A data breach can be hugely damaging to your company. Not just to its reputation but financially too, with breaches costing an average of $9 million in the USA.
Your business must have stringent security measures to avoid data breaches and protect the security of your clients and colleagues.
You can do this by using a proxy for your business. But what's a proxy server, and how does it work?
Here, we explore what a proxy is, what they do, and how proxy services can help you and your business stay safe online.
What is a proxy server?
A proxy server acts as a gateway between a device, like your laptop or smartphone, and another server on the internet, like a website. The proxy has its own IP address, so it acts as a middleman that can be used to preserve anonymity and ensure privacy.
Proxies come in different types, like HTTP and SOCKS proxies, each serving other purposes and offering distinct features businesses can use to avoid data breaches, optimize performance, and control content.
What does a proxy server do?
When your computer connects to the internet, it uses an IP (internet protocol) address. The IP address is a unique number assigned to each device connected to the internet, allowing information to be sent between devices.
The IP address can be used to track your location. It's not as precise as having your home address online, but it gives a general geographic area based on your internet service providers' nearest servers.
By using a proxy server, you are masking your IP address. The proxy network tells the websites you visit that you're somewhere else.
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7 ways your business can use proxy servers
As well as keeping IP addresses hidden and protecting your company's network from hacking and data breaches, many businesses turn to proxy providers for these reasons:
Content filtering
Employee internet usage can be problematic, especially if it becomes too distracting. One way to get around this is by blocking access to websites that aren't work-related.
Accessing restricted content
As well as filtering content, proxy servers can be used to help your employees access content that's not available in your location.
This can be helpful if you own a business with clients overseas and you want to, for example, undertake competitor research.
Marketing uses
A proxy server can be advantageous whether you work in social media marketing or SEO (search engine optimization).
If you work in SEO, proxy servers allow you to mask your identity and carry out tasks, including:
Web scraping for data
Keyword research
Tracking rankings
Identifying link-building opportunities
Tracking competitors
You can do all of these using a proxy provider, without Google detecting and blocking you.
Likewise, if you work in social media for a global brand, you can create and manage multiple social media accounts with unique IP addresses in different locations.
Using proxy services in this way lets you expand your reach, engage with different territories, and tailor campaigns to be more relevant to your audiences.
Using residential proxies from a reliable proxy service is best for managing social media posts and accounts in other locations. Residential proxies let you choose a specific country or city and surf the web as a user in that area, so even if you want to manage social channels for a business in another city, you can.
Doing this can help you effectively carry out your marketing strategy and contribute to business growth.
Testing
If you work for a business with a presence in multiple territories and a problem has been reported with a website in a different country, you can use proxy service providers to access the site as though you're in the country where the problem has been reported.
This way, you can identify the problem and sort it out quickly - avoiding significant losses in users and revenue and letting you take complete control of your websites.
Traffic management
You can use proxies to distribute incoming network traffic across multiple servers, improving system performance and reliability.
This is especially helpful if you own, for example, a clothing brand and you're planning to release a new line that you're expecting will attract many users to your site on the launch date.
Privacy when browsing
Proxies are predominantly used to hide a user's IP address, making it harder for websites and services to track their activity. If you want to maintain privacy while browsing online, e.g. to gain a competitive advantage over similar companies, visiting websites via a proxy can be very helpful.
Datacenter proxies, as they're known, are IPs assigned to a server, and they re-route your traffic and activity to change your IP address and location.
Making remote working easier
We've all become more comfortable working from home in the last few years, and one way this can be made even more accessible is by using a proxy server.
Proxy servers allow people from all over the world to manipulate their locations so that you can designate tasks to employees in different countries, and they can get their work done just as quickly as if they were sitting next to you.
This also means you can hire people from abroad, opening vacancies to people worldwide and allowing you to attract a much bigger talent pool.
Now that you know some of the key benefits of using proxy servers at work, isn't it time you started?
Our business is hiding yours
Proxyrack offers residential and datacenter proxies so you and your team can carry out your work to the best of your abilities, no matter where they are. Whether they're web scraping in Wyoming, social media managing in Massachusetts, or conducting competitor research in Raleigh.
For more tips on maximizing your use of proxies, including information on how to test proxies, how to hide your IP address, and guides on using proxies to your advantage, including scraping job data from Indeed and our complete guide to using proxies on Twitter
For a full rundown of how our datacenter and residential proxies work and how they can make your work easier. Take a look at the relevant pages:
Finally, check out our FAQs page if you still have any questions regarding proxy servers.
Here, you'll find questions to help you along every step of the way, from before you purchase your proxy to setting it up and integration. And, should anything go wrong (unlikely, but there's always a slight chance), we even have a series of troubleshooting FAQs too.
FAQs
What type of proxy services will your business benefit from most?
The type of proxy server your company needs will vary depending on its priorities. For example, residential proxies are beneficial in helping you change your location, making them an excellent choice for managing social media accounts in different locations and countries.
By contrast, datacenter proxy servers provide complete anonymity, so if you're conducting a web crawl or other search engine optimization (SEO) task that Google may identify as dangerous, you can avoid being blocked.
How Does a Proxy for Business Enhance Online Security?
A proxy server is a gateway between users (your workforce) and the internet. Hiding and changing your IP address means target websites and potential hackers cannot determine your IP address - protecting you, your business, and sensitive data from cyber-attacks.
Why You Should Choose Proxyrack for Business Proxies
When you use a proxy from Proxyrack, you gain access to servers in over 140 countries, so you can tailor social media posts and campaigns depending on how specific your audience is. Additionally, we ensure all necessary safety measures are taken so you and your colleagues can work securely.
So, if you're looking for secure, speedy servers, you need a trustworthy proxy business. You need Proxyrack.
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