Originally named Luminati Networks, Bright Data traces its beginnings back to 2014, when it was established as a division of a renowned VPN service called Hola. In 2017, it was sold separately from Hola and rebranded under its current name in 2021 to highlight its goal of helping users scrape data with its proxy services.

Today, Bright Data provides access to its 150 million-strong collection of proxy IPs, including to more than 20,000 enterprises. Alongside individual users, they rely on its residential, datacenter, and mobile proxies to circumvent geographical restrictions and scrape important information.

• Want to try Bright Data? Check out the website here

Plans and Pricing

Due to offering different types of proxies and related services, Bright Data has several pricing options.

Users pay for residential proxies according to the bandwidth they consume. Bright Data offers three standard plans, currently at a 50% discount for the first three months: $499 monthly for 141 GB, $999 monthly for 332 GB, and $1,999 monthly for 798 GB. Alternatively, you can choose the pay-as-you-go option starting at $4 per GB. The drawback is that the pay-as-you-go plan is slightly more expensive in the long run ($4 per GB compared to $3.5 per GB on the standard 141 GB plan). If you need more than 1 TB, you can reach out to the company for customized pricing.

For datacenter proxies, users can pay according to the number of IP addresses they require. The standard plans are 10 IPS at $14 per month ($1.4 per IP), 100 IPs at $100 per month ($1 per IP), 500 IPs for $475 per month ($0.95 per IP), and 1,000 IPs at $900 per month ($0.9 per IP). As with residential proxies, if these plans don’t meet your needs, you can contact the company for tailored pricing above 1,000 IPs. Users can also pay for datacenter proxies according to bandwidth. The standard plans are $499 monthly for 1 TB, $999 monthly for 2 TB, and $1,999 monthly for 5 TB. The pay-as-you-go option with no monthly commitment costs $0.6 per GB.

Dedicated datacenter proxies are pricier.

If you need ISP proxies, Bright Data has four standard plans to offer you: $18/month for 10 IPs ($1.8 per IP), $145/month for 100 IPs ($1.45 per IP), $700/month for 500 IPs ($1.4 per IP), and $1,300/month for 1,000 IPs ($1.3 per IP). You can also pay for ISP proxies according to bandwidth. The standard plans are $499 monthly for 39 GB, $999 monthly for 88 GB, and $1,999 monthly for 190 GB. The pay-as-you-go option with no monthly commitment costs $15 per GB.

Dedicated ISP IPs are a bit more expensive but follow the same structure. Similarly to residential and datacenter plans, should you require over 1,000 IPs or 1 TB, you’ll need to check in with the Bright Data team directly.

Mobile proxies are priced similarly to residential proxies, $499/month for 71 GB, $999/month for 166 GB, and $1,999/month for 399 GB, with the possibility to get the pay-as-you-go, no commitment option at $8 per GB.

Bright Data offers sophisticated web access APIs with its Web Unlocker API pricing coming in three standard versions: Growth for $499 monthly ($1.3 per 1,000 results), Business for $999 monthly ($1.1 per 1,000 results), and Premium for $1,999 monthly ($1 per 1,000 results). The higher your plan, the greater the scraping requests available each month. If you don’t want a monthly commitment, you can choose the $1.5 per 1,000 results pay-as-you-go plan.

It also has a similarly priced Web Scraper API, at $499/month for 1K records under the Growth subscription, $999/month for 1K records included in the Business plan, and $1,999/month for 1K records as offered by the Premium pricing tier. These are currently available at a 25% discount. As expected, there’s a pay-as-you-go option at $1.5 per 1K records.

SERP API has the same pricing structure as the Web Scraper API, except that it’s currently available at a 50% discount for the first six months of use. The Browser API pricing follows much the same sentiment, costing $499/month for 71 GB, $999/month for 166 GB, and $1,999/month for 399 GB. The no-commitment option is charged $8 per GB.

Alternatively, you can run your scrapers as serverless functions at $500/month + compute time of $0.095/hr under the Growth plan, $1,000/month + $0.09/hr compute time as part of the Business option, and $2,000 + $0.085/hr compute time included in the Enterprise subscription.

Finally, Bright Data offers pre-built datasets, a unique feature that many proxy platforms don’t have. Starting at $250 per month for 100,000 records, these datasets allow businesses to access ready-made data instead of scraping it from scratch at higher costs. Available datasets include Amazon products, Yahoo Finance stock market data, Zillow real estate listings, LinkedIn profiles, and much, much more.

There’s no free trial available per se, but you do get $2 in credits when first signing up. Bright Data also offers a 7-day free trial for registered companies. This trial period is short, but it helps users test the features before committing to a monthly or pay-as-you-go plan.

Features

Accessing Bright Data’s features starts with registration. To sign up as a new user, you’ll need a work email address, but the platform also supports logging in with Google and GitHub accounts. You'll receive a verification email after signing up and creating a password.

Residential Proxies

Bright Data offers proxy IP addresses sourced from physical devices worldwide. People agree to add their devices to the network for a benefit, such as a VPN subscription. Bright Data’s users can then choose one of the IPs to bypass geo-restrictions and scrape data.

This platform offers over 150 million ethically sourced residential proxies from 195 countries, with the most popular locations being Brazil, India, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Russia, and China. Residential proxies rotate IP addresses, i.e., change with each browsing session.

During our test, the residential proxies had excellent speed and reliability. Both static and rotating proxies allowed us to surf the web seamlessly and bypass strict website geo-restrictions. You can manage all proxies from your user dashboard, deploying new ones or removing existing ones at will.

Bright Data gives you significant control over your proxies. You can choose proxies from specific cities, states, and countries. The robust IP network, especially in Europe and North America, makes it easier to bypass geo-restrictions. If an IP address can’t successfully bypass the restriction, Bright Data rotates different IP addresses until it succeeds.

ISP Proxies

ISP proxies are static residential proxies sourced directly from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Unlike residential IPs that rotate with each browsing session, a static ISP proxy is assigned only to you. You can keep this static IP for as long as your subscription lasts.

Bright Data offers a network of 1,300,000+ fully compliant static IPs, with the most popular locations being the U.S., U.K., Germany, Italy, and France. The U.S. has the highest number of static IPs - 1,173,705 - while all other countries have fewer than 15,000 each. This smaller number is expected because of the higher costs and difficulty of obtaining IP addresses directly from ISPs.

The static ISP proxies offered excellent speed and reliability during our test. Bright Data lets users manage static IPs directly from their Control Panel or an external API. The user-friendly Control Panel makes it easy to deploy and organize a large number of proxies.

ISP proxies are more reliable than typical residential proxies because they don’t change frequently. Using one IP address for a long period makes it easier to browse anonymously and break through geographical and IP website restrictions. Once you bypass a site’s restriction with a static IP, you can continue accessing the site with that IP. In contrast, rotating proxies mean you can bypass a site’s restriction today and struggle to bypass it tomorrow with a new IP address. Expectedly, Bright Data’s static IPs cost more than rotating IPs.

