Best way to Create a Simple HTTP Proxy With Python

A proxy server acts as a gateway between the users and the internet. It is an intermediary between the end-users and the websites they visit. An average person at least has a vague idea of what proxy servers are.

Most people see proxy as a means to bypass geographical restrictions. They use it to watch their favorite Netflix shows or access restricted websites. However, the use of proxy goes beyond that. They prove vital for business purposes.

As a business owner, you should use proxy servers. Why? Because proxies provide numerous benefits in the business landscape. For example, proxies help improve cybersecurity, restrict internet access to employees, enhance network speeds, and scrape data from the internet.

First, let’s look at how a proxy works.

How does a Proxy work?

As mentioned earlier, a proxy acts as an intermediary between the user and the internet. When the user first makes a request, say access Netflix. If you are using a proxy, instead of connecting directly to the website, the request gets intercepted by the proxy.

The request is first accepted by the proxy. The proxy then updates it and then sends the requested web page from its IP address. Thus, the webpage is loaded by the proxy and not directly.

Proxies handle the user requests with the request headers it sends to the server. For example, proxies can set headers like Forwarded and via in the original request. Once the proxy has updated the information, it sends it to the website. The website now thinks that the request has come from a different location and device (proxy).

Before you decide on the type of proxy to be used, you must know the different types of proxies that are available.

Types of Proxies Available

Most people assume that there is only one type of proxy available that proves beneficial to businesses. But, in reality, there are various types of proxies available, each with its own set of pros and cons. Here is a look at some of the most common types of proxies.

• Residential Proxies

Residential proxies are proxies that are tied to real, physical devices. The proxies carry the IP address of the devices attached to them. Residential proxies are by far the best type of proxies. As the IP addresses are tied to real devices, online services recognize them as average, real users. The chances of getting banned are zero to minimal using residential proxies.

Moreover, you can use free residential proxies as they offer the basic functionalities needed for business purposes. For example, free residential proxies allow businesses to bypass geo-restrictions with ease. Similarly, some of the best free proxies come with advanced rotation capabilities that enable businesses to send numerous requests from the same IP address per minute without the fear of getting banned.

• Datacentre Proxies

Datacentre proxies, on the other hand, are proxies that aren’t tied to any real, physical devices. Instead, they are created artificially at data centers. Datacentre proxies share the IP address of the server on which they are created.

Datacentre proxies provide enhanced speeds, one of the vital features for any business. But, data center proxies are at a greater risk of getting banned as they look similar. Some websites associate them with bot-like activity and ban them.

If you want to learn more about proxies, cybersecurity, and other associated technologies, you can check out Matob. It has a large pool of resources containing blogs, articles, and guides that are highly informative, educational, and read-worthy. The information is provided in a detailed yet simplistic manner, enabling even the most technologically-unaware individual to get a basic understanding of the topic.

Now, let’s look at the process of creating a simple HTTP proxy with Python for your business needs.
 

7 Steps For Creating a Simple HTTP Proxy With Python

It is super easy to create a simple HTTP proxy with Python. You will need just a few lines of code to create a simple HTTP proxy with Python. We have broken down the steps of creating a proxy to make it simple for you to understand the process. Here are the steps:

1. Importing Libraries

First, you need to import the necessary libraries to listen for incoming requests to fetch the target web pages. The libraries are:

• SimpleHTTPServer
• SocketServer
• urllib

import SocketServer

import SimpleHTTPServer

import urllib

The SocketServer and SimpleHTTPServer listen to the incoming requests while the urllib library fetches the requested web pages.

2. Initializing Port

Next, you need to initialize and set the port. You can use the following code for port initialization:

PORT = 9097

3. Inheriting Request Handler and Getting Requests

Next, we need to inherit the SimpleHTTPRequestHandler. This will help create our HTTP proxy. For that, we need to define and use the do_GET function for all the GET requests.

Class MyProxy(SimpleHTTPServer.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):

   def do_GET(self):

    url=self.path[1:]

    self.send_response(200)

    self.end_headers()

     self.copyfile(urllib.urlopen(url), self.wfile)

4. Removing URL Slash

The URL will have a slash ( / ) at the beginning of the browser. You need to remove it. You can use the following code to remove the slash:

url=self.path[1:]

5. Sending Headers

Browsers need headers to report a successful fetch with the HTTP status code of 200. We send those headers. With the urllib library, the URL can be fetched by using the copy file function.

self.send_response(200)

self.end_headers()

self.copyfile(urllib.urlopen(url), self.wfile)

6. Using ForkingTCPServer

Next, we need to handle interrupts by using the ForkingTCPServer mode. You can use the following code for using ForkingTCPServer:

httpd = SocketServer.ForkingTCPServer(('', PORT), MyProxy)

httpd.serve_forever()

7. Saving and Running The File

The final step is to save the file. You can name it SimpleHTTPproxy.py. Now, you need to run the file. You can then call the proxy from the browser.

Key Takeaways

Thus, we see that proxies provide a plethora of benefits for businesses. Moreover, we saw the different types of proxies available for businesses, their benefits, advantages, and disadvantages.

Lastly, we also saw how to create a simple HTTP proxy with Python. We saw that the process is fairly straightforward. You can easily create one with some basic coding in Python.