VIP72 was once a popular proxy service used by people looking to hide their IP addresses and access restricted content online. However, the site mysteriously went down in 2021, leaving many users searching for alternatives.
In this guide, we‘ll look at 9 of the top VIP72 alternatives available in 2024. We‘ll explore what VIP72 was, what happened to the service, and why you may want to use an alternative instead.
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What Was VIP72?
VIP72 marketed itself as a network of private proxies that allowed users to browse the web anonymously. The service offered a variety of proxy types, including residential, datacenter, and mobile proxies.
Here are some of the key features of VIP72:
- Large proxy network – VIP72 claimed to have millions of proxy IP addresses available from hundreds of cities around the world. This allowed users to easily switch between different locations and IP addresses.
- Anonymous browsing – By routing traffic through VIP72‘s proxies, users could hide their real IP address and location. This helped them access blocked or geo-restricted content.
- SOCKS5 support – VIP72 proxies worked with the SOCKS5 protocol, which is commonly used for anonymous web browsing and proxying.
- Affordable pricing – Compared to some premium proxy services, VIP72 was relatively cheap. For example, you could get 1 GB of traffic for around $2-$3.
While VIP72 marketed itself for general anonymous web access, it gained a poor reputation over the years for facilitating cybercriminal activities like credential stuffing, carding, and more.
What Happened to VIP72?
In August 2021, the VIP72.com website suddenly went offline. Despite some mirror sites popping up briefly, the main domain has remained inactive since then.
The exact reason for VIP72‘s shutdown is unclear, but most signs point to a law enforcement takedown. The service had long been accused of facilitating cybercrime. Some key events include:
- Spambot connections – In 2018, a company called Vector Security found over 30,000 VIP72 IPs involved in spambot activity. This suggested proxies were compromised.
- Credential stuffing – VIP72 proxies were frequently abused for credential stuffing attacks in which hackers try leaked username/password combos across many sites.
- Backdoor malware – Analysis of VIP72 showed many of its residential proxies were infected with Gh0st RAT, a remote access Trojan giving attackers backdoor access.
- Legal pressure – ISPs and hosting providers were increasingly blocking VIP72 IPs. And a 2019 lawsuit accused VIP72 of facilitating credit card fraud.
While never officially confirmed, researchers believe a law enforcement agency finally seized VIP72‘s infrastructure, cutting off access to the proxy network.
Best VIP72 Alternatives 2024
With VIP72 now defunct, users need a new service for anonymous web access. Here are the top alternatives to consider in 2024:
1. Oxylabs
Oxylabs operates one of the largest proxy networks with over 100 million IPs available across 195 locations globally. It offers a robust API and products for web scraping, ad verification, brand protection, and more.
Some key features include:
- Residential, datacenter, and real-mobile proxies
- Unlimited bandwidth options
- SOCKS5 and HTTP/HTTPS support
- High success rates across sites
- Starting at $300/month
Oxylabs prioritizes proxy quality and has a large team dedicated to acquiring new IPs and maintaining uptime. For those willing to pay a premium, it‘s an excellent enterprise-grade solution.
2. Bright Data
Bright Data stands out for its focus on supporting web scraping at scale. It rotates you through 70 million residential IPs to avoid blocks.
Features include:
- Web scraping tools like proxy manager and browser addons
- 99.9% uptime and fast speeds
- Targeting by country, state, and city
- CAPTCHA solving services
- Pay as you go pricing starting at $0.40 per proxy
Bright Data works well for data-intensive scraping like ecommerce sites, real estate, travel, and jobs. It has flexible plans to suit both small and large scraping needs.
3. ProxyNova
ProxyNova is quickly growing into a top VIP72 alternative with over 3 million residential IPs available. All plans come with unlimited bandwidth.
Key features:
- Residential proxies from 190+ countries
- Fast connection speeds with 99.9% uptime
- Target locations at the city-level
- Reliable customer support
- Cost effective pricing from $75/month
ProxyNova suits most proxy use cases including web scraping, sneaker bots, travel aggregation, and price comparison sites. For new users, its free three-day trial lets you test the service first.
4. GeoSurf
GeoSurf stands out as a premium proxy service focused on targeting many rare locations. Its tools help with international market research and content access.