Datacenter Proxies

Datacenter proxies are sourced from secondary corporations rather than ISPs. A server (in a datacenter) with a unique IP acts as the intermediary between your device and a website you want to access. You can request a shared or dedicated datacenter IP: a dedicated IP is more reliable in circumventing site blockades.

Bright Data offers 770,000+ datacenter proxies in 98 countries, unlike residential proxies available in 195 countries. You can select your datacenter proxy by specific city or country. These proxies are fast because your browser request is sent directly from the proxy server to the target website, unlike residential proxies that can bounce through several devices before reaching the target site.

The drawback is that datacenter proxies are more vulnerable to detection because of their less diverse IP range. They are cost-effective but less efficient at bypassing geo-restrictions than residential and ISP proxies.

Mobile proxies

Bright Data’s pool includes over 7 million mobile proxy IPs from 195 countries. These residential IPs are sourced from mobile devices across the globe, with India, the U.S., and Brazil having the largest share in Bright Data’s pool. You can use these IPs to surf the web from the eyes of real mobile users. You can choose IPs from 3G, 4G, or 5G networks.

During our test, Bright Data’s mobile proxies provided top-notch browsing speed. We tested IPs from different countries, and they worked reliably. Usually, mobile IPs are more expensive than residential IPs from PCs, but Bright Data charges the same amount for both.

Web Scraper API

Web scraping is one of the most common use cases for proxy servers. Some businesses need to scrape massive amounts of data from a website, e.g., pricing data from retail sites. However, many websites discourage scraping by implementing geographical and IP restrictions. Proxy IPs let businesses bypass these restrictions and scrape their desired data.

As a first-rate platform, Bright Data doesn’t stop at providing proxy IP addresses for web scraping. It also provides APIs that let businesses automate data scraping. It has ready-made scraping APIs for websites like Facebook, Amazon, LinkedIn, Zillow, X, ChatGPT, and TikTok. Several websites, such as Facebook, have filed lawsuits to block these scraping APIs, but Bright Data has countersued and prevailed.

Suppose you run a price comparison site that helps people find the best e-commerce deals. You can use Bright Data’s APIs to automate data scraping from Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and other popular e-commerce sites. You’ll then clean the scraped data and display it on your price comparison website.

Bright Data's APIs can handle bulk scraping requests, convert raw HTML into structured data, and validate data automatically. Pricing depends on the number of API requests you make.

Dataset Marketplace

You don’t always have to scrape data from scratch. Bright Data offers an alternative: ready-made datasets sourced from different websites. It provides pre-built datasets from many websites, like LinkedIn, Pinterest, Crunchbase, Amazon, and Redfin. You can also get categorical datasets, such as car prices, housing prices, crime rates, NBA players' stats, etc.

Pre-built datasets reduce headaches for businesses. Instead of scraping data from scratch and waiting a while to access it, you can access datasets already scraped by others. Pricing starts from $250 monthly for 100,000 records.

Ease of Use

Bright Data has an intuitive interface you’ll likely enjoy using. The left menu has all the features you need to access, and the right side is the main dashboard. Many features are neatly arranged across the dashboard to make them easy to find. With a white background and a few contrasting colors, Bright Data’s interface looks visually pleasing.

You can access this proxy software primarily from the desktop interface. There’s also a Google Chrome extension that lets you seamlessly change proxy locations. Bright Data's user-friendliness is unmatched by most rivals.

Customer Support

One of Bright Data’s strengths is its top-notch support. You can contact its support team 24/7 and receive a response in less than 30 minutes. It offers support via live chat and email, but there’s no telephone support.

Bright Data also provides extensive documentation and user manuals to help users figure out solutions to their problems. The website’s Docs section contains detailed guides for all features and an API reference that helps users write effective data scraping commands.

We found Bright Data’s documentation easy to follow and helpful for our test. For instance, we followed the web scraping tutorial to harvest data from an external website.

The Competition

The proxy software market is very competitive. There’s no shortage of rivals to Bright Data, and the ones we’d like to highlight are Decodo (formerly Smartproxy), Oxylabs, and Webshare.

Decodo is an excellent proxy provider offering residential, ISP, and datacenter proxies. It's a cost-effective alternative with a large pool of 125 million+ IPs across 195 countries. However, Bright Data has a larger IP pool across the same number of countries and offers more features and customizability.

Oxylabs offers a slightly larger IP pool, with 175 million+ addresses compared to Bright Data’s 150 million+. Both platforms have similar offerings, but Bright Data provides some features not available in the other, such as a dataset marketplace and a web IDE. Bright Data also has a more responsive support team than Oxylabs, according to our experience when testing both.

Webshare is one of the best alternatives that go head-to-head with Bright Data. It’s a more affordable tool, which is crucial for small businesses. It offers effective APIs to scrape data en masse, just like Bright Data. However, Webshare has a much smaller pool of IP addresses: roughly 80 million compared to Bright Data’s 150 million.

Final Verdict

Bright Data is a comprehensive provider of proxy and proxy-related services. It offers not just tons of IP addresses covering the entire world, but also throws in quite a few extras for good measure. These include different kinds of web scraping APIs and even pre-built datasets. Thanks to these features, it’s well equipped to provide you with anything you need to bypass website restrictions and scrape any required data. There are a few drawbacks here and there, primarily its higher cost compared to the competition, but it might well be worth it, especially for high-volume needs.

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Driver issues can lead to frustration -  a slow PC, stuttering games and software, and even video playback. While Windows Update adds drivers to your PC, operating system patches and updates are prioritized.

From a point of overall stability, this might make sense. However, if you have specific hardware (e.g. specialist audio equipment) or a brand new device (perhaps a monitor) and its drivers are not available in Windows Update, you have a problem.

The solution is a driver updater, software like Avast Driver Updater that is designed to find, download, and install the latest drivers for your computer. 

You’ve probably heard of Avast Software s.r.o, the Czech cybersecurity company now owned by Gen Digital Inc. (formerly Symantec). But you might be more familiar with Avast’s antivirus tools, rather than system performance tools.

Avast driver updater: Plans and pricing

You can sign up for an annual Avast Driver Updater subscription via the website for an annual license that covers a single computer, at $43.99 for 1 year. However, if you opt to download the trial version and click the upgrade button, you’re offered a choice of discounted options to sign up for 2 or 3 years.

Payment options are limited to credit/debit cards or PayPal. Note that the software comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee should you decide you don’t want the subscription. Note that this isn’t a one-off payment, but an annual subscription. This will recur annually until canceled, so keep an eye on this if you don’t think you’ll use it long-term.

Avast driver updater: Features

To run Avast Driver Updater, you need Windows 10 or 11 (although 7, 8, and 8.1 are supported). Minimum hardware is 1GB of RAM, 2GB of storage, and an Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon 64 or later.

Avast Driver Updater includes the key features you would expect from a driver management tool. 

