Whether it’s for online privacy, bypassing geo-blocks, or avoiding censorship, a SOCKS5 proxy is one of the best tools for you. In this article, I’ll teach you how to choose the best SOCKS5 proxies by going through a checklist of the most important elements to look for.
Things like GeoIP rotation, server uptime, and proxy pool size are especially important when choosing a SOCKS5 proxy. But they’re not the only aspects you should watch for.
Things aren’t that simple or straightforward, as it’s often the case with cybersecurity. But don’t worry, I’m here to help.
Let’s go through the most important things you should consider when you choose the best SOCKS5 proxies!
Things to Look for in a SOCKS5 Proxy
When choosing a SOCKS5 proxy, you should ask yourself a couple of questions first:
- Why do I need a SOCKS5 proxy? Only for privacy or to bypass a geo-block?
- Do I need custom GeoIP rotation options? Am I trying to unlock a service in a specific country?
- What non-web applications will I be using with this proxy? Do I need specific support for any of them?
- Will I be using VoIP apps a lot? If so, then maybe I need a SOCKS5 proxy with a solid server uptime and low latency?
Answering these questions will help you make a more educated decision about your online privacy.
Now, let me tell you about the most important elements of a SOCKS5 proxy!
1. Proxy Pool Size/Uniqueness
A proxy pool is a large set of residential IPs that the proxy provider manages as their proxy network. You and other clients use these IPs as “proxies” to mask your real IP, get around geo-blocks, and avoid censorship blocks.
The idea is that the bigger a proxy pool is, the less likely you are to use the same IP address across multiple instances. You can learn more about how proxy pools function here.
From a cybersecurity standpoint, the less time you use the same IP address, the more anonymous and protected you are, especially with SOCKS5 proxies which cater to various real-time activities like VoIP apps and online gaming.
Moreover, SOCKS5 proxies offer broader support for various applications. This means they’re more likely to exhaust their available IP addresses more quickly. IP uniqueness is also particularly important to SOCKS5 proxies because reusing the same IP might lead to lag or higher latency in SOCKS5-specific apps.
So, a SOCKS5 proxy with a bigger proxy pool size is better than one with a smaller proxy pool size.
Or is it?
A Proxyway research study found out a few interesting things about the proxy pool size and uniqueness of SOCKS 5 proxies.
To summarize, an IP uniqueness score of less than 50% means that across a number of requests (accessing websites), you will receive the same IP more than half the time. And that’s not ideal. Read more about the study here!
You should look for SOCKS5 proxies with over 10 million residential IPs and ask the proxy provider how they calculate the number of their proxies.
Chances are they’ll tell you they calculate the size of the proxy pools over a period of time.
The more proxies they have, the more likely you are to receive unique IPs more often and for more activities online.
2. Server Uptime
Server uptime is easy to understand. When a proxy server is up, you benefit from their services. This means:
- Using a different IP that the proxy provider has assigned
- Being able to bypass geo-blocks
- Being able to avoid imposed censorship blocks
When the server is down, you don’t have access to any of those benefits. Essentially, you can’t use the proxy service when the server is down.
Server uptime is even more important with SOCKS5 proxies because they’re often used for real-time applications where any interruption can be quite problematic. Take lag in online gaming or call drops in VoIP.
When a SOCKS5 proxy server goes down, the impact is likely to be more severe than on an HTTP proxy because SOCKS5 works with a wider range of apps and protocols.
Most worthwhile SOCKS5 proxies will mention their server uptime on the website. You should look for scores above 99% for the best experience.
There are a couple of reasons why a server might be down at any given time:
- Traffic overload
- Cyberattacks
- Human error
- Hardware and software failure
- Network outages
Regardless of the reason for server downtime, none of it is your fault as the customer. So, you should find a SOCKS5 proxy with the best server uptime (at least 99%).
If the server is down often, you’ll lose your privacy and anonymity, and you won’t be able to keep using geo-blocked services. You may even be blacklisted.
