Different Proxies

Published: 2021-12-14

Hello guys!

Did you know that proxy - is a whole world of different protocols, possibilities, opportunities, etc, etc :) We can divide by types:

• FTP proxies - to load / get data from / to FTP server
• CGI or web proxy - it’s like a website where you can enter http address and load page directly on that website, no configuration needed, not so fast and usually have problems with AJAX / Comet / SPA / JS enabled websites
• SMTP / IMAP / POP3 - mail proxy to fetch / send email messages
• HTTP proxy and software like squid, 3proxy
  • HTTPS - is the same HTTP but with added SSL encryption using middleware like nginx, stunnel, etc.
  • Transparent proxy - special configuration that allows hiding proxy server, ISPs like this technique
  • Anonymouse proxy - actually the same like transparent but some ISPs adding words like “no-logging”, “completely safe”, etc.
• SOCKS proxy - as you can read it’s related to socket-level proxy:
  • SOCKS4 - old fashioned socks protocol
  • SOCKS5 - currently widely used, supports name resolving, etc, etc.
• Non usual, like:
  • DNS over HTTP
  • IP over DNS
  • IP over ICMP
  • and others, please refer to your imagination :)

Also they differ in speed:

• slow
  • by bandwidth
  • by response time (RTT)
  • by performance (server / home PC)
• fast
  • server proxy
  • low latency or geo proxy (proxy server near your location)
  • fast response
  • high speed

And environment:

• server proxy / high uptime proxy
• home - proxy using home PC and home internet connection
• low latency

So here the basics, now you can understand what proxy do you need exactly. I will go into detail in future posts about their types, features, comparison, so stay tuned!