How the Service Works

This article describes the operation of the proxy to manage your requests securely and efficiently.

We have our own Python-based proxy server that forwards your HTTP requests through a set of rotating Squid proxies. Your requests are not changed in the process, except to remove the following request headers in order to protect your privacy and anonymity, so that your requests cannot be traced back:

• Authorization
• From
• Proxy-Authorization
• Proxy-Connection
• Via
• X-Forwarded-For

You'll find more details on the proxying process in Rotating Proxies. There is no software to download or install. All you need to do is configure your existing client to use our proxy server.

Most of our proxies are data center proxies. There are 7 rotating proxies in the United States and 8 international rotating proxies. Some of our proxies have IPv6 as well as IPv4. You do not need to do anything special for the IPv6 address to be shown to the remote site. For more information, please see our article Proxy Server Locations. We also have a US ISP proxy server with mobile & residential IP addresses.

We offer a World Proxy and an Open Proxy. The World proxy provides 25,000 IPs around the world. These IPs do not rotate regularly, but are chosen for each request based on a least recently used algorithm. If you don't find a rotating proxy designated for a specific country, you can often find static IPs for that country in the World Proxy. The World Proxy server is available on the ProxyMesh 50 plan and higher. 

Configuring Your Program to Use Your Proxy

Check out our HTTP client examples to see how to set the Proxy-Authorization header in various HTTP clients.

You can also use IP address authentication, which allows you to add multiple IP addresses to your account. Once you've subscribed to our service, you'll receive the specific address and port of our proxy server, and can add IP addresses or configure the Proxy-Authorization header.

Configuring Your Web Browser to Use Your Proxy

See How to Change Web Browser Proxy Settings for links to proxy configuration instructions for specific browsers. The easiest way to use a browser, once you’ve signed up with ProxyMesh, is to add your IP address from the dashboard, and then tell your browser to use our proxy auto-configuration URL, which you can find in your dashboard.

Account Dashboard

The ProxyMesh dashboard provides a graphical interface where you can manage account settings and configuration settings. For example, you can configure 2-factor authentication, manage proxy access, or create and edit sub-accounts, The dashboard also allows you to monitor your bandwidth usage. 

Multiple Accounts

Multiple accounts are allowed, but not with the same IP address.

The ProxyMesh system does not allow the same IP to be authenticated for multiple accounts. An attempt to do so will trigger a message that the IP is already in the system. With multiple accounts authorizing the same IP, a proxy server could not determine which account was making a request.

HTTPS/SSL Sites

At this time we only support HTTP connections to the proxy servers. But although the proxy server itself uses the HTTP protocol, it can securely proxy HTTPS/SSL connections between you and a HTTPS server using the CONNECT method. All communication between your client/browser and the secure site is encrypted; the proxy server is only moving the data back and forth. End-to-end HTTPS support may be added in the future.

Please note that since the proxy server cannot inspect HTTPS requests, all proxy authorization headers or custom ProxyMesh headers must be sent with the initial CONNECT method. IP based authentication is recommended.

SOCKS Protocol

The SOCKS protocol (short for “Socket Secure”) is commonly used to transmit data between client (e.g., your computer) and server (usually a website) through a proxy, which shields your computer’s identity. In contrast, the HTTP proxy, built expressly for proxying web requests, is usually the best choice for accessing http:// or https:// addresses. This widely used protocol is supported by all browsers and most http client software.

At this time we do not support the SOCKS protocol. We only support the HTTP protocol. If you’d like more information on the SOCKS protocol, please see our blog article SOCKS Proxies Vs HTTP Proxies. If you are looking for a SOCKS proxy, take a look at Proxy Seller.

Non-Persistent Connection

Although HTTP can use both persistent and non-persistent connections, the proxy service is not designed for persistent connections. That is, a proxy connection normally closes after transmission of just one request and one response. A proxy service will detect and disable a keep-alive header included in a request.

Connections to proxies with a protocol such as XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) or for video streaming may be unreliable, and likely to result in disconnects.

Streaming Video or Playing Online Games

Streaming video or playing online games is not what ProxyMesh was designed for, and it would probably use a lot more bandwidth than you'd expect. Here are some better options:

• a VPN such as ProtonVPN or F-Secure Freedome VPN
• or a web proxy with a persistent IP, like WonderProxy
• or a provider of both VPN and proxy services, like FoxyProxy.