What is an SSL Proxy and How It Can Help You?
The automation and anonymity evangelist at Smartproxy. He believes in data freedom and everyone’s right to become a self-starter. James is here to share knowledge and help you succeed with residential proxies.
If you are new to proxies, you might find yourself baffled by the abundance of proxy types: residential proxies, rotating proxies, data center proxies, backconnect proxies and SSL proxies.
The proxy ‘type’ usually refers to one of its two traits: the connection method or the type of the device acting as your proxy. HTTPS, or SSL, proxies denote the protocol you use to connect through the proxy server. Namely, the HTTPS protocol.
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- What is an SSL (or HTTPS) proxy?
- What are the benefits of an SSL / HTTPS proxy?
- How SSL / HTTPS proxies work?
- Where can you use an SSL / HTTPS proxy?
What is an SSL (or HTTPS) proxy?
An SSL proxy is a proxy server that uses the SSL protocol. The abbreviation SSL means Secure Sockets Layer. It is also the ‘s’ in HTTPS – the hypertext transfer protocol over SSL. This is the protocol that has become the security standard of the World Wide Web for several years, now.
This means that an HTTPS proxy is simply a proxy that uses the HTTP protocol over SSL.
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What are the benefits of an SSL / HTTPS proxy?
A proxy that uses the SSL layer for the HTTP protocol has two major advantages: it is safer and more anonymous than simple HTTP proxies. You see, the HTTPS protocol does not transfer your data in a plain-text format. The SSL layer encrypts your data, so it is never visible to third parties.
- An HTTPS proxy is safer – the SSL layer provides an encryption between the requester and the target server. This layer protects your information from third parties, like internet service providers (ISPs), hackers or government institutions. Even if bad actors manage to successfully intercept or monitor your connection over the proxy server, it will still be encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, as opposed to the HTTP protocol.
- An SSL proxy is anonymous – a proxy will hide your IP, but the added safety of the SSL layer increases your anonymity, as it reduces the information available about your connection request.
The SSL layer encrypts your data, so it is never visible to any third parties.
If you connect through an SSL proxy server, you will not only stay safe due to the industry-grade SSL encryption, but you will also hide your IP address. HTTPS proxies are the perfect solution if you want both anonymity AND security.
How SSL / HTTPS proxies work?
HTTPS proxies use the SSL layer to encrypt any information going between your endpoint and the website, service or server you want to access. This process is completely identical to the way you connect to any SSL–certified website. The SSL certificate that enables the HTTPS connection is the industry-standard. Most major browsers will warn you about accessing a site that does not have an SSL certificate.
HTTPS proxies use the SSL layer to encrypt any information going between your endpoint and the website, service or server you want to access.
Where can you use an SSL / HTTPS proxy?
- Unblocking websites – many sites block content for users from other countries. This is why many people look for a proxy to listen to Spotify, watch YouTube, access information in other countries, etc.
- Avoiding restrictions – your ISP, company or even the government might be blocking thousands of sites as you are reading this. The freedom of the internet is based on proxy and VPN connections, which allow everyone to access sites like Reddit without any firewalls blocking them.
- Secure connections – revealing your data online is a grave concern nowadays. This is exactly the reason why you should hide your IP address, especially, if you are using HTTPS proxies. The added SSL layer makes your connection encrypted to prevent any other data from leaking into the wrong hands.
- Anonymity – an IP address is one of the best identifiers online. Hackers and governments alike use it to track, spy on, and harass people. A proxy is a simple method of changing your IP to prevent this. Of course, HTTPS proxies are the most secure type of proxy available.
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- Web data scraping – there is an abundance of publicly available information that might help you change the world. Nevertheless, there are many obstacles to acquire this information. One of the more common ones are defenses against DDoS attacks which overload servers by sending thousands of connection requests every minute. This is why it is difficult to reliably gather any data online, as servers keep blocking market researchers, data analysts and other people who are trying to get the data they need. You have to access a server many times to get enough data for an analysis, but most servers will block you before that happens. To save time, a proxy network like ours is very useful: analysts and researchers can use millions of unique HTTPS IP addresses as SSL proxies to get the data they need and start changing the world for the better today!
- Secure and private social media management – social media data leaks are becoming horrible. Among these are company data leaks, IP address logs and other information you would never want to become public. Many companies and social media management firms use proxies for a more secure and anonymous way to manage Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media accounts.
- Getting limited products – many brands release limited products in certain locations. You can get access to those product releases by changing your IP to a one from that particular country. For example, many people use automated programs to buy limited edition sneakers. Having a proxy that is near Nike’s or Supreme’s servers makes your connection faster.
- And more.
You can see some frequent proxy use cases by selecting the PRODUCTS section in the menu.
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Great article!