Bing is Microsoft’s own, self-operated web search engine and is the latest iteration of Microsoft’s search engines. Bing is the default search engine for a lot of devices. Compared to Google, Bing’s searches are more specialized towards images and videos while Google has more of an all-around strength. Bing is free to use and is available in more than 40 languages. Bing also has a mobile app for phone users with millions of downloads even though most users still search via browsers.
As with any popular search engine, Bing has an abundance of valuable data which digital marketers and SEOs need. To gather all of that data though would take months or even years to complete. The best way to accomplish this task is to use a scraper to collect all that information. The problem is that scraping data while using a bot is against the policies of most websites including Bing. Once your bot is detected, Bing would immediately ban your IP address and you can’t access Bing again. To bypass these restrictions, you would need the help of a Bing proxy.
Bing proxies are simply regular proxies that act as an intermediary between your device and the internet. Any website you visit would only be able to see the IP address of the proxy server and your own IP address would be hidden. You can even change this IP address many times and on a set interval through rotating proxies. There are even millions of IPs you can use. This means that, as you scrape Bing, all the requests that your bot makes would appear as if they were coming from different computers with varying locations.
The best Bing proxy to use would be residential proxies as these types of proxies use residential IPs from actual devices making your bot appear as a real “user”. Bing, or any website in fact, would not be able to recognize that you’re using a bot and now you can scrape as freely as you want.
Let’s set up a Bing proxy server.
Note: Make sure that the web browser you’re using for Bing is set to automatically copy your computer’s proxy settings. Google Chrome automatically does this, so it’s recommended to use it.
For Windows:
To set up proxies in Windows, simply search for “Proxy Settings” in your windows search bar and open the search result.
You are then given two options to choose from: Automatic proxy setup or Manual proxy setup. If you want windows to automatically detect your proxy settings, choose the first option. Choose the second option if you want to utilize a specific ip address and port number.
If you chose the first option, then:
- Turn on Automatically detect Settings
- Turn on Use setup script
- Enter the script address
- Click Save
If you chose the second option, then:
- Turn on Use a proxy server
- Input both server address and port number
- If you have any addresses you would like to visit without a proxy, enter them here
- Turn on Don’t use the proxy server for local addresses check box if you want to access a local server without a proxy
- Click Save
For Mac.
To start configuring your proxy settings in MacOS, simply:
Step 1. Click on the Apple Icon.
Step 2. On the drop down menu, click on “System Preferences”.
Step 3. Click on “Network”
Step 4. Click on “Advanced”
Note: Make sure to connect to your wi-fi first.
Step 5. Click on “Proxies”
This should then redirect you to MacOS proxy settings. MacOS is more straightforward compared to windows. You only have one option which is to manually configure your proxy server.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Select which proxy IP protocol you want to configure. This depends on which protocols your proxy service provider offers.
- Turn on Secure Web Proxy
- Input the Proxy Server Address and Port Number
- Click OK to save the configurations
Note: You may be prompted for your Mac user password to save your settings.
For Mobile:
To set up a mobile Bing proxy server, simply change your phone’s proxy settings. Bing will automatically copy your phone’s proxy settings whenever you use it. This is applicable for both Android and IOS. Here’s a thorough guide for Android and another one for iPhone.
Congratulations! You have now finished configuring a Bing proxy server. Note that the first time you visit it, there will be a pop up asking for your login credentials.
