Best web proxy sites

Renee BianaNovember 1, 2017

0 295 4 minutes read

We often think that online censorship would be the only reason why we may not be able to access a website. However, even if you don’t live in a country where the internet is subject to restrictions, you may have issues accessing certain websites. There are cases in which ISPs impose blocks on websites based on their category. For instance, some gambling websites are blocked due to licensing or legality issues. In addition, torrent sites are banned in many countries. Popular websites like YouTube or Facebook can be blocked in schools and offices to prevent distractions. In all these cases, using a web proxy can be a solution to defeat the restrictions.

While VPNs are preferred by many due to the fact that they offer security and are often more effective, if you only want to unblock some websites and don’t want to subscribe to a VPN plan, a free proxy can be a convenient option. With a web proxy you can still disguise your IP address to enjoy some level of online anonymity. Your traffic is rerouted through the proxy servers, which allows you to mask your IP address and access websites that are blocked in your location. One of the main appeals of web proxies is that they are easy to use as you just need to go to the web proxy website and enter the URL of the website you want to unblock.

Differences between a web proxy and Socks 4/5

Web proxies work by starting a socket on the server that enables traffic to go through. In general, it is just a single server that many clients use so that they can access the web proxy. Every client is only capable of accessing the internet using that server as a gateway. A proxy server can receive requests from the client server and then sends the requests to the web server via a firewall. It receives the response and then sends it back to the client server. In the majority of cases, a single proxy server is used by many clients and the proxy can cache documents requested by all its clients.

SOCKS 4/5 Proxy

When you use a SOCKS network, each and every network application data passes through the SOCKS. Thanks to this, the SOCKS can collect the data, screen it, filter it and control all the network data. It can also create a network application data storage. SOCKS4 can only connect the requests and it sets up the proxy to transfer the application data. SOCKS5 on the other hand, can support authentication and encryption of data that is being transmitted. This is why SOCKS5 is preferred over SOCKS4. In addition, SOCKS5 is easier to configure and it also supports UDP and TCP.

Difference between a web proxy and a VPN

Although a web proxy and a VPN can both offer anonymity when you are connected to the internet, the level of anonymity provided is not the same. These solutions allow you to defeat the blocks that prevent you from accessing certain websites. However, they work in a different way. The main differences can be notes in four crucial aspects, as we explain below.

Technology

Like a web proxy, a VPN can act as an intermediary when you are connected to the internet and in both cases, your real IP address is hidden. What makes them different is that while a VPN requires a chanelling process to establish a direct and solid connection between you and the VPN server, a web proxy is just an open port that any user can connect to. When you use a web proxy, all the clients connected to the proxy (particularly when it comes to public proxies), use the same IP address. With a VPN, users need to log in and authenticate and a different IP address is assigned to every client.

Security

This is a category in which VPNs take the lead. A web proxy can only disguise your IP address, but unlike a VPN, it doesn’t protect your data with encryption. When you use a VPN, all your traffic is secured through the tunneling method established.

Speed

Although proxies are generally faster than VPNs since they don’t use encryption, there are high quality VPNs that offer good speeds. You will notice that your connection is slightly slower than usual, but you can still stream and download content.

Price

While proxies can be very cheap and it is possible to find free services that work well for basic browsing needs, there are good VPNs that offer affordable plans as well. Considering that VPNs are significantly more secure and versatile, it is advisable to opt for a VPN instead of a proxy. This will allow you to defeat restrictions and to protect your privacy better.

Best Proxy sites

As previously mentioned, we recommend to choose a VPN over a web proxy, but if you need a free, simple solution for basic browsing, you can try any of the below.