In today’s digital environment, using a proxy in your web browser is a savvy way to achieve essential privacy and security. When browsing the web, proxy servers frequently require the user to activate them each time they go online manually. However, you can save time and energy by configuring a proxy through your Chrome settings.
Let’s break down how a proxy works, why you should use one, and most importantly, how to configure a proxy on Chrome.
Puppeteer is a Node library which controls Chrome or Chromium. It offers a high-level API for web scraping in Node.js.
This article will explain the steps needed to use a proxy in Puppeteer. But, first, let’s understand more about Puppeteer and Proxies.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A PUPPETEER?
Here are some of the things that you can do with a Puppeteer:
- Produce screenshots and PDFs of pages
- Generate pre-rendered content by crawling a SPA (Single-Page Application)
Web scraping allows quick extraction of data from several websites.
Several businesses use it for brand monitoring, data enrichment, lead generation, and for performing marketing analysis at scale.
However, it would be best to choose a proxy for web scraping to keep your identity safe and boost your network performance.
This article will discuss what proxies are, why you should select a proxy and the different types of scraping proxies to choose for your exact web scraping needs.
First, we shall explain what an IP address is. An internet protocol (IP) address is the unique code assigned to each computer when it connects to the Internet. The IP address is used to locate the computer and enables it to communicate with other connected computers.
A static residential IP address is provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). This IP address is legal and legitimate and has a physical location attached to it. Residential IPs are easy to locate and usually allow ISPs or websites to collect information about your online activity.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides a secure internet connection, allowing its to access geo-restricted websites, browse securely and maintain their anonymity online.
VPN was originally created as a way to secure business networks or allow employees to access a business network from home. Nowadays, many people use a VPN connection for torrenting, streaming geo-blocked content, or guarding their data when using public coffee shop WiFi.
WHAT IS A PROXY NETWORK?
In order to explain the concept of residential proxies, we have to define what a proxy is in the first place. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a proxy server is ‘a computer system that facilitates the exchange of data between users on a network’. The main reason to use a proxy server is for greater security, for example, forwarding requests across a firewall.
The internet is a big and anonymous place… or is it? As you would have probably guessed, it is very far from that. When we surf the web, interact with different apps and websites and buy stuff online, we are almost the opposite from anonymous. Each and every step and action we take is monitored and tracked, and this data being gathered may and will be used against us by more people and companies than we would probably like.
Virtual Private Networks, better known as VPNs, have become a necessity for internet users everywhere. They allow internet users to connect to an isolated network privately and securely.
This technology ensures a private and encrypted connection thanks to what is known as a VPN tunnel, through which the internet traffic passes.
There are a couple of different types of VPNs to choose from as different people require particular features from their VPNs. Therefore, it’s good to know what types of VPNs exist, how they differ, and who can benefit from which type the most.
A proxy server is a computer that acts as an intermediary between the user’s computer and the Internet. Proxies can be used for a multitude of different reasons, such as sharing internet connections on a local area network, hiding your IP address, accessing websites that are blocked due to geographical restrictions, etc. Whether you work for a large company, or use the internet at home a proxy can enhance your online experience.
When someone enters the world of proxies, they do so with a pressing concern in their mind. Should I choose a cheap proxy or a premium proxy service? Is paying for a premium proxy worth it? Based on your warm reception of our recent cheap vs. premium VPN overview – we decided to create one for proxy services as well.
Most of us understand that there must be some value in the service to start with, or else people wouldn’t use it at all.
It is more than obvious that the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. Free public Wi-Fi and mobile internet are almost everywhere. We greatly rely on the world wide web to text each other, send and receive emails, post about our life on social media networks, shop for clothes or order food, search for information, and so on.
Unfortunately, some of us are too casual and careless about managing our personal data and activities online.
As proxy servers are becoming more and more popular, there is an increasing number of people wondering about their purpose.
“A proxy server is used for which of the following: web surfing, domain hosting, or some other purpose?”
A long time ago, to better describe the concept of a proxy server in our article, we told a story. It was about a lawyer representing a person in court in order for the person to appear more legitimate before the judge.
