A Beginner’s Guide to an SSL Proxy

Proxy servers are intermediaries between their users and the internet. You can use them for anonymous browsing and traffic encryption to secure your data.The differences might seem clear if someone considers using them over VPN servers, and the advantages quite easily dictate the choice. However, with the variety of proxy types, deciding which one to pick becomes way more complicated.

One such type is called an SSL proxy. Its main use cases and goals are no different compared with other proxies. However, it brings certain advantages that stem from their peculiarities.

Let’s discuss them in detail and see when they are the best fit.

What kind of proxy is it?

SSL proxy is an intermediary server that uses SSL encryption and decryption between the client and their target server.

For instance, when a client wants to access certain data on the internet, they send a request not to the target server but to a proxy server. The proxy server then encrypts the request and sends it to the destination server. The request is decrypted only at the end of the route when the target server receives the request. When this server generates a response, the proxy server encrypts it there and decrypts only when it arrives back to the client.

This way, all the data sent back and forth is encrypted and can’t be accessed by third parties. Even if this two-way connection were interrupted by someone, they couldn’t use it since all the data would remain unreadable.

Underlying terms for encryption

When you read about SSL proxies, different terms, such as HTTPS proxies or TLS encryption, might seem confusing. These terms denote the same thing in terms of purpose, which is encryption. Yet, subtle differences do exist.

  • SSL – Secure Sockets Layer. It’s a technology for securing the internet connection between two systems. SSL protocol encrypts data between a client and a server or between two distinct servers.
  • TLS – Transport Layer Security. It’s an upgraded and more secure version of SSL. Although it is a more advanced version of the latter, its name is rarely used. Usually, the SSL certificate is the name that remains in use when the underlying technology is TLS.
  • HTTPS – Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. As you can see from the name, it’s a secured HTTP extension. That security consists of using TLS (that still might be called SSL) encryption.

When either of these terms is used to describe the type of proxies, you can be sure that it means the service of highly encrypted traffic and communication between different servers and devices.

Main advantages

The main goal is to enable robust protocols in the interactions between the client and the server. With SSL proxies, they are always mediated and completely encrypted.

That provides better anonymity and more safety.

SSL creates an additional security layer to the HTTP and impedes access to your data in case of interception. All your passwords, bank account details, sensitive personal information, or whatnot will remain untouched despite any attacks.

It also controls what to decrypt and what not to. You can be sure that all your data irrelevant to receiving a certain response from the server will not be decrypted. That makes your browsing way more anonymous.

Use cases

  • Brand protection

Cybersecurity is critical for businesses that have more of their work done online. Any attacks on the company can be detrimental. SSL proxies, with the highest security and encryption, shield from leaks of valuable data that could end up costing money and the loss of reputation.

  • Web scraping

A lot of valuable data can be collected online. Whether you wish to obtain publicly available information about the patterns of your potential customers or get intelligence on your competitors, you will face anti-scraping restrictions. Websites will often apply these to prevent large-scale scraping, even when it is not illegal. SSL proxies are useful here, for they will ensure that you will not be tracked and blocked based on your IP address.

  • Managing social media

Avoiding information leaks on social media is crucial as it helps to protect the brand. Along with the ability to manage multiple accounts without receiving any blocks, SSL proxies are here to improve social marketing on every possible level.

  • Accessing geo-restricted content

SSL proxies can be used to access merchandise and prices available only in specific countries and other limited content based on the user’s location. SSL proxies encrypt all sensitive data of yours, and you will no longer need to bother about geo-restrictions or things of that nature that depend on the data that your traffic always has in it.

  • Ad verification

Many businesses use SSL proxies to verify ads on their sites. They can be overshadowed by hackers that place different ads there. Your investments are wasted because things you advertise or pay others to advertise don’t get as much attention as possible. SSL proxies can help detect and disable these malicious practices on your site.

Summing-up

SSL proxy is a reliable tool to ensure anonymity and better safety that can be useful both individually and for your business. It encrypts your traffic and leaves no bottlenecks that could possibly result in losses.