Daniel - October 19, 2020
Best Proxies For Selenium
If you are looking for the best proxies for Selenium, we have got you covered.
Webmasters carry out web automation and web scraping tasks all the time. In fact, they use several tools that incorporate a variety of options.
One of such tools is Selenium.
Hence, in this post, we will take a closer look at Selenium, and show you the best proxies for Selenium.
What Types Of Proxies Work With Selenium?
Find the perfect Proxy Product.
The best type of proxy to use with Selenium will depend mainly on what you intend to do with the tool. However, the primary use of Selenium is web automation and web scraping, while the best proxy type for such tasks is rotating residential proxies.
Residential proxies are difficult to detect by websites because they utilize real IP addresses from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Any request sent with Selenium using a residential proxy would appear as if it emanates from a real user.
However, it doesn’t end at just switching your IP address. This is why you need a rotating residential proxy. If you maintain only one residential proxy, the IP address can be blocked for sending multiple requests. With rotating residential proxies, the IP address is changed with every new request or at intervals, depending on how it is set.
Fortunately, you can purchase rotating residential proxies from ProxyRack. With a subscription, you gain access to over 2 million IP addresses with unmetered data transfer.
The other proxy type, i.e., datacenter proxies, is not recommended for tasks like web scraping as they could be easily detected. They are best for only IP masking to bypass geo-restrictions.
Furthermore, you must stay off free proxies as most free proxy service providers collect your private information.
What Is Selenium?
Selenium is a web browser automation tool. You can use it to fill information, carry out searches, automate web apps, submit forms, automate button clicks, and more on any website.
Due to all of these features, Selenium is an invaluable tool for web scraping and web automation. Also, many webmasters use this tool to test their websites and web applications.
Conversely, it is an open-source tool, which implies that many developers have contributed to its development. However, the tool was initially created in 2004 by Jason Huggins. Also, it was originally written in JavaScript.
Notably, Selenium is compatible with major web browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, etc. Also, it supports various operating systems.
As a result, there are various Selenium versions. Hence, you’ll have to download the specific version for the browser you’re trying to automate and also the operating system.
Furthermore, you can execute requests with Selenium using different programming languages such as Java, Python, and C#.
Full range of Residential Proxies
Why Do You Need Proxies With Selenium?
As mentioned earlier, Selenium is used for web scraping and web automation. If you use the tool to scrape data or automate web requests on your website, there should be no hassles. If you intend to scrape other websites, it is essential that you use a proxy.
Using Selenium to access websites for scraping data or executing automated requests will get your IP address blocked. This is common on many sites as such activities are not supported.
With a proxy, you can fully use Selenium on any website of your choice without worrying about being blocked. That way, it will be difficult for sites to identify you or detect an automated request. If you use the best proxy for Selenium, it’ll be impossible to detect.
Besides, a proxy will mask your IP address. For instance, if you reside in the US, your real IP address would be a US one but with a proxy, you can mask it and browse with an IP address of any country of your choice.
Also, if you intend to automate requests or scrape data from a blocked website in the US, the proxy will help you bypass it.
The Bottom Line
Selenium is a useful tool with lots of advantages. As a web developer, you have no problems using Selenium on your website, but you’ll need a proxy for usage on others’ websites.
With a proxy, you won’t get blocked access to these websites. Thankfully, ProxyRack offers the best proxies for Selenium.
