What Is The SOCKS5 Protocol?
SOCKS is an internet protocol used for proxies, i.e. to enable a client and a server machine to communicate over the internet without knowing each other, by means of an intermediary proxy server. SOCKS5 is the most recent version of this protocol, designed to be an upgrade to its predecessors SOCKS4 and SOCKS4a. SOCKS5 offers authentication support and includes support for IPv6 and UDP.
Common Use Cases For SOCKS5 Proxies
In the world of web scraping, the most common use case of a proxy is to mask the IP address of the client making the HTTP request to the website being scraped. Proxies primarily help mask the IP address of the client from the server. This could be useful for privacy reasons, to bypass geographical restrictions, or to make requests from multiple IP addresses using multiple proxies to bypass IP-based rate limiting.
SOCKS5 proxies, in particular, support a wide variety of protocols compared to other methods, making them an ideal fit for advanced use cases such as receiving large media streams and bypassing HTTP firewalls using raw TCP.
How To Use SOCKS5?
Most proxy clients in popular use today have built-in support for SOCKS5 proxies. No special setup is usually required to use these proxies. First, you will need the address of the proxy server, the port number, and authentication credentials (if any). Next, you'll have to pick the protocol type as "SOCKS5" on your proxy client, so it knows that this protocol is to be used with the supplied server details.
Here's some example code showing how to configure a SOCKS5 proxy with Selenium:
from selenium import webdriver
DRIVER_PATH = '/path/to/chromedriver'
PROXY_URL = 'socks5://<hostname>:<port>'
options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
options.add_argument('--proxy-server=' + PROXY_URL)
driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path=DRIVER_PATH, options=options)
Note that not all clients support authentication for SOCKS5 out of the box, and some workarounds may be required. For more information on using proxies with Selenium, you can refer to our tutorial on using Selenium with Python.
Can You Get A SOCKS5 Proxy For Free?
Yes, you can get a SOCKS5 proxy for free. Some popular websites for free SOCKS5 proxies are:
Limitations Of Free SOCKS5 Proxies
Free SOCKS5 proxies are often offered by individuals or small companies (and much more commonly shady ones) and may not have the same level of reliability and security as paid services. They may also have bandwidth limitations and slower speeds when compared to paid SOCKS5 proxies.
It is important to keep in mind that free proxies, regardless of the type, can be risky to use as they may be operated by malicious individuals who could use them to steal your personal data or compromise your security. In addition to security issues, free proxies are also unreliable because they often handle a lot more traffic than they should, and are often short-lived. Therefore, they are not recommended for long-term use.
If you require a high level of security and reliability, it may be worth investing in a paid SOCKS5 proxy service or even a paid VPN from a reputable provider.
Finally, if you do decide to use free SOCKS5 proxies, you can check out our blog on building a free AI-Powered scraper to gather fresh public proxies.
How Much Do SOCKS5 Proxies Cost?
If you choose to paid options, keep in mind that the cost of SOCKS5 proxies varies based on the service provider and whether they are data center proxies or residential ones. Data center proxies are cheaper, but some consumer websites could block them based on their IP addresses, because their typical users do not have data center IP addresses. Residential proxies correspond to IP addresses that could be used by real consumers, and are hence unlikely to come across as automated traffic from data center IP addresses. Some providers offer higher tiers within residential proxies, such as offering mobile phone IP addresses.
The cost for proxies is usually quoted as price per GB. Data center proxies typically cost less than 1 USD per GB, and residential proxies start from $3 per GB, going up to $15 per GB based on the tier.