Automatically scans

The software scans your system for outdated drivers automatically when you load it, and identifies anything that needs updating. This can have a beneficial impact on your system, notably in reducing security risks caused by old drivers and reducing the chances of system crashes or lock-ups.

Similarly, improved audio and smoother graphics can be enjoyed with the latest drivers installed.

Checks over 300,000 hardware devices

Avast Driver Updater can compare your system setup with a database of over 300,000 devices and components and scans in real time to look for drivers when new devices are added. Identified drivers are selected based on the operating system version in use, and the hardware itself. For instance, a hybrid may require different drivers for the same device than a desktop PC would.

Backup and restore drivers

It isn’t wise to simply bulk-update a bunch of drivers without first taking steps to back things up. Windows uses restore points when running Windows Updates, and Avast Driver Updater uses a similar feature here. Before new updates are installed, the existing drivers are backed up. If you run into any problems using the new drivers, you can easily reinstate the originals.

Note that older backups are deleted after 3 months by default, but you can set this to 6 months at the longest.

Alternative drivers

In the event of a hardware vendor not providing updated drivers for a prolonged period, Avast Driver Updater offers alternatives. These are installed after a specific length of time (6 months by default, 1 year maximum) after the official driver developer’s last update.

Although useful, this feature can cause problems. Although it is enabled by default, this feature can be disabled.

Desktop notifications

If you want to know the latest news from Avast Driver Updater, you can enable desktop notifications. This will inform you when new scans have run in the background. Note that multiple languages are supported with this software.

Account management

You can access account information from within the Avast Driver Updater tool. As well as being able to sign into an existing Avast account, you can enter the software’s activation code, and manage your Avast subscriptions.

Avast driver updater: Interface and in use

Firstly, downloading the Avast Driver Updater is uncomplicated. Go to the official website and download the installation file, whether free or paid. Afterward, run the downloaded file, and it begins installing. It doesn't require much computing resources, just 1GB RAM or above and at least 1GB free space on your hard drive.

The free version only lets you scan and update drivers, whereas the paid version has added features.

After installing and launching the software, you’ll see that it's easy to use. It has a central dashboard from which you can control all the features. The features are easily accessible on this dashboard for you to choose from.  

The Avast Driver Updater scores very high in user-friendliness and ease of use.

Avast driver updater: Support

What happens if you can’t get results from Avast Driver Updater, or need to cancel the subscription? Avast’s website has a whole subdomain dedicated to product support, providing assistance for everything from installation and activation to billing, subscriptions, and refunds.

Several help pages can be found for each Avast application, including Avast Driver Updater, which should help you to solve most issues. For those problems that aren’t covered, you can get in touch with Avast’s support team through the website (limited to subscribers).

Support can be contacted directly if you wish to cancel your subscription. 

Avast has a 4-star rating on Trustpilot.

Avast driver updater: Competition

Driver updating tools are popular PC performance options, so it should come as no surprise that a whole host of similar apps are available. Think IObit Driver Booster and Ashampoo Driver Updater; many others also crowd this somewhat niche sector. 

In fact, Avast even has competition from within its own stable. Avast and AVG (a company it bought in 2017?) are both now owned by Gen Digital. Both offer very similar suites of software, including driver updating tools. In our view, there is very little difference between these two utilities. 

The similarities between the tools are so great that you cannot actually install them both on the same system. 

Avast driver updater: Final verdict

When looking for a driver updater utility, you want software that doesn’t just look like it is regularly updated, it runs like it is. Avast Driver Updater looks good, boasts modern features (a slick user interface, account, and license management options), and will also update your Windows drivers.

Avast Driver Updater’s free trial is functional and limited only by time, rather than features. This means you can get a good idea of whether it will help you get the best performance out of your PC without paying first. And when it comes to subscribing, the app isn’t too expensive. 

Overall, it’s a good driver updater that will deliver the latest drivers to your Windows PC as they’re released.

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Established by a group of digital marketing experts, Storm Proxies has existed since 2016 and has grown to become a leading proxy service provider catering to individuals and small businesses. It currently runs a modest network of only 700,000+ IPs compared to some competitors that surpass 100 million. Those IPs are mainly concentrated in the United States and Europe, as opposed to the competitors that cover virtually every country in the world.

That said, where it lacks in the IP spread, it certainly makes up for it with the affordability of its proxies for basic activities. Unlike major competitors, Storm Proxies isn’t there to cover your every proxy requirement, marketing itself as a simple proxy provider and meeting expectations in this matter.

Plans and pricing

Storm Proxies provides access to three IP categories: residential rotating proxies, private dedicated addresses, and backconnect rotating proxies, each with its own distinct pricing options.

The company charges a monthly fee for private dedicated datacenter IPs according to the number of proxies. For $10/month, you can get 5 private IPs with unlimited bandwidth at 1 Gbps speed. At $20/month, you can get 10 IPs; $40/month gets you 20 IPs, $60/month provides access to 30 IPs, $90/month is guaranteed 50 IPs, $160/month means 100 IPs, $320/month is 200 IPs, and for $640/month, you can get 400 data center proxies. In other words, the higher the number of IPs, the lower the cost per IP.

Where residential rotating proxies are concerned, you pay according to the number of ports, or ‘proxy gateway’ IPs, that change every 5 minutes. Hence, access to one residential IP port costs $19/month, 5 ports are charged $50/month, 10 ports are $90/month, 20 ports are $160/month, 50 ports are $300/month, 100 ports are $550/month, 200 ports cost $900/month, and 500 ports can be yours for $1,600/month.

For reverse rotating backconnect proxies, you pay according to the number of ‘threads’ or simultaneous connections from one device. The pricing starts at $39/month and includes unlimited bandwidth for up to 40 simultaneous connections. To get 80 connections, you’ll pay $59/month, and $97/month will get you 150 connections.

There’s no free trial, but the 24-hour money-back guarantee is supposed to give you a taste of what Storm Proxies has to offer.

Features

Storm Proxies focuses on proxy IPs and lacks complementary features you’ll find on other proxy providers, such as web scraping APIs. However, it performs its core function well. Let’s explore the features users can access on this platform.

Residential rotating proxies

Residential proxies are real IP addresses sourced from physical devices. The device owners agree to add their IP address to Storm Proxies’ network in exchange for a benefit, e.g., VPN usage. Storm Proxies pools these IPs and offers them to its users.

Storm Proxies offers a roughly 700,000-strong pool of rotating residential proxies. Rotating means your IP address changes frequently, switching to a new one randomly selected from the pool. Constant rotation makes it harder for websites to detect the proxies, providing better anonymity and security.

What are residential proxies used for? Web scraping is a good use case. Suppose you run a website showing users the best sports and concert ticket deals. This website requires frequent data scraping from ticket sites like StubHub and Ticketmaster. However, these sites dislike data scraping and institute geographical and IP restrictions to block it. Storm Proxies’ residential proxies help counter these blocks.

