Restrictions on access to websites, social media, and other kinds of internet services are becoming more common. Servers are now known for placing certain types of blockings on their contents, and one such restriction is the geo-restriction.
A geo-restriction is usually placed to target users from certain geographical locations, and once set, it becomes impossible for users from those locations to access specific content.
Amongst the many ways to deal with geo-restrictions, the use of proxies is considered to be one of the most effective.
Table of Contents
What is a proxy?
A proxy can also be called a proxy server and is, primarily, a tool that serves as a gateway between a computer and the internet. Proxies are positioned in between internet users and the target server so that they can intercept both requests and responses.
This way, outgoing and incoming traffic flows through them. And there are so many benefits to this type of arrangement. Proxies can increase the speed with which devices can connect to the web. They also ensure that harmful substances are not returned along with responses. On the part of the server, proxies can help balance load as well as increase server performance.
Aside from the above uses, proxies are also excellent tools for improving security, removing IP blocking and geo-restrictions.
Using a proxy is therefore considered a must for any serious-minded business. Yet, the type of proxy a business should use depends mainly on the company’s size and what type of data they generally need.
Main benefits of using proxies for businesses
There are several reasons why businesses are advised to always use a good proxy service and below are some of the benefits proxies can confer on your business:
- Improving online privacy
Businesses sometimes need to carry out certain operations that must be kept away from prying eyes, and a proxy is a valuable tool for performing such operations. Proxies can hide and constantly change IP addresses so that none of your online activities can be tracked or traced back to you. You can interact with multiple websites without exposing your personal information to any of them.
- Removing IP address blocking
Proxies can also benefit your business by using its proxy address instead of your IP address. This way, the websites you visit will not be able to detect or block your IP address. The exciting thing about this feature is that some proxy service providers have huge proxy pools with millions of IP addresses worldwide, which they keep rotating for you during every connection, which makes it unlikely to repeat proxy addresses.
- Improving bandwidth and server performance
Proxies are known for storing cache files and connection after every successful operation. The proxy can then serve the stored files to respond if the subsequent request made is a request for the same data. By doing this, a proxy can save servers from having to deal with more traffic than they normally should. And when servers have to deal with less traffic, they tend to have better bandwidth and improved performances.
- Overcoming geo-restrictions
Businesses that stay in locations forbidden to access certain contents may consider this benefit the biggest blessing of proxies. Brands need data to help them successfully perform, and this is fine except when the content they need is located on a server that would not allow them access because of geo-restrictions.
Take, for instance, a German company trying to extract data from a Japanese server that has placed geo-restriction on many locations, including Germany.
Using a proper Japanese proxy would be the best way around this problem as proxies can change IP address and location, making it appear as if the user is not trying to access the contents from the forbidden location. If you are interested in accessing Japanese or any other content worldwide, you can read more about proxies over here.
How proxies function to overcome geo-restrictions
So we now know that proxies help to overcome geo-restrictions, but how do they do it? And in the example above, how does using a Japanese proxy help a German business extract Japanese contents?
Below is a simplified description of how a proxy helps you overcome geo-restrictions:
- Open and log in to your proxy server
- Type in the URL of the website your wish to access
- Press “enter” and watch as the proxy opens the website to you effortlessly
The trick here is that the proxy masks your actual IP and changes your location to grant you access to geo-restricted contents. Different proxies may have different ways of overcoming restrictions; however, they all work with the same principle.
Conclusions
More than ever, there is an increasing need for extensive data gathered in real-time, and proxies play an integral role in data extraction. Not only do they provide security and prevent blocking, but they can also overcome geo-restrictions. The kind of restriction known for frustrating brands’ efforts to collect valuable data from certain servers.