IP addresses have almost eliminated our postal addresses in this digital era. Whatever we do online, our IP signature is carried forward with our activities. This can make us vulnerable to privacy theft and other malicious activities. So, hiding IP addresses is crucial, especially when we want to maintain anonymity online.

This is where proxies come in handy. Proxies hide our IP addresses and let us surf the internet without anyone prying into our privacy. Among various proxy protocols, SOCKS5 Proxy is one of the most popular options. You should read the Proxyway guide to choose the best SOCKS5 proxy.

What Is an IP Address?

IP stands for Internet Protocol. It is a set of digits assigned by the internet service provider. Every device connected to the internet has its own IP address. When we make a connection request, the request carries the IP address to the target server. The web server then knows where to send the requested information. So, IP addresses work like physical addresses of our devices.

What Is a Proxy?

A proxy is nothing but an IP address that is different from the original IP address of the device. The proxy server works as an intermediary between our devices and the target server. Our connection requests go through the proxy server. The proxy server masks our original IP addresses and assigns a new IP.

When the request goes to the target server, the server can only see the newly assigned IP address and uses that address to send the requested information. Then, the proxy server reroutes the information to our devices. So, proxies are highly effective in hiding our IP addresses. But why do we even need to hide the IP address?

Importance of Hiding IP Address

Hiding IP addresses has two types of reasons. The first ones are defensive reasons where we hide IP addresses to maintain our privacy and safety. The second type of reason is to improve our access. Let’s give you a detailed breakdown of the reasons.

Maintaining Anonymity

We often need to browse websites where we don’t want to disclose our identities. If the IP address isn’t hidden, those websites can get the IP address. Persons sitting behind those websites may retrieve our identities and location info from the IP address. Proxies let us hide our IP address to maintain anonymity while browsing the internet.

Preventing Cyber Threats and Malicious Activities

Cybercrime is booming like all other aspects of the digital era. As a result, users need to remain careful about cyber threats and other malicious activities. If the IP address is disclosed on public platforms, it can cause a security threat. Third parties can access this information to harm us, both digitally and physically. From malware attacks to harmful stalkers, hiding IP addresses saves us from a lot of risks.

Stopping Target Advertising

Digital marketers highly depend on user data to create targeted ads. These ads are based on the browsing preferences of users. Search engines or social media platforms collect this data based on the IP address of the user. Some companies have allegations of selling this data to third parties.

Data theft can be a huge issue to hamper our privacy. When we hide the IP address, websites can’t do browser fingerprinting or user profiling properly. So, we can stop websites from tracking all our online activities.

Avoiding IP Bans

Modern websites often have various safety measures to prevent malicious attacks. These systems detect IP addresses that show fishy behavior, such as hitting the server numerous times within a short period. In that case, servers detect these hits as bots and block the related IP address from accessing the server.

It hinders some web operations, such as web scraping. But when we use proxies, our requests go through different IP addresses. So, web servers can’t mark those requests as suspicious.

Accessing Location-Specific Content

Many websites have location-specific content that is only accessible from selected locations. If you live outside that region, you won’t be able to access the content on the website. Proxies are also helpful in this case. By using a proxy address of the target location, you can easily bypass geographic restrictions and access any content you want.

Why Choose SOCKS5 Proxy?

SOCKS5 proxies are more versatile than HTTP proxies. With more authentication options, remote DNS queries, and other features, SOCKS5 proxies work with all kinds of data. But you should be careful about choosing the proxy provider.

Conclusion

One of the most important safeguards while browsing the internet is using proxies. They hide your original IP address so that you can protect your privacy. Concealing the IP address keeps us from cyber threats, user profiling, and other harmful activities. Besides, it gives us wider access to all content on the internet regardless of our geographic location.