When you use a residential proxy to visit a website, the website thinks the traffic comes from a typical device. With IP rotation, the website thinks the traffic comes from different devices visiting the site as usual. Some ticket websites block traffic from entire countries, usually those they aren’t serving. But you can simply bypass this geo-restriction by choosing a US or EU proxy.

Storm Proxies' residential proxies have unlimited bandwidth, so you don't need to worry about the volume of data being scraped. It uses encryption to hide your actual IP address from websites. During our test, Storm Proxies’ IPs offered fast speeds and performance, with little slowdown compared to accessing sites normally. The drawback is this platform’s limited proxy pool, with servers concentrated in the US and EU and negligible in other regions.

Datacenter IPs

Datacenter IPs are IP addresses tied to physical servers. These servers are sourced from secondary corporations, and Storm Proxies gives users easy access. Unlike residential proxies, which rotate every 3 to 5 minutes, datacenter IPs are static. You'll get one IP for a long time, but you can request up to two replacements monthly.

(Datacenter IPs are IP addresses tied to physical servers. These servers are sourced from secondary corporations, and Storm Proxies gives users easy access. Datacenter IPs offer rapid speed and performance. In this case, a physical server with a stable connection sits as an intermediary between you and the Internet. This is much better than relying on an end user’s PC or mobile phone (residential IP), which might have an unstable connection.

If you’re scraping massive data volumes, datacenter IPs are the best choice because of their better reliability and speed. The drawback is their limited reach, with Storm Proxies offering datacenter IPs only in the US (Cheyenne, Los Angeles, and New York City). If you need a datacenter IP in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and other continents, Storm Proxies can’t fulfill this need.

Backconnect rotating proxies

Backconnect proxies are a type of proxy server that dynamically routes traffic through a pool of rotating IPs. Storm Proxies lets you choose proxies that change every 3 minutes or 15 minutes. A 3-minute proxy is suitable for regular browsing or account creation, while 15-minute proxies are suitable for longer browsing sessions. You can also get a fresh IP address with every new HTTP request, enhancing your anonymity.

Storm Proxies gives you one or several "proxy gateway" IPs that you'll enter inside your proxy management software. With this connection set up, you'll receive a new proxy IP on every HTTP request, every 3 minutes or every 15 minutes (depending on what you choose). You don't need to manually change IPs in your proxy management software: everything works automatically on Storm Proxies' side.

The maximum number of backconnect proxy connections you can open depends on your proxy plan. Storm Proxies offers different plans ranging from 40 to 150 simultaneous connections. The lowest plan provides one IP address, and the highest includes 3 IP addresses for different computers. Users get unlimited bandwidth, so there’s no need to worry about your data scraping volumes.

Storm Proxies’ backconnect proxies were reliable during our test. We liked that the pools rotated automatically while we surfed the web seamlessly. We chose the option for a new IP address with every request, enabling us to bypass geo-restrictions more effectively, although we encountered a few request failures. The main drawback remains Storm Proxies’ limited 700,000-IP pool, unlike many competitors that give access to tens of millions of global IPs.

It’s worth noting some features that Storm Proxies lack. The first is a web scraping API, which many competitors provide. Web scraping is the most common use case for proxy servers, so many proxy providers offer APIs to assist users. This feature lets people kill two birds with one stone: getting reliable proxies and the APIs to leverage those proxies for data scraping.

Web scraping APIs let you automate massive data scraping tasks. You’ll choose the website you want to scrape from and select your data type, and the API fetches the data. The timing depends on the volume of data being scraped. APIs let you automate scraping tasks ahead of time. Unfortunately, Storm Proxies doesn’t provide this feature.

We don’t like that Storm Proxies doesn’t offer bandwidth-based pricing plans, which can be more economical for small users. If you need just a few GB of proxy bandwidth, it’ll be more cost-effective to pay for precisely that rather than subscribe to a monthly plan you won’t fully utilize. We also don’t like this platform’s limited geographical reach, with servers primarily in the US and EU. But if you’re looking for reliable proxies in these regions, Storm Proxies is an excellent choice.

Ease of use

Storm Proxies offers a simple dashboard that we found easy to use. Setting up your proxies is as simple as it gets, helped by its limited features (there's not much to navigate). Creating an account requires your full name and email address. Then, you'll be asked to select a plan, although you can register without paying initially. After registration, you’ll be taken to the dashboard to access the proxies you paid for.

The user interface is simple, with all options at the top and the main dashboard below. From this menu, you can renew your plan, deploy new proxies, change credentials, and whitelist IPs. However, we noticed a user interface-related drawback: the lack of usage reports.

Most proxies we've tested provide extensive usage reports, letting users know how much bandwidth they've consumed over time. But Storm Proxies doesn’t have this feature, which we consider a disadvantage. On the bright side, Storm Proxies offer unlimited bandwidth, so you don’t need to monitor your usage rigorously.

Customer support

Customer support is an area where Storm Proxies needs considerable improvement. It claims to offer "24/7 Premium Support, but this support is only available via email. There's no live chat or telephone option to communicate with support staff in real-time. You can wait up to 24 hours to get a response to a support email. Storm Proxies’ support system isn’t the best when you need solutions to urgent issues.

There's an official Knowledge Base with solutions to common user challenges, e.g., “How do I start using proxies?” You can consult this Knowledge Base after encountering any issue, then seek direct support if you don’t find a solution to it.

The competition

The proxy server industry is very competitive, meaning we can give Storm Proxies an endless list of formidable competitors. We’d like to highlight Bright Data and Oxylabs as the main rivals.

Bright Data is a stellar proxy provider that offers residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies from its gargantuan network of 72 million+ IPs. It also offers sophisticated web scraping APIs, letting users kill two birds with one stone. Overall, we consider Bright Data a better proxy service than Storm Proxies, albeit a more expensive one.

Oxylabs has a massive pool of 175 million+ proxies, compared to Storm Proxies’ minuscule 700,000+. It provides residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies, plus web scraping APIs and pre-built datasets. Oxylabs is a more sophisticated proxy provider than Storm Proxies. However, unlike Storm Proxies, which offers unlimited bandwidth, its residential IPs are bandwidth-limited.

Final verdict

Offering only residential and dedicated datacenter proxies, limited customer support, and a tiny number of accessible IPs compared to many competitors, Storm Proxies is far from being a very sophisticated proxy provider. Still, it’s one of the best budget proxy platforms in the industry. If you need a bit of data scraping from US and EU websites, then Storm Proxies is the way to go. This means it’s best suited for individual and small business users and not enterprises seeking a solution for massive data scraping tasks.

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In 2015, the proxy software market growth was in full swing, so Oxylabs came into being to answer the need for IPs in different locations. It was born in Lithuania and has developed to have more than 175 million IPs in 195 countries (that’s practically the whole world), with the US, the UK, and Germany becoming home to its largest networks.

Through Oxylabs, users can gain access to residential, mobile, datacenter (regular and dedicated), and ISP proxies, as well as a web scraping API and comprehensive datasets (all scraped ethically from publicly available sources) required for various businesses.

