Why are Shared Proxies not Secure?

Learn why using a shared proxy is not ideal for your business and know the reasons why this is so. Get to know the differences between dedicated IP vs shared IP and apply this learning to your business.

What is a Proxy?

Basically, proxies are intermediary servers that allow you to surf the web anonymously. A proxy allows you to go online without exposing your home IP address and all the vital information about yourself to the rest of the world.

Aside from increasing your security, proxies also protect your computer from internet threats like malware. Additionally, they allow you to access geo-blocked websites or restricted content.

Proxy servers are basically computers that serve as hubs. These servers act as an intermediary between your home PC and all the other computers on the internet. These are where your requests are processed.

Once you connect to any of these hubs, they process your requests before sending back to you all the information that you needed. In simple terms, proxy servers are just a gateway between you and the rest of the internet users.

Shared vs. Dedicated Proxies

There are two types of proxies: shared proxies and dedicated proxies. Dedicated proxies are also known as private proxies and they are exclusive to one user only. On the other hand, shared proxies are designed to be used by multiple users simultaneously.

To better understand the differences between dedicated IP vs shared IP, we will compare them in terms of speed, anonymity, price, control of activity, and advertising/spam.

1. Speed

Dedicated proxies guarantee reliable speed since they are private. You will experience high speeds because you won’t be sharing the bandwidth with any other user. However, shared proxies can be frustratingly slow since it involves sharing the bandwidth with multiple users.

• Anonymity

This is probably the topmost reason why a user decides to use a proxy server – to be able to surf the web anonymously. Although both shared and dedicated proxies promise to ensure web anonymity, they do not actually offer the same reliability.

Shred proxies are, of course, more reliable when it comes to keeping your identity safe. This is because it has many users, and it will be extremely hard for someone to know that it is you. On the other hand, dedicated proxies do not guarantee anonymity since you are the only one using the server.

• Price

When it comes to price, there is no doubt that dedicated proxies cost more. This is because you need to shoulder all the maintaining costs of that IP address alone.

Shared proxies, however, cost cheaper. Since you are sharing the IP with multiple users, it comes with a cheaper price maintenance, as well. You can even find free shared proxies. Users usually go for free proxies to give it a try before they decide whether to upgrade to a paid account or to find a better server.

• Control of Activity

With dedicated proxies, you have full control over how to use it since you are using it exclusively. But with shared proxies, you have no control over how the other users make use of the IP.

They may use it on illegal sites which will result in getting the IP blacklisted. Thus, you will be blocked from accessing certain sites, something that is unlikely to happen if you are using a dedicated proxy.

• Advertising and Spam

Nobody likes getting spammed with advertisements. With a dedicated proxy, you can be at peace that this won’t happen since your identity is protected as you surf the web. Plus, you won’t leave any footprints of your personal information (IP, email address, etc.), making it hard for spammers to find you and bombard you with annoying ads.

The case is different with shared proxies. Aside from not being 100% reliable, some free proxies’ suppliers even sell the users’ email addresses to advertisers. In the worst cases, they can even install viruses and malicious software on your device.

Reasons Why Shared Proxies are Not Secured

To simplify things, shared proxies are not totally secured. You use proxy servers to protect your identity and all your vital information either personal or for business purposes and increase your security as well.

So, it’s only wise to only trust servers that can guarantee all of these. Unfortunately, shared proxies do not guarantee to be 100% reliable when it comes to protection. This is because you share the server with multiple users. Thus, you are still putting all your vital information at risk.

One common disadvantage of shared proxies is the bad neighbor effect. Since you don’t get to choose whom you are sharing the proxy with, there is a high chance that you will be a victim of illegal activities. While you may observe all the rules, you may still get blacklisted or blocked if someone else using the proxy conducts illegal or malicious activity.

They also do not guarantee the highest level of online privacy. Thus, you will be more prone to spammers and hackers. The last thing that you wanted to happen is to expose all the confidential data of your company to spammers and hackers.

Conclusion

Although shared proxies are cost-effective and efficient, they are not a good choice if you are after online security. Unlike dedicated proxies that only have one sole user, shared proxies require sharing with other users, which can jeopardize your security.