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How to bypass anti-crawler measures using residential proxies

2024-01-17

Today, as the Internet becomes increasingly popular, web crawlers have become an important means of obtaining information. However, many websites have adopted various anti-crawling measures to prevent malicious crawling or abuse. These measures make normal crawler programs encounter many restrictions and obstacles when accessing. To solve this problem, we can utilize residential proxies to bypass anti-crawler measures. This article details how to use residential proxies to bypass anti-crawler measures.

1. Understand anti-reptile measures

Before discussing how to bypass anti-crawler measures, we first need to understand what these measures are. Common anti-crawler measures include:

a. Detection request frequency

Determine whether it is a crawler behavior by detecting the number of requests from a single IP address within a unit time.

b. Detect User-proxy

Determine whether it is a crawler behavior by checking the User-proxy field in the request.

c. Detecting Cookies:

Determine whether it is a crawler behavior by checking the Cookies information in the request.

d. IP ban

Add suspicious IP addresses to the blacklist and prohibit their access.

e. CAPTCHA verification:

Require users to enter a verification code to prove that they are not crawlers.

2. Working principle of residential proxy

A residential proxy, also known as a residential IP proxy or home proxy, is a type of proxy server. Unlike traditional proxy servers, the IP addresses used by residential proxies are real home addresses, so they can simulate completely real-person usage scenarios. By using a residential proxy, we can hide our real IP address and thus bypass the website’s anti-crawling measures.

3. Advantages of residential proxy

a. High anonymity

The IP address of the residential proxy is the real home address, so it has high anonymity and can hide the user's real IP address and improve network security.

b. Remove geographical restrictions

Using a residential proxy can unblock geo-restrictions on some websites or services, allowing users to access more content. For example, users can watch overseas video websites or use overseas online services by changing their IP addresses.

c. To prevent your account from being blocked

Using a residential proxy can prevent user accounts from being blocked. For example, cross-border e-commerce sellers often use multiple accounts to operate. Through residential proxies, each account can be under an independent IP to prevent the account from being blocked due to account association.

d. Stability and reliability

Residential proxies generally have high stability and reliability. Since network connections for residential users are usually relatively stable, and due to partnerships, providers usually provide stable proxy services to ensure the continued availability of proxy IPs.

e. Across devices and web platforms

Residential proxys are typically available on multiple devices and web platforms, including computers, mobile phones, and other smart devices. This makes residential proxies adaptable to different types of data extraction needs.

f. Enhanced privacy and security

Residential proxies provide enhanced privacy and security to businesses and regular users. By using a residential proxy, we can hide our real IP address and access the Internet anonymously. This makes it difficult for hackers and other malicious actors to track and steal our data.

4. How to choose a suitable residential proxy

a. IP address range

Choose a residential proxy with broad coverage to be able to simulate user access from more areas.

b. Anonymity

Choose a residential proxy that offers greater anonymity to protect user privacy.

c. speed

Choose a fast residential proxy to increase the efficiency of your crawler.

d. stability

Choose a residential proxy with good stability to avoid being banned from the target website due to frequent IP address changes.

e. price

Choose an affordable residential proxy to suit your personal or business needs.

5. Specific methods to bypass anti-crawler measures

a. Use multiple residential proxies

By using multiple residential proxies simultaneously, the frequency of requests to a single IP address can be spread out, reducing the risk of detection. At the same time, residential proxys can be changed regularly to further increase concealment.

b. Modify User-proxy

Set the crawler's User-proxy to a common browser identifier to avoid being detected as a crawler.

c. Handling Cookies

Add logic for handling cookies in the crawler program to simulate the browsing behavior of real users. At the same time, you can use incognito mode to access web pages to avoid leaving too much cookie information.

d. Use dynamic residential proxies: 

Dynamic residential proxies can simulate completely real-person usage scenarios, making it safer and more reliable to capture web content. By constantly changing your IP address, you can avoid being blocked by the target website. At the same time, multiple dynamic residential proxys can be used to collect data simultaneously to improve collection efficiency.

e. Using a residential proxy pool:

Establish a residential proxy pool to centrally manage commonly used residential proxys. This allows you to easily switch IP addresses in the crawler program and improve work efficiency. At the same time, the residential proxy pool can be regularly updated and expanded to ensure its effectiveness.

f. Limit request frequency:

Reasonably control the request frequency of the crawler program to avoid detection due to too frequent requests. It can be adjusted according to the specific situation of the anti-crawler measures of the target website, such as setting a reasonable request interval, using random waiting time, etc.

g. Simulate login status:

For pages that require login to access, you can use simulated login to obtain access permissions. By using automated testing tools (such as Selenium) to simulate the login process, you can obtain cookie information in the logged-in state to avoid being detected as a non-logged-in user.

h. Use HTTPS protocol:

By using the HTTPS protocol for data transmission, the data content can be encrypted to prevent it from being easily intercepted and parsed. At the same time, some websites may restrict crawlers using the HTTP protocol and allow requests using the HTTPS protocol to pass. Therefore, when writing a crawler program, you can consider using the HTTPS protocol for data collection.

i. Analyze the anti-crawler strategy of the target website:

By analyzing the anti-crawler strategy of the target website, you can understand its specific detection mechanism and triggering conditions. Based on this information, the behavior of the crawler can be adjusted in a targeted manner to reduce the risk of detection. For example, if the target website restricts access from the same IP address, you can use a residential proxy to hide the real IP address and circumvent the restrictions. If the target website detects the User-proxy field to identify the crawler program, it can set the User-proxy to a common browser identifier to disguise itself as a normal user. If the target website uses cookies to track user behavior and restrict the access permissions of non-logged-in users, the logic for processing cookies can be added to the crawler program to simulate user behavior. By analyzing the anti-crawler strategy of the target website and adjusting the behavior of the crawler program in a targeted manner

6. Summary

Using residential proxies to bypass anti-crawling measures is an effective way to help users obtain the information they need, while also providing technical support in areas such as data collection and network investigation. However, during use, the user ensures that the residential proxy is used legally and compliantly. Choose the correct proxy provider to prevent the promotion of false information and the leakage of personal information. You can refer to PIA proxy, which has unlimited residential IP traffic and IP survival for 24 hours. The largest Socks5 residential proxy has country/city/zip code/ISP positioning.



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