3. Free Trial/Guaranteed Refund
While a free trial isn’t mandatory and does not reflect the quality of a SOCKS5 proxy, it does help you make a more educated decision.
Being able to test the proxy for a couple of days without paying is a significant benefit for many customers.
Before committing, you may want to check for SOCKS5-specific elements that you may need, including:
- Full UDP support for all the apps you will work with might require duplex UDP communication (inbound and outbound UDP transmission). UDP services include VoIP services, online gaming platforms, streaming apps, etc.
- Full authentication options, preferably GSS-API authentication, provide the most robust security for a SOCKS5 proxy. At the very least, you should make sure that the proxy has username and password-based authentication
- Proxy chaining options. Not all SOCKS5 proxies provide full proxy chaining support, so a free trial would let you test for this if it’s something you need
When you choose the best SOCKS5 proxies, you’ll want to have all the data available and, ideally, direct experience with the product before committing to a subscription. This is especially important to SOCKS5, considering that they have more varied (and specific) uses compared to HTTP proxies.
And not all SOCKS5 proxies provide the same features to the same degree. For instance, most offer partial or no UDP support. Others might offer limited authentication options. You need to check beforehand!
Some SOCKS5 proxies might offer a no-questions-asked refund period of a couple of days instead of a free trial.
That’s also fine since you have the guarantee that you’ll get your money back if you’re not satisfied with the product.
4. GeoIP Rotation Options
GeoIP rotation is a feature uniquely associated with SOCKS5 proxies that allows you to obtain IP addresses from varying geographic locations. This is essential for apps like automated testing and web scraping.
However, different SOCKS5 proxies provide varying levels of GeoIP rotation:
- Full GeoIP Rotation – Allows you to choose from a very extensive list of IP addresses in different geographic locations. You may choose different regions in a country and even different countries for full flexibility
- Limited GeoIP Rotation – Proxies that offer limited GeoIP rotation will provide you with a much smaller range of geographical locations to choose from. Some may only provide IPs in one country, with multiple regions available
There are also differences in the configurational options available for GeoIP rotation. Different SOCKS5 proxies offer varying controls over the GeoIP rotation process, from the rotation interval to the desired specific geographic locations.
Full GeoIP Rotation is invaluable for activities such as web scraping, research, market analyses, and even bypassing geo-blocks. With more comprehensive GeoIP Rotation options, you will be able to unlock more geo-blocked websites and censorship restrictions.
I recommend inquiring about GeoIP Rotation options with the proxy provider or using their free trial to see how comprehensive this feature is. It’s certainly one of the things you need to keep in mind when choosing the best SOCKS5 proxies!
6. Support for Non-Web Services
A very important aspect to remember when looking for a good SOCKS5 proxy is the support it offers for non-web services like online gaming platforms, VoIP apps, email clients, P2P clients, etc.
SOCKS5 proxies generally support most of these apps and services but if you’re looking for something specific, it’s best to check beforehand.
Do you need support for a particular email client or VoIP application? Maybe you need additional configurational flexibility to add non-web services into the proxy? Some proxies don’t offer these additional settings, which will limit you severely.
Non-web services often use complex protocols that need specific compatibility from SOCKS5 proxies. While you may not find this information in the provider’s documentation or FAQs, the customer support should help you out.
VoIP applications are a perfect example of this. They generally rely on non-standard protocols and ports, which SOCKS5 proxies are better equipped to handle. Not all VoIP apps work the same, either.
That’s why support for non-web services should be an important factor when you choose the best SOCKS5 proxies!
Conclusion
When you’re looking for a SOCKS5 proxy, you need to consider every element discussed above to make the best decision for your online safety.
From security to proxy pool size, GeoIP rotation options, and support for non-web apps, they all define the end-user experience in significant ways.
To help you choose the best SOCKS5 proxies, I’ve compiled a list of the most popular SOCKS5 proxy providers on the market. Check it out here!
