Dedicated Proxy: What is It and How Does It Work?

All proxies have the ultimate goal of protecting users’ privacy and security. At the same time, different types of proxies strive to achieve this goal through slightly different means and provide additional features to their customers. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at dedicated proxies and figure out what they are, what benefits they can bring, and what needs to be considered when choosing a dedicated proxy.

What is a Dedicated Proxy?

Dedicated proxies are also known as private proxies or personal proxy servers. In contrast with the shared and public proxies, they are exclusively assigned to one user at a given time. This results in better speed even during peak hours and is almost independent of other users’ actions. However, exclusivity makes these proxies costlier than other types.

How do Dedicated Proxies Work?

They provide a buffer between the user and the internet. Instead of going directly to the targeted website, the user’s request is first received by the proxy server. It changes the real IP address of the user to another one. Then it forwards the request to its intended destination. The data returns through the same route. This process provides anonymity and an additional layer of security.

Why Do You Need a Dedicated Proxy?

• To increase security. Private proxies mask the users’ real IP addresses. This makes it extremely difficult to trace any activities back to them.
• To avoid geo-restrictions. Some websites and services set up limitations based on the users’ location. Others can have varying information for the audience coming from different regions. Private proxies come in handy to avoid access restrictions and to see the content as the user from a particular location would experience, for example, for market research. With the good private proxies, users can choose from a vast list of IPs from different countries.
• To gather data. Web scraping and other forms of professional information gathering require an additional layer of protection. Dedicated proxies provide anonymity and shield from the watchful eyes of the competitors making it impossible to trace back activities to the source.
• To avoid bans. Suspicious, repetitive, or undesired attention coming from one IP quickly triggers warnings on the targeted websites and can even result in a temporary or even permanent ban. Using dedicated proxies helps to avoid such unpleasant consequences by masking the user’s real IP behind the selection of others.

Types of Dedicated Proxies

• Private mobile proxies. They use mobile data connections provided by the mobile data carriers for real users. They are extremely hard to trace and block. Anonymity is their key feature.
• Private dedicated proxies. Those are data center IP addresses. They offer high speed and are not connected to any real devices.
• Private residential proxies. They are attached to real IP addresses provided by Internet Service Providers and are scattered across the globe. Such proxies are treated by the websites as genuine users and have a great level of legitimacy, as we’ve covered in our blog post all about residential proxies.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Dedicated Proxy

Let’s start with the positive side:

• Great speed. Private proxies are hosted on fast servers. They are assigned to a single user. This means that the whole bandwidth is there to benefit the efficiency of this user’s operations. No need to worry about bandwidth overloading.
• Multiple locations. Dedicated proxies providers usually offer IP addresses from different locations in accordance with the clients’ needs. This allows bypassing any geolocation-based restrictions and collating information relevant to different markets.
• Security. With the right level of determination, it is easy to assemble a diverse range of information about internet users and build up their profiles. Such information can be used for various reasons, from marketing to even criminal activities. This means there are numerous actors on the web eager to receive as much information as possible about the users. While using dedicated proxies the real IP address is safely hidden from the outside world and substituted by a surrogate. In this case, the user’s personal information is not compromised. Additionally, proxies are acting as a firewall not allowing malware on the device.
• Privacy and anonymity. The dedicated proxies are assigned to a single user. Hence, only one user has access to them at a given time. There is no need to worry about the actions of any other clients using the same proxies. As the IP address is being masked and changed for the targeted websites, the online activities performed with the proxies are difficult to trace back to the user.

On the negatives front:

• Cost. Exclusivity always comes at a price. Dedicated proxies are usually more expensive than other types of proxies.
• Previous history. The dedicated proxies are used by a single user at a given time. However, this doesn’t automatically mean they’ve never been used before. There is a chance that the proxies might have been abused by the previous owners.
• Limited scalability. For some operations, like the creation and handling of multiple social media accounts, botting, and web scraping several dedicated proxies are required. This makes scaling up the operations built with such proxies more expensive.

What to Consider When Choosing a Dedicated Proxy?

• Virginity of proxy. The IPs that haven’t been used before are called fresh IPs. As there were no earlier activities associated with them and no previous owners who might have been careless about their actions, dedicated proxies provide great protection against a bad track record. It is worth checking whether a considered proxy provider can supply virgin proxies.
• Cost. There are free proxies available on the market. However, if performance, high speed, safety and security, and good customer service are on the list of desired features, such proxies are not the best choice. As mentioned before, dedicated proxies are more expensive than shared proxies. So the analysis of the budget available and the offer you are getting for it should be considered.
• Anonymity. Protection of the user’s identity is an important feature of all proxies. When selecting a dedicated proxy provider it is worth checking reviews and information about any data leakages. The websites also develop additional features to protect them against unwanted activities. Therefore, the proxy server provider’s commitment to updating their services as well should be considered.
• Speed. Good dedicated proxies provide great speed resulting in high performance. Check whether it is possible to test the proxies ahead of the final purchase.
• Security. While providing anonymity, dedicated proxies can also act as a firewall preventing harmful content from getting onto users’ devices. It is worth checking whether the considered provider offers this. Additionally, the reputation of the provider itself is also worth checking.
• Location of proxy. Check whether the proxy provider can offer the geolocations you might need for your operations.
• Customer service. Using proxies might feel challenging, especially for a newbie. A customer support team might be extremely useful to set up everything right and deal with any issues. Before committing to a plan of a proxy provider, check what customer support options they offer, how quickly they respond, and what actual customers say about their experience in dealing with them.

Dedicated proxies offer many great features, but they are reflected in the price tag. High cost is their main drawback. To dive deeper into the world of proxies, you can check our blog on residential and data center proxies.

This post was originally published on SOAX blog.