Anonymous Proxy Levels: Elite, Anonymous, and Transparent

Proxy servers are helpful tools that allow you to browse online securely, and anonymous proxies are some of the best. Anonymous proxies, like others, also manage your connection with websites, but they deliver various levels of anonymity. Click here to learn more about other types and buy proxies that suit your purposes. For now, we’ll look at the proxy anonymity levels and their benefits.

Proxy Anonymity Levels

Anonymous proxies deliver better anonymity than many others in some cases. However, you can also choose your level of anonymity by deciding to use one of the three options below.

Elite

The elite proxy, sometimes called the high anonymity proxy, is the best for complete anonymity. This proxy completely hides your IP address and doesn’t forward your personal data via HTTP headers and X-Forwarded-For data. Your request has no data that shows you are using a proxy, which makes it the most advanced and secure server. 

 

The elite proxies are also some of the most expensive ones, as one of the most anonymous options, which only broadcasts the server’s IP address. However, it’s perfect for handling sensitive information, like financial details. Businesses can use this without risking their own information data, and websites won’t even know you’re using a proxy.

Anonymous

The anonymous proxy delivers some anonymity, but not to the level of an elite one. Websites you connect with using this proxy might not be able to see your information or access your network, but they can see you’re using a proxy. It doesn’t send your X-Forwarded-For address to the website, which means they don’t get information from you, but sends your headers, which identify the connection as a proxy. 

 

As such, these proxy servers are helpful when accessing a website where you want to protect your information, but you might still get blocked. Some websites won’t stop you when you’re using it, but others who use advanced blockers might recognize it as a proxy connection and block it. It’s perfect for the average user who wants to protect their data but doesn’t need a more expensive elite solution.

Transparent

Lastly, transparent proxies don’t hide your IP address or information, as this one does neither. Instead, these ease your passage, so to speak. It sends both your X-Forwarded-For and Via Headings, but unlike the other anonymous proxies, the benefit of the transparent one isn’t privacy. 

 

Instead, you use this proxy when you want your server to load faster or bypass some minor restrictions. As a company, you can use this proxy type to monitor employees’ online activity, block sites like social media platforms, or bypass basic firewalls. Overall, this is a good option when gaming or controlling web traffic on a specific server.

Benefits of Anonymous Proxies

Anonymous proxies have many benefits, which we explore below.

Increased Security

Our lives are mostly online these days, and protecting your data is becoming more critical. By making an unsafe connection, you might accidentally leak information you didn’t want to, like your address, name, social security number, or financial details. These proxies help ensure you can browse online in complete anonymity.

Bypass Geo-Restrictions

One of the most prevalent uses of these tools is to bypass geo-blocking. Geo-blocking is when specific information is restricted to a particular area, market, or country. It means you might struggle to find market-related details if you’re looking into expanding into another location or area. However, if you buy proxies like these ones that assign a new IP address in that market, you can easily access it.

Prevents Hacker Activity

Various software protects your online data, like your password vault and firewall technologies. However, hackers are getting more innovative, and it’s over if they access sensitive information like all your log-ins or passwords. Certain proxies completely hide your IP address and ensure you never make a direct connection which can leave a digital footprint. As such, there’s no string the hacker can follow back to your network.

Allows for Web Scraping

Another excellent use of these servers is when conducting market research. Web scraping is a perfect way to gather information on the market, your competitors, and other necessary data. However, since it scrapes hundreds to thousands of websites relatively quickly, you might find the scraper blocked by sites. An anonymous proxy helps ensure you don’t get blocked and helps speed up the times it takes to data mine.

Cache Websites

All three anonymity levels of these proxies are ideal for caching content on a website. A cache is when the server stores small file copies so that you can access them quicker. These files can be HTML files, images, javascript, and more. Since your browser has to download a lot of data when displaying search results or websites, caching a website’s content can slow down your connection. However, an elite, anonymous, or transparent proxy will help complete this task faster.

Should I Use an Anonymous Proxy?

Besides anonymous proxy servers, residential proxies like the ones Smartproxy offers are the closest to complete anonymity you can achieve. Anonymous, elite, and transparent proxies all have their uses and benefits, allowing you to access websites safely. If you’re worried about protecting your data while online, worry no further, as you can buy proxies that are ideal for that purpose and offer additional advantages.