local network. It’s similar to the VPN strategy, but individuals have a greater degree of knowledge that they’ve given these permissions.
It doesn’t take a monkey in an astronaut suit to figure out that option three is preferable.
That’s why we have chosen option 3 for our infrastructure model at ProxyEmpire and would implore all seeking a proxy partner to do their homework to make sure they’re not partnering with a liability.
Integration, Documentation, And Support
Proxies just by themselves are rarely useful unless you are using them with an out-of-the-box browser. That means you’re going to be integrating the proxies with custom software, anti-detect browsers, or other tools that are specific to your use case.
That requires technical knowledge. Does the proxy partner in question have a dev team?
The co-founder of ProxyEmpire is a full-stack developer proficient in multiple coding languages and databases. Our development team is ready to help clients onboard.
This is a very important feature because it gives the assurance that you can have a seamless transition into leveraging residential and mobile proxies. It guarantees that you’re end results or clientele will not be compromised by a lack of technical know-how.
Furthermore, does a proxy partner have documentation that is extensive enough to cover common integrations and answer usability questions?
You can find in-depth integration guides and tutorials on our ProxyEmpire blog.
Not trying to flex, but we make it easy for you to use proxies. Some people even use our guide as a resource who aren’t clients…..yet 😛
Finally, when things just don’t make sense which can happen even in the best of circumstances, is your proxy partner therefore you in a matter of minutes? I say minutes because you cannot afford for things to go awry for hours or days.
That’s why we offer live chat support that is pretty much 24/7.
Residential IP Pool Size And GEO Availability
The entire point of going with a residential and dedicated mobile proxy partner is that you can target so many specific locations on a granular level that cannot be done using data centers.
How many locations does a proxy partner cover?
ProxyEmpire boasts over 150+ countries and provides its clients granular targeting filtered by country, region, city, and ISP. Some proxy companies claim to have 180 countries, we do too but what they’re not telling you is that some of those low population areas have very few nodes and aren’t usable.
That is why we feel it is better to list countries that are viable instead of making a sound bite.
(Yes, we cast some shade sometimes.)
Now you need to analyze how many fresh nodes are coming into their system per country.
ProxyEmpire in our latest update made this easy to analyze by placing country-specific live nodes within a datasheet connected to an intuitive GUI.
You want to make sure that fresh proxies are coming in so that they are cycled properly and you do not get failed connections with outdated nodes that no longer work.
Common Stretches Of Truth In The Proxy Space
Unfortunately, every industry has certain terms that are not completely true. Phone companies, for example, say they’re giving you a full gigabyte of data but in reality, they are shorting you the excess megabytes over 1000 because 1 gigabyte doesn’t equal 1000 total megabytes.
Seems like a small discrepancy until you total it over millions of people.
Here’s the tell-all, the horror stories of the proxy world unfolding before your very eyes. Just kidding, but here are a couple of tips to look out for when choosing a proxy company.
Static Mobile & Residential Proxies Sold Here!
By nature, residential a mobile proxies should come dynamically which means they rotate. The reason they do this is that the proxies are sourced from real devices that are owned by people all around the world. Depending on the usage of the device a server will rotate you to a new device.
Static proxies mean that they never are supposed to change. What’s wrong with that?
There’s nothing wrong with having a static proxy, but most providers can only provide static nodes through a system of buying dozens of mobile phones or dongles and having stay-at-home parents in different regions plug them into their wall.
So basically, the entire infrastructure you’re relying on can be unplugged by the pet cat. Haha, don’t believe me? Here’s a picture of one of these rigs.
Anyway, understanding the difference between static, dynamic, sticky, and rotating proxies is a topic all to itself. If you want to learn more about it check out our blog post specifically on it.
Conclusion
Now you know a lot more about how to pick a reliable proxy partner that understands the concept that your success is also their success. Remember to check back to this article as we expand what to look out for as the industry develops.
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