How to Test a Proxy: Anonymity, Speed and DNS/WebRTC Leaks

Bought a proxy? Always test it before you start working. A dead, slow, or "leaky" proxy will undo all your effort: your account gets banned and your scraper grinds to a halt. Let's go over how to check a proxy in a couple of minutes for connectivity, speed, anonymity, and DNS/WebRTC leaks.

What exactly do you check in a proxy

• Connectivity — whether the proxy responds and passes traffic.
• IP and geolocation — which address and country the site sees.
• Speed and ping — how fast the connection is.
• Anonymity level — whether the proxy reveals your real IP.
• DNS/WebRTC leaks — whether your real address "leaks" past the proxy.

1. A quick connectivity check

The simplest way is our free proxy checker. Paste a list in the ip:port:login:password format and get the status of every proxy: alive or not, country, ping. You can look up details for a specific IP through our whois service.

2. Checking the IP and geolocation

Connect the proxy and open an IP-checking site. It should display the proxy's address and country, not yours. If you see your own real IP, the proxy hasn't connected. If the country is wrong, that's critical for geo-dependent tasks (for example, checking rankings in SEO or accessing AI tools).

3. Checking anonymity

By anonymity level, proxies are divided into transparent, anonymous, and elite (for the details, see our guide "What is a proxy"). A checker site shows the HTTP headers: they must not contain your real IP in fields like X-Forwarded-For or Via. If they do, the proxy is "transparent" and unsuitable for anonymous tasks.

4. Checking for DNS and WebRTC leaks

The most common reason for getting exposed while working through a proxy is leaks:

• DNS leak — domain lookups go through your ISP rather than the proxy. It "learns" which sites you open.
• WebRTC leak — this browser video-communication technology can reveal your real IP even with the proxy enabled.

You can test for leaks on specialized services such as browserleaks.com or whoer.net. The report must not contain your real address. If there is a leak, use SOCKS5 with DNS resolved through the proxy and disable WebRTC (in anti-detect browsers this is done in the profile settings).

5. Checking speed

Speed depends on the proxy type: server proxies are usually faster, while mobile ones are slower but more trustworthy. Throughput matters for scraping; stability matters for accounts. If a proxy suddenly slows down or keeps dropping, that's a reason to contact support.

Testing checklist

1. Is the proxy alive (green status in the checker)?
2. Does it show the right IP and country?
3. Does it keep your real IP out of the headers?
4. Are there no DNS or WebRTC leaks?
5. Are the speed and ping acceptable for the task?

FAQ

How do I quickly check many proxies at once?

Use our proxy checker — it accepts a list and checks all the addresses at once.

What should I do if there's a WebRTC leak?

Disable WebRTC in your browser or anti-detect tool and use SOCKS5 with DNS resolved through the proxy. Then re-test on browserleaks.

Why is the proxy "alive" but my account still gets banned?

Most often because of leaks or a low-trust IP (a cheap datacenter). Switch to a mobile proxy and check for leaks.