On top of that, it supports the SOCKS5 protocol, making its proxies ideal for threat intelligence and cybersecurity, as well as the web unblocker for real-estate scraping and travel fare aggregation.

With this in mind, Oxylabs has a separate tier that targets businesses that need proxy services for their operations. Say you want to scrape data from e-commerce sites - you can do this with the provider’s proxy servers and a price comparison app.

Thanks to its cooperation with renowned data centers and the cyber insurance service, if you suffer damage due to a lapse in the proxy network, clients can feel safe and well taken care of by a capable proxy service platform.

Oxylabs: Plans and Pricing

Oxylabs’ pricing structure depends on the type and bandwidth of IPs on offer.

Residential has two plans: Regular and Enterprise.

The Regular option comes in the pay-as-you-go, no-commitment variant that starts at $4/GB and offers up to 50GB of traffic per month, as well as Micro at $3.87/GB for 13GB of traffic, Starter at $3.75/GB for 40GB of traffic, and Advanced at $3.49/GB for 86GB of traffic.

As for the Enterprise option, it includes Premium ($3.01/GB for 133 GB of traffic), Venture ($2.75/GB for 318 GB of traffic, plus a dedicated account manager to boot), Corporate ($2/GB for 1TB of traffic), and Custom + (starting at $2,500/month for over 2 TB of traffic) tiers.

ISP proxies start at $16 monthly for 10 IPs (i.e. $1.60 per IP). The higher the number of chosen IPs, the lower their unit cost. For example, 100 IPs cost $130/month ($1.30 per IP), 1,000 will set you back by $1,150/month (that’s $1.15 per IP), and if you need more than 1,000 IPs, you can contact Oxylabs’ sales team for a tailored quote.

Mobile proxies (4G, 5G, or LTE rotating IPs) have a similar price structure as their residential counterparts.

Hence, there are two tiers - Regular and Enterprise. The former charges $5.4/GB under the pay-as-you-go variant (1GB of traffic and up to 50GB available top-ups), $4.92/GB for the Micro option (12GB + up to 12GB top-ups), $4.74/GB for Starter (38 GB + 38 GB top-ups), and $4.5/GB for Advanced (80GB + up to 80 GB top-ups).

Enterprise pricing for mobile proxies ranges from $3.9/GB under the Premium pack (123GB + up to 123 GB available top-ups) to $3.6/GB under Venture (292 GB + up to 292 GB top-ups) to $3/GB for Corporate (600 GB + up to 600 GB top-ups). Need more? You can get it starting at $3,000/month for over 1TB of traffic, custom top-up options, and a dedicated account manager - an option also available with Venture and Corporate.

For datacenter IPs, you can choose regular or dedicated proxies.

If you want regular datacenter IPs, the choice of payment is yours - pay per IP or GB. The IP-based pricing (with unlimited bandwidth) ranges from the free tier for 5 IPs (no credit card required) through $12 per month for 10 IPs to $750 monthly for 1,000 IPs. On the other hand, bandwidth pricing starts at $50 per month for 77GB and ends at $2,200 for 5TB (no extra IP cost). If your needs surpass these packages, you can arrange for a custom deal.

Should you require IPs from a dedicated proxy server instead of a shared one, Oxylabs offers plans ranging from $6.75 per month for 3 IPs to $3,600 monthly for 3,000 IPs (unlimited bandwidth, with fair usage, which is up to 100 concurrent sessions and a a monthly data threshold of 100 GB per IP), with custom options available if your needs exceed 3,000 IPs.

The platform also has web scraping APIs on offer - regular and enterprise options - the former offering a non-committal free trial for up to 2,000 results, and paid options ranging from $49/month for up to 98,000 results to $249/month for up to 622,500 results. The latter starts at $499/month for up to 1.35 million results and ends at $2,000/month for up to 8 million results, with custom options starting at $10,000/month.

Finally, the web unblocker feature, an AI-powered proxy solution for block-free web scraping at scale, also offers regular and enterprise pricing alongside a 7-day trial. The regular pricing starts at $75/month for 8 GB of traffic and ends at $660/month for 88 GB of traffic. Enterprise options start at $900/month for 128 GB of traffic and a dedicated account manager, ending at $3,500 for 700 GB of traffic and a higher rate limit, with custom options available starting at $5,000/month.

All the packages (Regular and Enterprise) have a 10% discount if you sign up for the yearly subscription. Oxylabs accepts payment cards, wire transfers (both in US dollars and euros), AliPay, and PayPal.

Oxylabs: Features

A user’s journey with Oxylabs begins with registration. You can sign up with your email address or an existing Google account. After signing up, you’ll be redirected to a dashboard where you can access all features. Whether residential proxies, mobile proxies, a web unblocker, or a scraping API, this intuitive dashboard makes it easy to find what you want.

Let’s dive deeper into the features Oxylabs offers:

Residential proxies

Residential proxies are real IP addresses offered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). They’re tied to real devices in physical locations, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions for different purposes.

For example, price comparison sites need to scrape localized data from different websites to offer good deals to users. However, retailers are often against price scraping and use geo-restrictions to prevent their sites from being scraped.

A residential proxy lets price comparison sites bypass these geo-restrictions and harvest the required data. Because the residential proxy is tied to a legitimate device, the price comparison site operator can visit a website like any normal user.

Retailers also often have different prices for different locations. Residential proxies let price comparison providers visit localized versions of a retail website. Oxylabs provides access to over 175 million residential IPs across 195 countries, including over 10 million in the US, more than 5 million in China, 3.5 million+ in Germany, and roughly the same amount in the UK.

You can precisely target IPs by country, city, state, ZIP code, and even geographical coordinates, making it easy to get localized data. Oxylabs' developer-friendly documentation and integrations make integrating these IPs into your app as smooth as possible.

Oxylabs’ IPs are legitimately sourced, which is important in a proxy sector that constantly grapples with illegitimately acquired IP addresses that expose customers to risks. It gets its residential IPs from consenting device owners who agree to join the network in exchange for a benefit, e.g., a VPN service.

ISP Proxies

Residential proxies are reliable for many use cases, but they have limitations regarding large-scale data scraping. Usage restrictions, such as bandwidth limits and available time per day, make them unsuitable for scraping massive amounts of data.

Oxylabs mitigates this situation by providing proxies leased directly from ISPs like British Telecom, Comcast, Lumen, Orange, and Frontier. You can request a shared ISP proxy (shared by up to 3 users) or a dedicated proxy, which is more expensive.

Oxylabs provides ISP proxies for enterprises with unlimited duration sessions or dynamic IP rotation. These ISP proxies are well-suited for heavy traffic loads, such as mass data scraping, app testing, and ad verification. The tradeoff is their high cost, starting at $1.60 monthly per shared IP.

