What should I look for in a proxy provider?
Steve M avatar
Written by Steve M
Updated over a week ago

Picking a proxy server you can rely on is not a complex task. Listed below are certain factors you need to examine before you choose one:

  • SECURITY AND RELIABILITY

Security is on top of our list of criteria because this has been the primary reason why proxies exist at all. Proxies should provide security so that you can browse online without having to worry about someone else virtually watching over your shoulders.

Your private proxy provider should also be reliable, which means that the service can be trusted and is available 24/7. Security and reliability can be partially assessed by going through the feedback or reviews of a particular proxy provider.

  • SPEED

There is a minimal amount of trade-off with speed when you connect to a website through a proxy. This is because there is already a third party involved, thereby lengthening the connection process by milliseconds.

  • SERVER LOCATION

The speed of connection is also dependent on the location of the proxy servers. The nearer the proxy to the server of the webpage, the faster the connection will be. Also, there are websites that only allow IP addresses from certain countries. This is called geo blocking or geo restriction, and this has been used by large companies such as Netflix, YouTube, CBS, NBA, and other popular video streaming platforms.

  • CUSTOMER SERVICE

The security, reliability, speed, and location of their servers will be all for nothing if the proxy provider’s customer service is poor. You won’t be able to get answers to your questions in a timely manner, or worse, you won’t get any answer at all.

Customer support is very important especially because you will be dealing with some technical stuff when setting up the private proxies. Choose a proxy server provider that has decent customer service. A decent customer support replies to queries in a timely manner, and has different ways by which customers can contact them.

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