Proxy Server
A proxy server acts as an intermediary between a client and a destination server, forwarding requests on the client's behalf. Proxies can mask IP addresses, cache content, or filter traffic.
What Is a Proxy Server?
A proxy server sits between a user's device and the internet. When a user sends a request, the proxy forwards it to the target server, receives the response, and relays it back. This makes the target server see the proxy's IP address rather than the user's. Proxies come in many flavors: forward proxies act on behalf of clients, reverse proxies sit in front of web servers, and transparent proxies intercept traffic without the user's explicit configuration.
Types of Proxies
- Residential proxies route traffic through IP addresses assigned by ISPs to home users, making them hard to distinguish from genuine visitors.
- Datacenter proxies use IPs from cloud hosting providers and are faster but easier to detect.
- SOCKS proxies operate at a lower network level and support any protocol, not just HTTP.
- Backconnect proxies rotate IP addresses automatically on each request.
Why Proxy Detection Matters
Proxies are essential tools in the arsenal of bot operators and fraudsters. They enable web scraping at scale, credential stuffing campaigns, and multi-accounting on platforms with geographic or per-user restrictions. Identifying proxy traffic is a critical first step in any threat-mitigation strategy.
Detecting Proxies with AntiProxies
AntiProxies classifies incoming IP addresses by connection type, identifying residential proxies, datacenter proxies, VPNs, and Tor exits in real time. By combining IP reputation data with behavioral signals, AntiProxies gives your application the context it needs to distinguish between a privacy-conscious user and an automated threat.