Mobile proxies

Oxylabs provides access to a massive mobile proxy pool with 20 million+ addresses in 140 or so countries. You can filter these IPs by country, state, city, and coordinates to find precisely what you want. Its largest proxy pools are available in the US, Germany, France, Canada, the UK, and Mexico.

Mobile proxy servers act like mobile devices, enabling users to bypass geo-restrictions and general website blocks. For example, many websites use CAPTCHA to prevent web scraping bots from accessing their data. But with Oxylabs, you can use real mobile IP addresses to bypass CAPTCHA and scrape the needed data.

A mobile proxy is also an excellent tool for ad verification. Companies use them to monitor whether their ads are displayed to real traffic rather than bots. Likewise, businesses can combine Oxylabs’ mobile proxy service and scraping API to gather and respond to real-time reviews.

Data center proxies

Oxylabs offers datacenter proxies that aren't sourced from ISPs. Instead, they come from secondary cloud service providers, offering anonymity and private IP authentication.

Datacenter proxies are high-speed and perform well, making them a great option for massive data scraping. You can buy them in bulk for a cost-effective sum, starting at $1.20 monthly per IP (a pack of 10 IPs), compared to $4/GB for Oxylabs’ residential proxies and $5.4/GB for mobile proxies.

Oxylabs provides shared and dedicated datacenter IPs, the latter of which is more expensive. Shared IPs have unlimited bandwidth, while the bandwidth for dedicated IPs varies by your chosen plan. For both types, you can connect to your proxy servers via the HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols.

Web Unblocker

Oxylabs offers a Web Unblocker that specializes in bypassing anti-bot systems. Many websites use sophisticated systems to prevent scraper bots, but Oxylabs enables you to bypass these systems and scrape the data you require.

It uses dynamic fingerprinting to simulate human-like browsing, with the same headers, cookies, and JavaScript rendering of a web browser. You’ll use a proxy, but the websites think it’s a legitimate user, and it serves the required content without hassles.

The Web Unblocker also uses machine learning techniques to select and rotate proxies, deciding what works best on a specific site. If your scraping request fails, the Web Unblocker automatically rotates proxies to send another request. This process occurs until the request is finally fulfilled.

Scraping APIs

Data scraping is a common use case of residential, ISP, mobile, and datacenter proxies. Companies use them to scrape data manually, a process that gets cumbersome when dealing with massive amounts of data. But Oxylabs solves this problem by offering APIs to automate data scraping.

You’ll select the type of data you want to scrape (text, images, prices, ads, social media likes, etc.) and choose your target website. Then, the API goes to work, scraping the data while you focus on other tasks. You’ll be alerted once your data scraping task is complete. Oxylabs offers distinct APIs for scraping search engines, e-commerce, or other public websites.

Other scraping solutions currently offered by Oxylabs include its unblocking browser, which is a ‘maintenance-free and anti-bot-ready headless browser,’ OxyCopilot, an AI-powered assistant for generating web scraping and parsing requests, video data API, and an AI studio with a smart crawler, scraper, browser agent mimicking human behavior when navigating, web search interpreter, and a website mapping tool.

Oxylabs: Ease of Use

Oxylabs offers an intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate. All features are neatly arranged on the dashboard, with the menu on the left and the viewing pane beside it. The interface sports a white background, purple and black text, and contrasting colours that look visually appealing.

This platform put considerable effort into its proxy integrations, making them easy to understand and deploy. If user friendliness were the only criterion for this review, Oxylabs would get a perfect score.

Oxylabs: Customer Support

Oxylabs provides 24/7 support for customers. You can start a live chat with a support agent or send an email and expect a response within 24 hours. Oxylabs’ support team was active and highly willing to solve inquiries during our test.

Customers can also access complementary support resources, primarily extensive documentation for its features. On Oxylabs’ website, you can find detailed guides and user manuals for all types of proxies, making them easier to configure.

There’s a ‘Scraping Experts’ section on Oxylabs featuring web scraping video tutorials. This section provides valuable knowledge from the Beginner to Advanced levels, teaching the ins and outs of website scraping with Oxylabs’ proxies. It is continuously updated with new videos and includes on-demand Q&A sessions to learn directly from scraping experts.

However, we noticed a drawback. There is no telephone support for customers, which is an inconvenience when paying for an expensive tool.

Oxylabs: The Competition

The proxy software industry is very competitive, with no shortage of rivals to Oxylabs. The main competitors we’d like to highlight are Bright Data, Decodo (formerly Smartproxy), and SOAX.

Bright Data is excellent for residential, mobile, and datacenter proxies. It also offers web scraping APIs like Oxylabs. The difference is that Bright Data offers more customizability and is a costlier solution.

Decodo is another reliable proxy server provider, with its datacenter proxies supporting the SOCKS5 protocol just like Oxylabs. However, Oxylabs has a larger IP pool of 175 million+ proxy addresses.

SOAX provides a massive proxy IP pool as well, and it has web scraping APIs and a Web Unblocker like Oxylabs. However, it outshines Oxylabs in terms of user-friendliness and customizability.

Oxylabs: Final verdict

All things considered, Oxylabs’ reputation as one of the best proxy providers in the industry is well deserved. Not only does it offer a 175 million-strong pool of proxy IP addresses for data scraping and other business tasks, but it also throws in a bunch of useful tools for good measure. This includes a sophisticated web scraping API, unblocking capabilities, an AI assistant, a video data API, and an AI studio.

As such, it’s not just great for individual users with demanding proxy requirements, but also for any business looking for a proxy provider that can serve its needs at scale. That said, it might be a bit expensive, especially if you’re a high-level user. Still, all the advanced features listed above certainly justify the price mark.

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Formerly known as Smartproxy, Decodo is a proxy service scoring highly on our radar, thanks to its established reputation in the industry, where it has existed since 2018. It currently offers more than 125 million IPs across 195 locations with reliable uptime and speed.

With Decodo, users gain access to residential (dynamic and static), data center, and mobile proxies to level up their browsing security. There’s also a handy Site Unblocker feature that facilitates bypassing CAPTCHA and IP bans, and enables entry to restricted sites.

Aside from ethically-sourced proxy addresses, Decodo offers APIs for scraping, providing users with a wide array of options to automate the extraction of publicly available information from websites. These include several types of APIs for different levels of expertise and various objectives.

Plans and pricing

Decodo doesn’t have a subscription pricing model like many other proxy providers. Instead, its pricing is based on how many IPs you require, the type of IPs, and the volume of traffic you require. The pricing structure is complex, but let’s break it down below.

Decodo promotes its Residential IPs starting from $1.5 monthly per GB under enterprise pricing (excludes individuals and small businesses), but you need to take the 1000 GB plan, which means you’ll be charged $1,500 per month. Meanwhile, the pay-as-you-go option, available to regular users, starts at $3.5 per GB.

The more gigabytes you consume, the lower the unit price per GB. For instance, $245 per month would get you 50 GB ($4.90 per GB) of traffic for residential IPs, $450 monthly equals 100 GB ($4.50 per GB), while you’d need to set aside $3,000 each month if you want 1,000 GB ($3 per GB) of traffic through residential IPs.

