The HProxy Blog
Guides, comparisons and honest explainers on proxies, scraping and staying unblocked, from the team that actually runs the network.
1284 articles
Use case
Character AI alternatives: which chat apps work with a proxy or your own API key
Ten Character AI alternatives checked: who makes each, the minimum age in its terms, in how many App Store countries it is listed, and where a proxy or your own API key fits.
October 11, 2026 · 8 min read
Explainer
How to check if an IP is residential: ASN, reverse DNS and a free checker
Five ways to check whether an IP is residential, from the ASN to reverse DNS and cloud ranges, and how often each one answered for 791 real addresses.
October 11, 2026 · 8 min read
Explainer
CreepJS explained: reading your fingerprint report with a proxy
What CreepJS checks, what its FP ID, WebRTC section and headless percentages mean, and what a proxy changed in our 14 runs on October 11, 2026.
October 11, 2026 · 10 min read
Tutorial
cURL basic auth: -u, headers and proxy authentication
How to send a username and password with curl: -u for the site, -U for a proxy, Digest, keeping passwords out of history, and which login a proxy can read.
October 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Tutorial
cURL GET request: query strings, headers and output
How to send a GET request with curl: parameters in the URL, -G with --data-urlencode, --url-query, headers, checking what went out, and the shell traps.
October 11, 2026 · 9 min read
Tutorial
cURL timeout: connect-timeout, max-time and proxy timeouts
How to set a timeout in curl with --connect-timeout, --max-time and --speed-limit, what exit code 28 means, and what we measured with no timeout and through a dead proxy.
October 11, 2026 · 7 min read
Tutorial
cURL to Python: convert a curl command to requests and httpx
How to convert a curl command to Python requests or httpx, option by option, and the defaults that change on the way. Every command run on October 11, 2026.
October 11, 2026 · 10 min read
Tutorial
cURL user agent: set, change and rotate the User-Agent header
How to see and set curl's User-Agent with -A, -H or a config file, remove it, quote a variable, and what a new string changes on 100 top sites and through a proxy.
October 11, 2026 · 9 min read
Tutorial
cURL vs Wget: the differences and which to use with a proxy
curl and Wget compared by test: output, redirects, broken downloads, retries, copying a site, speed, uploads, and which proxies each one can use.
October 11, 2026 · 11 min read
Explainer
Dynamic pricing explained: why prices change by location and how to compare them
Dynamic pricing explained with real data: a day of electricity prices that moved 17.5 times over, one app priced 22 times higher in one country, and the rules.
October 11, 2026 · 7 min read
Guide
How to create a proxy server: Squid, 3proxy and when to buy instead
Create your own proxy server with Squid or 3proxy: the setup, a login, SOCKS5, and the default headers that tell every site your address, tested on our server.
October 11, 2026 · 7 min read
Guide
How to hide your IP address: five methods compared by what they actually hide
A proxy, a VPN, Tor, iCloud Private Relay or another network: what each one hides, from whom, and four leaks we measured that still give you away.
October 11, 2026 · 8 min read
Explainer
HTTP cookies explained: how they work and why they matter when scraping
What an HTTP cookie is, what each Set-Cookie attribute does, which cookies 100 top sites set on a first visit, and why one cookie links requests across proxies.
October 11, 2026 · 7 min read
Explainer
IP address in the wrong location: why it happens and how to fix it
Why your IP address shows the wrong city or country: where sites get the location, six causes, and the fixes that work, tested on 400 ranges on October 11, 2026.
October 11, 2026 · 9 min read
Explainer
IP scrambler explained: what it claims and what actually changes your IP
An IP scrambler is a rotating proxy under another name. We sent 8 requests through 8 proxies: the address changed, the TLS fingerprint, user agent and cookie did not.
October 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Use case
Is Character AI down? How to check, and what to do when it only fails for you
Is Character AI down, or does it only fail for you? What each error page means, why its status link no longer works, and what to do. Checked October 11, 2026.
October 11, 2026 · 6 min read
Explainer
Is web scraping legal? What courts, laws and site terms actually say
Is web scraping legal? What US courts held in hiQ and Van Buren, what the GDPR and EU copyright law say, and what 20 big sites allow in their terms and robots.txt.
October 11, 2026 · 8 min read
Use case
Janitor AI alternatives: which ones work with a proxy or your own API key
Janitor AI alternatives, checked: four open-source front ends where you bring a model, six hosted apps, how free OpenRouter's free models are, and what proxy means there.
October 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Guide
League of Legends IP ban explained: what Riot bans and what a new IP does not fix
Riot documents no IP ban for League of Legends. What it bans instead, from accounts to your PC (error VAN 152), how to tell which you have, and how to appeal.
October 11, 2026 · 9 min read
Review
PIA S5 Proxy (piaproxy.com): the company, its owners and how it ended
PIA S5 Proxy ran under Mars Brothers Limited of Hong Kong, pitched itself as the 911 S5 alternative and went dark after Google named it in January 2026.
October 11, 2026 · 19 min read
Review
Proxy6.net: who runs it, its companies and its history
Proxy6's contract names no company, but its Requisites page has named three sellers since 2023, in Russia and Uzbekistan. The record from 2016 to 2026.
October 11, 2026 · 20 min read
Explainer
Reverse proxy vs load balancer: what each does and when you need both
A reverse proxy stands in for a site; a load balancer spreads requests over servers. Most web load balancers are reverse proxies. With a working demo and the headers of 100 top sites.
October 11, 2026 · 6 min read
Review
SOAX.com: the company, its owners and its history
SOAX is sold by SOAX LTD, a UK company formed in 2019. Who owns it, its 2022 Series A from TMT and Piton, and the record since the name was for sale.
October 11, 2026 · 20 min read
Guide
Steam regional pricing: how it works and what Steam's rules say about region changes
Steam regional pricing from Valve's own papers: 37 currencies, a regional dollar price in 41 countries, who sets each price, and what Steam says about VPNs.
October 11, 2026 · 5 min read
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Proxies that don't die mid-job
Residential, ISP, datacenter and mobile, verified by the same engine that runs tens of millions of checks. They read as a real device and hold up under load. Pay as you go, and your balance never expires. $0.23/GB is the 10,000 GB+ rate; a single gigabyte is $0.50/GB, with no minimum order.
129M+ proxy checks run · 100+ countries · HTTP / HTTPS / SOCKS · re-checked every few minutes · no signup
HProxy.
Honest guides and comparisons on proxies, scraping and staying unblocked, from the team that runs the network.