#rotatingproxies

The internet is not the place right now that we knew as kids. Sadly, it is not as open and free as it used to be. Nowadays, website blocks, attacks and surveillance are becoming more and more common. In such a place, people have many different reasons to prefer to appear anonymous, and to achieve true anonymity and safety, one needs to take a lot of precautions. Fortunately, we have many tools to protect ourselves on the internet, and one of that is a Socket Secure proxy.

Many of us have heard a lot about SOCKS proxies, but only a few of us fully understand them and their purpose, way of working and the anonymity level they offer. There are many confusions associated with SOCKS proxies, such as the misconception that they are an alternative to VPNs (Virtual Private Network), making people choose the wrong tools and have the wrong sense of protection.

For this reason, we have prepared this article to give you an in-depth look at SOCKS proxies, SOCKS5 proxies and how they are used in order to clear any confusion that you might have.

What Is A SOCKS Proxy?

Basically, SOCKS is an internet protocol, just like HTTPS. However, SOCKS offers a higher level of anonymity to the person using it. When you connect to a SOCKS proxy, it passes your traffic through a third server via TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and assigns a new IP address to you. Since your IP address has changed, you cannot be located by web hosts. With a different IP address, you are able to get around location based restrictions. 

If we compare a SOCKS proxy with a VPN, the VPN has the upper hand as it provides encryption, which is something that SOCKS proxies do not offer. This means that SOCKS proxies don't provide their users with true privacy and the users aren't safe from any kind of attack on public Wi-Fi and government surveillance.

Apart from that, a SOCKS proxy does not work for every application. This means that a user is not always completely safe during his regular browsing.

Although the lack of encryption in a SOCKS proxy makes it less protective, it provides a few benefits as well. The biggest benefit it provides is speed. Because a SOCKS proxy does not encrypt any traffic at all, it costs much less and runs faster as compared to a VPN. In conclusion, because SOCKS proxies do not provide safety by using monitoring, they lie in between HTTP and VPN services.

When you are using a SOCKS proxy, the security it provides depends on a lot of factors, the most important one being its version. SOCKS proxies have two versions; the first one is SOCKS4 and the second one is SOCKS5. Most proxy service providers these days use either SOCKS4 or SOCKS5 proxies to give anonymity and protection to their users.

Of course, there are a few differences between the two types of SOCKS proxies. Because the SOCKS4 version came first, it has fewer features than the SOCKS5 version of SOCKS proxies. This is the reason why the usage of SOCKS5 proxies is much more widespread than SOCKS4 proxies these days.

One of the very important features that a SOCKS4 proxy doesn't have is the support for UDP (User Datagram Protocol) protocol based applications. So a SOCKS4 user cannot use programs that require high speed and more efficiency, such as games. In addition to that, a SOCKS5 proxy can also support Domain Name Resolution and IPv6. As a result, the client of a SOCKS5 proxy can specify a URL instead of an IP address. The SOCKS4a version of SOCKS proxies has this feature as well. 

How A SOCKS5 Proxy Is Used?

Because of the various important features of a SOCKS5 proxy, it is very useful for a large proportion of the world population. The most common use of a SOCKS5 proxy is to get around online restrictions. For example, if your ISP (Internet Service Provider) has prevented its clients from accessing a few illegal movie sharing websites, such as The Pirate Bay, a SOCKS5 proxy has the ability to bypass it. 

The application of this particular feature is easily found on restricted networks, such as those in schools and offices. It is common for these connections to be monitored and to restrict users from the access to social media, games, etc. 

A SOCKS5 proxy is also used to get around regional restrictions. For instance, BBC's iPlayer is only available for IP addresses of the UK. By using a SOCKS5 proxy located in the UK, you can temporarily get a UK IP address, which would allow you to use British T.V. without any restrictions or checking.

The same example can be used for the popular application, Netflix, which offers many more movies and series in the USA as compared to other countries. Therefore, using a SOCKS5 proxy located in a different location as yours can allow you to access more content. 

While using their home networks, users have to be really careful and alert. This caution has to be multiplied for some specific activities, such as torrenting. With a SOCKS5 proxy, downloading can be done at higher speeds and the user can feel secure as a protective cover is added on the user, hiding them from copyright holders. There are many BitTorrent clients out there that allow a certain level of encryption when a user is using a SOCKS5 proxy. This strengthens security and prevents further problems.