Types of proxies (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS)

When you start working with a proxy, one of the important aspects will be the choice of the appropriate type of proxy (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS), no one wants even the supposed problems and everyone wants to achieve their goals. The most popular proxy types are HTTP & Socks5. There are a decent amount of differences, mainly in the level of privacy, the method of transferring information, the active protocol, as well as a few more functions, more about them in this article.

Proxy type: HTTP

Let’s first look at the HTTP proxy option. During their work, such proxies use the HTTP protocol, the main activity of which is visiting sites, downloading, and transferring data. Actions that will be performed when working with the HTTP type of proxy will not be sent directly but will use the proxy as an intermediary, sending requests from its side.

It is worth mentioning that in the HTTP protocol additional data is caching, which speeds up the loading of websites, thanks to the use of previously saved data. You can also add traffic control, regulation of speed limits, ban of malicious resources, logging, and statistics there.

HTTP protocol proxies have 3 anonymity options.

Transparent.

These are proxies that will not hide your real IP address and are unlikely to be useful for anything other than redirecting to another proxy.

Anonymous.

Such proxies transmit information to the resource that you are using a proxy, but the real IP address will be changed. Pretty acceptable option for increasing anonymity.

Elite.

They do not give out information about the principle of using a proxy and reliably mask your IP address. This is the most persistent option among HTTP proxies. The resource to which you will connect will not even assume that you are using a proxy.

Proxy Type: HTTPS

This is a subspecies of HTTP, but they use the SSL protocol. All network traffic of this proxy is well hidden, which indicates an excellent level of anonymity. This type is mainly used for the security of banking networks, corporate networks, and so on. Otherwise, there are no major differences.

Proxy type: Socks5

An extremely popular protocol that should not be underestimated. There are quite a few positives. Proxies of this protocol are completely anonymous from the very beginning, because they send network traffic in their pure form, without revealing HTTP headers. And this means that the resource to which you are connecting will not know that you are using a proxy and, of course, will not know your IP address.

The protocols supported by the Socks5 proxy type, along with their features (SSL connection, data caching, authentication): FTP/HTTPS/HTTP. In addition to this, it is possible to use UDP and TPC connections, and this already increases the scope of activities and allows us to conclude that Socks5 can be called the most functional of modern proxy servers.

Which option is still better: HTTP/HTTPS/Socks5?

When your main goal is complete anonymity, Socks5 is your choice. This is the safest option, with a wide range of functions and the ability to solve many problems. In general, it suits almost any program and site.

If you are more connected with analytics, statistics, selection, and sampling of data, then you can safely stop at HTTPS proxy types. Anonymity is still quite visible to users, but the scope of functions is somewhat lower.