A Beginner's Guide to Solving Proxy Error Codes

Offering supreme security and portable authentication, proxy servers have evolved considerably over the last 50 years. E-commerce accounted for nearly 19% of global retail sales in 2022, and forecasts indicate by 2027, the online segment will make up to a quarter of total retail sales worldwide. So, finding a reliable proxy solution has never been more crucial for valuable data collection and fixing security vulnerabilities.

Web scraping software helps companies extract crucial data in real time, and the market for this software is set to cross the USD million threshold by 2030 . But even with limitless flows of constantly updated information at our fingertips, proxy error codes can make the web scraping process time-consuming and tedious.

So, what exactly causes proxy errors, and how can you fix them? Whether you’re a leader looking to understand their development team’s pain points better or simply expanding your knowledge on proxy error codes, here’s everything you need to know to solve them.

What Is a Proxy Error

Proxy servers act as a “middleman” between a user’s devices and the websites they browse. They keep the original IP address location hidden, and other potentially sensitive data confidential. A proxy error occurs when a request is sent to a web server through a proxy, but it doesn’t succeed. When this happens, an HTTP error status is generated, which usually bars access to the desired website or URL.

Each code reveals whether a specific HTTP request has been successfully completed. But with so many codes to decipher, the world of proxy error codes can be very confusing! To make it clearer, each HTTP status code is separated into five categories.

How Are HTTP Status Codes Categorized?

Similar to the influence the SOC 2 compliance checklist has on assessing and addressing the risks connected to third-party technology services, HTTP response codes are essential for troubleshooting website issues, improving search engine optimization (SEO), and more.

As part of the HTTP standard, the first digit of the status code determines one of five standard classes of responses. These are:

For example, if we were trying to obtain a client’s details from a proxy server via CRM contact center integration and it generates a 200 OK HTTP status code, the request has successfully recalled the desired information.

What Are the Common Proxy Error Codes?

As you can see, the main types of HTTP proxy error codes are 4xx and 5xx, with 4xx indicating the error lies with the client and 5xx an issue with the server.

Maybe you want to buy domain name Australia to help people find you, but every time you go to the webpage, an error code pops up. No matter what you’re trying to do, with so many error codes to explore, it can be very overwhelming.

So, instead of overloading you, we’ve covered the top five proxy error codes you’re most likely to experience, the meaning behind them, and possible solutions to fix them.

As part of the HTTP standard, a full list of HTTP status codes and explanations can be found here .

How Do I Fix a Proxy Error?

To expand on the possible solutions to solving proxy error codes listed above, here are five ways to fix a proxy error.

Run the Internet Connection Troubleshooter

Check the internet proxy server issue on a Windows device by going to:

• Settings
• Update & security
• Troubleshoot
• Additional troubleshooters
• Internet connections
• Run the troubleshooter

If there are any problems, follow the on-screen support to finish troubleshooting. Once this is complete, attempt to connect to the network to see if the issue has been resolved.

Disable the Proxy Server

If you have an internet proxy server error on a Windows device, try disabling and reactivating the proxy server by going to:

• Internet options (using the Windows Search tool)
• Click on Connections and then LAN settings
• Check the “Automatically detect settings” box
• Ensure the “Use a proxy server for your LAN” box is unchecked
• Click OK to save the change

To enable the proxy server again, simply check the “Use a proxy server for your LAN” box again and hit OK to save the update.

Change Network Properties

Try changing the network properties to solve proxy error codes on a Windows device by:

• Press Win + R
• Type ncpa.cpl and press Enter
• Right click your active network connection
• Select Properties
• Double click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
• Tick the “Obtain an IP address automatically” box
• Tick the “Obtain DNS server address automatically” box
• Click OK to save the changes
• Check whether the error is resolved

Reset Internet Settings

If you’re still having problems, try resetting your internet connection settings:

• Press Win + R
• Type inetcpl.cpl and press Enter
• Click the Advanced tab
• Click the Reset button
• Uncheck the “Delete personal settings” box
• Click the Reset button
• Once complete, click the OK button
• Restart the computer and try to connect to the internet

Switch Proxy Providers

If you keep experiencing the same issues, it may be time to switch proxy providers. Signs of a worthwhile proxy server include:

• Secure connections, e.g. SSL encryption
• Malware protection
• Ad blocking options
• Mixed proxy subnets
• Order filtering
• Constantly growing IP pool
• Greater IP variety

The use of proxy servers is particularly popular in call centres that value that additional layer of security against cyber threats, as well as complete control over what employees can access. In addition to security benefits, some businesses also opt for dedicated hosting services to enhance their proxy server infrastructure further.

Combined with the latest artificial intelligence for call centers , AI-powered call center technology is just one of the many industries profiting from the increased efficiency that modern proxy servers provide.

By Failing to Prepare, You’re Preparing to Fail

By understanding annoying proxy error codes like these, you can get to the root of the issue that much quicker. As you can see, they’re not so hard to understand if you take the time to get to grips with them.

Reliable proxy server providers play a key role here, with the best ones delivering unrestricted internet access and removing the barriers to gathering publicly available data. However, if you’re still experiencing proxy error codes, IPRoyal’s proxy experts are on hand to help .