How to Test Proxy

Flipnode on May 02 2023

Businesses engaged in web scraping operations often wonder how to verify the proper functioning and effectiveness of their proxies. Although creating a personal script is the most efficient way to test a proxy, there are alternative methods available that can be useful even if you lack technical expertise.

This article aims to provide clarity on the process of testing proxy servers, highlighting the parameters to be considered and the proxy checker tools, both simple and advanced, that can be of assistance.

What do you need to test proxies?

Testing proxies is important for businesses performing web scraping operations because it helps to ensure that the proxies are running correctly and efficiently. Proxies act as intermediaries between the scraper and the website being scraped, and if they are not functioning properly, it can lead to errors or downtime, which can affect the success of the web scraping operation. By testing proxies, businesses can identify and address any issues that may be impacting their scraping performance, and ensure that their operations are running smoothly.

IP checkers

To verify if your proxy is functioning properly, online IP checkers can also be utilized. A number of these checkers can be found online, but for the purpose of illustrating their basic operation, let's take whatismyproxy.com as an example. By visiting the website, it will instantly display your IP address and location, as well as the HTTP headers of the software being utilized.

While certain IP checkers may reveal your IP address and whether you're using a proxy, their capabilities are somewhat restricted. More advanced tools are required for a comprehensive analysis.

IP databases

Third-party IP location databases like IP2Location or MaxMind are utilized by some websites to identify the type of users visiting their platform and to verify their authenticity. In order to determine if an IP address belongs to a residential area or a data center, it is necessary to verify its IP status or usage type.

To perform this check, the website ip2location.com can be used as it is widely considered to be one of the most precise IP databases available. It provides users with detailed information about their IP address, including the probable usage type.

If a residential proxy being used is identified as a data center by this database, then there is a high likelihood that the target websites will also detect the same information, leading to a faster blocking of this proxy and any actual residential IP addresses.

FOGLDN Proxy Tester

FOGLDN Proxy Tester is a useful tool for evaluating the speed of your proxies by directly measuring ping times to any website worldwide. By monitoring the latency of your proxies, you can get an idea of their performance. The tool supports all types of proxies, including rotating proxies.

Despite its advantages, FOGLDN Proxy Tester has some limitations. For example, it does not provide details on the location of the proxy, its usage type, or the level of anonymity. Additionally, it does not allow for control over the number and frequency of requests made. Another drawback is that it does not provide specific reasons for failed tests.

Using this proxy tester is straightforward. To test your proxies, you can follow these steps:

Download the tool.
Add the list of proxies you want to test. If you're using a rotating gateway address, you can add it multiple times.
Enter the URL you want to test.
Click on "TEST PROXIES."

Hidemy.name

Hidemy.name offers a sophisticated proxy checker that can identify the type, location, speed, and anonymity level of a proxy. It automatically gathers a list of proxies from various websites and private databases on the internet, which can be sorted by protocol type (HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS).

Hidemy.name is a powerful proxy checker that can also determine the level of anonymity provided by a proxy. This includes whether your real IP address is concealed and if the destination server can suspect that you are using a proxy. The anonymity categories are available in hidemy.name's proxy lists include:

No anonymity: the destination server knows your real IP and that you're connecting through a proxy.
Low anonymity: the server is aware of you using a proxy, but your actual IP remains hidden.
Average anonymity: the destination server may think it knows your IP address, but the displayed IP is not accurate. The server is aware that you're using a proxy.
High anonymity: the destination server cannot detect your actual IP address or whether you're using a proxy.

One more thing that is more likely to be a matter of concern is whether your proxies are blocked from specific websites or not. The only way to tell if a proxy is blocked is to test proxies directly on the targeted websites. Your IP may be marked as suspicious at some point, but you might need to make many requests before any blocking.

Custom software

Writing your own script or software is another way to check proxies, allowing you more control over the process. However, this approach requires time and effort. The general idea is to write a scraper that takes a proxy from a list and extracts data from a simple, preferably static website that returns basic information.

To begin, it is essential to check if the proxy responds. You can do this by examining the content of the body, looking for a specific string in the HTML output, or verifying the content size (if the content is static). The response headers' status code can also be inspected, and an HTTP status code of 200 indicates that the proxy worked, but verifying the actual output is more dependable.

Setting a reasonable timeout for each request with a proxy is necessary. For datacenter proxies, a timeout of 10 seconds is acceptable, while residential proxies may require up to 30 seconds. If no content returns within the given time frame, the proxy is considered unusable. It is also useful to log the amount of time taken to complete each request. Even if some requests do not time out, they can still be too slow for real-life applications. All of this data should be recorded in a database or printed on the screen for analysis.

Conclusion

You can use various proxy checker tools to test your proxies, including online IP checkers that reveal your software's IP address, location, and HTTP headers. IP databases like IP2Location or MaxMind can also help you check the status and usage type of your proxy. FOGLDN Proxy Tester is an easy-to-use tester that can monitor the latency of your proxies and works with various proxy types. Additionally, hidemy.name proxy checker can determine the level of anonymity.

While these tools are useful, the most effective and reliable way to test your proxies is by writing a script that can send requests to specific websites, record the response time, and count the time it takes to complete the request.