Static residential proxies, priced by the number of IPs, monthly traffic, or the number of dedicated IPs required, start from $0.27 monthly per IP (that’s if you require 8,000 IPs and 50 GB of traffic). Furthermore, 500 IPs cost $165 monthly ($0.33 per IP), but 10 IPs cost $5.17 (that’s $0.47 monthly). In other words, the greater the number of IPs, the lower the unit cost of each IP.

The pricing for mobile proxies begins at $4.50 per IP with the 500 GB plan, and the price goes up per IP with the lower traffic requirement. Similar to static proxies, datacenter plans are also offered on the GB, IP, and dedicated IP basis. They start at $3,800 for the 10,000 GB plan, or $0.026 per IP if you go with the 4,000 IP and 300 GB option.

If you decide to go with the pay-as-you-go option for residential proxies, it’s priced by 1 GB, each costing $3.50. For mobile proxies, the price is $8 per 1 GB, while the static dedicated ISP and datacenter proxies don’t have the pay-as-you-go option available.

There’s a 14-day money-back guarantee if you’re not entirely satisfied with the service, although it’s not offered for every pricing plan. That said, you can first take it out for a spin during the rather short three-day free trial with 100MB of traffic before making a final decision.

All things considered, Decodo runs a pricing model that favors bulk users over individual and small business users. So, if you run a large organization that needs many IPs and gigabytes, you’ll find Decodo cost-effective due to the significant discounts. Still, Decodo might be expensive for small users.

Features

A Decodo user's journey begins with registration—you can sign up with an email address or link a Google account. Your account dashboard conveniently has all features located on the left, which you can easily sift through. Whether you need residential proxies, ISP proxies, or scraping, you can choose it on the left menu.

After choosing and paying for a plan, you can conveniently add users via your dashboard. As the administrator, Decodo gives complete control over the IP resources you’ll allocate to each sub-user. For example, you can give a user 1 GB of data and another 10 GB. Each user from your organization has unique credentials to access Decodo.

You can create and customize proxy connections from your dashboard. First, you'll choose a sticky or rotating proxy. Sticky proxies change at set intervals (up to 24 hours) while rotating proxies change with every connection request. Then, you can choose an IP from a specific country/city or a random one as your proxy. With these options set, you can start utilizing Decodo’s online protection.

Let’s dive deeper into the features of this app:

Residential proxies

Residential proxies are real IPs from residential devices across the globe. Decodo promotes its service as “ethically sourced” proxies, which is crucial because some proxy services use IP addresses acquired without the owners' knowledge. Instead, Decodo gives access to residential IPs acquired with consent. You can choose from over 195 locations, with the United States, Germany, the UK, India, and Canada having the highest number of available proxies.

Residential proxies enable you to bypass geo-restrictions, e.g., changing your location to watch a sports match on a streaming site. During our test, we found Decodo's residential IPs to have excellent uptime and speed.

Static residential (ISP) proxies

Decodo now also offers static (fixed) residential proxies for as long as you need, which is great for long sessions, automation, and managing multiple accounts. Premium ASNs give you the best quality IPs from AT&T, Verizon, Orange, and others, to gain entry to the toughest of targets.

This option provides static IPs with ISP origin, combining datacenter speed and stability with residential legitimacy. It delivers 99.99% uptime and below 0.2-second response time, accompanied by HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 support, live usage statistics, and 100% dedicated IPs.

Mobile proxies

Decodo gives you access to mobile IP addresses around the globe. Its 10 million+ IP pool covers 160+ locations, and you can choose from 700+ mobile carriers. The largest pool of Smartpoxy's mobile IPs is available in the United States (3.9 million), Germany (1.2 million), the UK (940,000), and India (720,000).

Proxy mobile IPs help you bypass content geo-restrictions. They're also helpful for app testing, wherein developers test their apps across different devices, operating systems, and locations to ensure optimal user experience. Likewise, mobile IPs are useful for website scraping.

Datacenter proxies

You have access to residential and mobile IPs. But how about renting an entire proxy server for your online activities? Decodo offers this service, which helps bypass hard geo-restrictions and web scraping obstacles. You can choose a shared or dedicated proxy server; the latter costs more.

Decodo offers shared servers across many locations, but dedicated proxy servers are available only in the US. You can connect to the proxy servers via the HTTP(S) or SOCKS5 protocol.

Site Unblocker

Site Unblocker is a proxy-like solution that Decodo provides. It allows you to bypass IP and geographical restrictions and extract data from websites with robust CAPTCHAs and anti-bot measures.

Decodo's Site Unblocker differentiates itself from typical proxies with unique abilities like browser fingerprinting, which creates a different browser fingerprint for each proxy to bypass anti-bot measures; and JavaScript rendering, letting you execute website JavaScript codes without a headless browser. Of course, there’s automatic proxy rotation to prevent websites from identifying and blocking your IP address.

Scraping

Decodo goes beyond merely enabling you to scrape public websites. It actually provides APIs that let you automate website scraping instead of doing it manually by yourself for every single site. There are two primary approaches to this: Core and Advanced.

The former offers essential web scraping that handles proxies, browsers, and anti-bot measures. The latter is fully customizable, with premium proxies, advanced geo-targeting, target templates, JavaScript rendering, unlimited requests per second, and more.

With Decodo’s platform, you get APIs to scrape the web in general or specific templates, including search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google (with or without AI Overview, eCommerce websites, and social media. Now you can also scrape AI tools, as well as YouTube transcripts and metadata.

The web scraping API facilitates the retrieval of large amounts of data, presenting the results in an HTML or table format, and even including the option to schedule scrapes. Considering that many websites are strict about visiting IP addresses and use CAPTCHA to discourage scraping, Decodo’s full-stack solution helps bypass these obstacles.

Those requiring social media scraping will benefit from structured data gathering at scale, with results presented in HTML or JSON format. For instance, you’ll be able to track the engagement rates of influencers working with your brand, monitor your competitors’ follower numbers, or discover trending content in real time or at a specific time. The recently introduced YouTube scraping lets you extract transcripts, metadata, and videos.

As for eCommerce scraping, you get structured marketing and pricing data from online stores, in HTML, JSON, or table format. This is helpful for businesses that run price comparison sites, enabling real-time pricing data scrapes to assist people in finding the best deals. Scraping tasks can be scheduled in advance, and you’ll receive an email notification once they’re done.

Finally, Decodo’s SERP scraping API lets you access structured data from search engine pages and see the results in HTML, JSON, or table format. This way, you can research the competition’s search rankings, URLS, and meta descriptions directly from queries in Google or Bing.

Your scraping charges depend on the number of requests made, so you can expect to pay between $0.8 and $1.25 per 1,000 API requests.