Key features:
- Proxies from extremely hard-to-reach regions
- Unique static residential IPs
- Fast proxy speeds with 99.9% uptime
- Excellent success accessing blocked sites
- Plans from $300 to $1000 per month
If you need proxies from China, Russia, Brazil, or other challenging regions, GeoSurf has proven success targeting them. The service suits market research firms, travel companies, and financial analysts.
5. Smartproxy
Smartproxy takes a user-friendly approach with its clean interface and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. It rotates you through 40 million IPs.
Features include:
- Mixed datacenter and residential IPs
- Unlimited concurrent connections
- High-performance proxy speeds
- Targeting by country, state, and city
- Simple pricing at $75 to $400 per month
For developers and individuals, Smartproxy removes much of the complexity from using proxies while still providing advanced targeting options and tools.
6. Luminati
Luminati operates a massive P2P proxy network by having users share idle IP addresses. Its software lets you leverage residential IPs at scale.
Key features:
- Over 40 million peer IPs available
- Proxy gateway with URL whitelisting
- CAPTCHA solving and static IPs
- Crawler, load balancer, and other tools
- Pay as you go pricing model
For large scraping projects, Luminati provides the residential proxy power needed to extract huge datasets. Just be aware peer IP quality can vary.
7. Storm Proxies
Storm Proxies provides an easy-to-use, high-performance residential proxy solution for individuals and businesses.
It offers:
- Over 17 million IPs with 99.9% uptime
- Fast speeds ideal for sneaker bots
- Targeting by country, state, and city
- Reliable customer support
- Plans from $12 to $1000 per month
Storm Proxies work well for limited scraper projects, testing geo-targeted websites, shopping bots, and accessing streaming sites abroad. It has one of the simplest dashboards among providers.
8. Proxyrack
Proxyrack focuses on offering high-quality residential IPs along with tools to integrate them into your workflows.
Features include:
- Over 2 million residential IPs
- Integrations for Python, Postman, ScraperAPI and more
- CAPTCHA solving and static proxies
- Random user agents
- Pay as you go pricing from $300/month
Proxyrack‘s API and integrations simplify proxy automation for developers. It provides versatile tools while keeping its interface easy to navigate for all users.
9. Soax
Soax is a newer provider that offers 2 million residential IPs focused on supporting automation tools.
It has:
- Mixed datacenter and residential IPs
- Integrations for Postman, Puppeteer, and more
- 99.9% uptime with fast connections
- Targeting by country, state, and city
- Plans from $49 to $349 per month
For developers needing reliable proxies to integrate into their workflows, Soax provides scalable tools and dedicated support aimed at power users.
Why Use an Alternative?
There are several good reasons to use a top VIP72 alternative instead:
VIP72 is Permanently Down
Now that the VIP72 service is gone for good, you‘ll need a new provider if you still require proxies. The top services above all have large IP pools, high uptime, and great features.
VIP72 Wasn‘t Reputable
Even when it was running, many expressed concerns over VIP72‘s lax stance on cybercrime and proxies being compromised. The alternatives suggested above are much more transparent and have robust measures against abuse.
Better Performance & Features
VIP72 was known to have slow connection speeds at times. The listed providers use higher-quality proxies focused on performance for your use case. And they offer more advanced tools for proxy automation.
Better Support & Reliability
VIP72 had no refunds and little customer support. The suggested providers offer much better support coverage and many guarantee proxy uptime or offer refunds. Their reputable businesses stand behind their services.
Final Thoughts
VIP72‘s shutdown leaves a gap in the proxy market, especially for affordable residential proxies. But after reviewing the top alternatives, there are now higher-quality and more reliable services available.
The providers listed excel across different areas like large-scale web scraping, sneaker bots, accessing geo-restricted content, and more. Taking the time to assess your needs and research providers is the best way to find a great VIP72 alternative.
Oxylabs stands out as the leading premium solution for large businesses. And ProxyNova offers an impressive residential network for individuals. But make sure to compare features across providers to match the right service with your use case.
With cybercrime rampant today, it‘s also wise to use trustworthy and transparent proxy providers. All the suggested VIP72 alternatives have much more ethical practices than questionable services like VIP72.
