Not all proxies are created equal. In fact, many proxies have varying levels of effectiveness in terms of speed, security, and routing protocols, making them very different for users.

The two main types of proxies in use today are Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) proxies and Secure Sockets (SOCKS) proxies. I'll break down the differences between the two approaches at multiple levels.

I will compare in terms of functionality and security.

Function

HTTP proxy function

I'll go into more detail below, but the main standout feature of HTTP proxy functionality is that they are built with very specific HTTP protocol methods in mind. They are primarily used to acquire and receive within this protocol, not other types of network connections. This includes the specific network port through which all HTTP traffic is normally routed.

Because of these factors, HTTP proxies are the more common of the two types, and are usually what people mean when they talk about proxy usage. Public proxies, private proxies, and some VPN services all use HTTP proxies.

SOCKS proxy function

SOCKS proxies operate in a more "low-level" location than HTTP proxies. This means that SOCKS proxies are more general, more applied, and "less smart". "Intelligence" in this sense has to do with programming and agent methods that understand the information being passed, which is discussed in the security section.

Programmers also use SOCKS proxies because, unlike HTTP proxies that are bound in the HTTP protocol, SOCKS works on any network protocol and on any port.

Because of this ubiquitous application of SOCKS proxies, they are more commonly used for non-specific HTTP protocol-related transactions and are malleable for programmers, whereas HTTP proxies do not.

Safety Comparison

When most people talk about the difference between SOCKS and HTTP proxies, they are talking about whether or not both are secure. Proxies are often used exclusively for anonymity and security, so for the most part, that's what people care about the most. I'll compare the two below.

HTTP proxy security

In general, HTTP proxies are not as secure as SOCKS. This is true if you are using elite dedicated proxies, shared dedicated proxies, or public proxies (in descending order of security).

The main reason why HTTP proxies are insecure? They are smart. "I know it's weird. Usually, smarter means more security, but in this particular protocol chain, that's not the case.

Security concerns come into focus when looking at the actual network traffic or data passed between the client and server in the HTTP protocol. Because of this intelligence (actually a simple way to say how the proxy and protocol system is set up on the architecture), HTTP proxies can understand and interpret this traffic.

This means that the data stream you (the client) is requesting can be seen by the proxy you are using. However, many users believe that HTTP proxies are highly secure, such as "elite private proxies," when in reality the companies that own these proxies may be logging this data.

HTTP proxy warning

The numerical caveat to the whole concept is that HTTP proxies are not secure. Now that many of us are familiar with HTTPS rather than HTTP, the "S" is often associated with more secure websites. In Google Chrome, a small padlock icon appears on websites that start with https:// instead of http://. This can be achieved with the CONNECT method, which allows an HTTP proxy to establish a secure and direct connection, also known as a tunnel, between the client and the server.

If you're buying an HTTP proxy, ask the provider if the CONNECT method is supported. If you do this, you can get a high level of security from some connections. If not, there is a risk of reading the data.

SOCKS proxy security

As you might guess, SOCKS proxies are more secure than HTTP proxies. The main reason this is true is that SOCKS cannot read the data passed between the client and the server. It's stupid in the sense that this ignorance makes it ill-informed about any information passed between client and server.

The technical process behind it is related to the SOCKS proxy connection method, which is called "tunneling". With HTTP proxies, the client and server exchange information through the proxy itself, which acts as a middleman between two web-based interfaces. With a SOCKS tunnel, the client makes a direct request to the client and opens the tunnel with explicit permission (called a handshake).

This is a TCP/IP based connection and is very secure due to its directness and transparency. It is clear when the tunnel is opened, it is clear that the SOCKS proxy cannot access the data in the tunnel.

SOCKS proxies have two major versions: 4 and 5. The latest version, SOCKS5, adds more support for security and UDP. For basic users, any version of SOCKS will work just fine, and both are very secure.

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