X Browser

Decodo takes anti-detection one step further by offering an entire private browser. The X Browser focuses on privacy, allowing users to manage multiple browser profiles, each with a unique fingerprint. This means that websites can’t link these profiles to others on your device and discover your identity.

In other words, the X Browser lets you juggle multiple accounts on a single website and gather location-specific insights anonymously without facing cross-contamination risks, bans, and geographical or other kinds of restrictions.

Ease of Use

Decodo’s user interface is easy to navigate. On the desktop, all features are arranged on the left side, and you can easily access your desired feature with a single click. With a white background, black text, and colorful buttons, the whole setup is pleasing to the eye.

Along with the website interface, Decodo offers a Proxy Checker that lets you test up to 10,000 proxies after uploading them with one click.

There are also browser extensions for Google Chrome and Firefox, which give you access to features like one-click IP rotation, customizable session length, and seamless switching between proxies. Additionally, they include WebRTC Leak Prevent to stop WebRTC from bypassing your proxy, masking both your real IP address and location.

Like the main Decodo interface, the extensions are easy to navigate.

Decodo makes it easy to integrate its proxies with various third-party tools, such as eCommerce purchase bots, scraping software, SEO tools, and external proxy managers like MuLogin and AdsPower. The backend is all covered, so you just need to carry out a few steps to kickstart the integration from the intuitive dashboard.

Customer Support

Excellent customer support is one of Decodo’s strengths. This support begins with extensive technical documentation for its features. You can find tutorials and user guides concerning all features, with detailed screenshots illustrating the instructions. You can learn everything about the app in the Help Center, from a basic introduction until you reach more complex aspects.

Decodo has a YouTube channel with video tutorials about its features. This channel allows users to learn about the platform more interactively and has dozens of illustrative and engaging videos.

Of course, customer support can’t be left to the customer alone. If you need help, Smarproxy's support team is available via live chat. You can contact the support team 24/7 and get speedy answers, although the response time varies depending on your time zone. You can also reach Decodo’s support team via email (for non-urgent inquiries) and expect a response within 24 to 48 hours.

Other complementary support resources include Decodo’s GitHub repository with code samples and a Discord channel where you can connect with other users and share solutions to common issues. Decodo also holds frequent webinars to help users learn the ins and outs of this platform and general trends in the proxy software market.

The Competition

There’s no shortage of competition in the proxy software sector. Decodo has robust competitors like IPRoyal, OxyLabs, and WebShare. It outshines many competitors by providing a broader range of global IP addresses and complementary features like the X Browser and scraping APIs. However, our main issue is with Decodo’s pricing– it’s significantly more expensive than many rivals, especially for low-volume users.

If you’re a bulk user needing hundreds of proxy IPs, Decodo is an ideal tool. However, it’s too costly for individuals or small enterprises needing a few dozen IPs at most.

Final verdict

Decodo is one of the best proxy tools in the business, and for many good reasons, the most significant being its unmatched speed, uptime, and reliability. Aside from those, Decodo’s products are easy to use and provide access to a wide range of IPs. They also include complementary features to help you scrape various kinds of websites and platforms and counter anti-bot measures.

However, its tools are primarily intended for large businesses and enterprises with a large number of users. Small enterprises and individuals, on the other hand, might find it overly pricey.

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Our series on identity theft protection apps will evaluate the features, pricing options, competition, and also the overall value of using each app. However, these are not full hands-on reviews since evaluating identity theft protection apps is almost impossible. It would require several months of testing, purposefully hacking accounts to see if the protection app works, handing over personally identifiable information, performing multiple credit checks, and risking exposure of the reviewer’s personally identifiable information.

When closely examined, ID Watchdog emerges as a rather ordinary identity theft protection app, situated firmly in the middle of the pack. However, a somewhat longer investigation reveals its affiliation with Equifax, a company notorious for one of the most severe data breaches in recent history. In 2017, a staggering 145.5 million customer records, including sensitive information like names and social security numbers, were compromised. This wealth of data became a treasure trove for hackers operating on the Dark Web, the infamous hub of criminal activity. ID Watchdog, ironically developed by Equifax, aims to provide protection against the very dangers that its parent company inadvertently unleashed.

ID Watchdog, a reasonably prevalent identity theft protection service, shares numerous characteristics and pricing structures with Equifax TrustedID. However, a closer examination reveals that ID Watchdog's primary emphasis appears to be on creating leads for credit reports, rather than offering comprehensive fraud protection and theft recovery services.

While ID Watchdog does provide tools for monitoring and tracking identity theft incidents, these features are relatively basic and fall short when compared to the offerings of other top-tier products. For example, Norton LifeLock, a leading provider in this industry, prioritizes fraud protection and theft recovery over credit monitoring, ensuring that customers receive robust protection against identity-related crimes.

One notable drawback of ID Watchdog is its limited focus on credit reporting. While it offers credit monitoring and alerts, these services are often seen as secondary to the more critical aspects of identity theft protection. In contrast, Norton LifeLock provides a comprehensive suite of features designed to safeguard customers' personal information, including dark web monitoring, social media monitoring, and identity theft insurance.

Furthermore, ID Watchdog's customer service has received mixed reviews. Some users have reported experiencing difficulties reaching customer support representatives or resolving issues promptly. This can be a significant concern, as timely and effective customer support is essential in addressing identity theft incidents.

In conclusion, ID Watchdog may be a suitable option for individuals primarily interested in credit reporting services. However, those seeking comprehensive identity theft protection and robust fraud recovery options may find that other products, such as Norton LifeLock, offer a more well-rounded and reliable solution.

Plans and pricing

Equifax ID Watchdog offers a competitive feature set at an affordable price point. While similar products often charge around $30 per month for premium protection packages, ID Watchdog's Platinum plan costs only $21.95 per month for individuals. Additionally, an annual option of $220 is available, making it even more cost-effective.

The Platinum plan provides monitoring for three major credit bureaus, $1 million in protection insurance, and $500,000 in coverage against 401K fraud. Notably, this plan also includes a branded VPN, NordVPN, which is an essential security tool for online protection.

Considering the comprehensive features and affordable cost, Equifax ID Watchdog's Platinum plan stands out as an attractive option for individuals seeking identity theft protection and credit monitoring services.

The Platinum plan is an excellent option for families looking for comprehensive insurance coverage. It can cover up to two adults and up to four children, making it an ideal choice for large households. The plan includes a wide range of benefits, including access to a network of preferred providers, coverage for preventive care and routine check-ups, and coverage for major medical expenses.

The Platinum plan is available for a monthly cost of $34.95 or an annual cost of $350. The annual option provides a significant savings over the monthly option, making it a great value for families.

Beyond its extensive coverage, the Platinum plan provides additional benefits. One notable feature is the Child Credit Lock, accessible through your ID Watchdog account. This lock helps secure your minor child against credit fraud by generating an Equifax credit report and locking it to prevent unauthorized access by potential lenders and creditors. ID Watchdog stands out as the only provider with this advanced online child lock capability.

Looking for an even more affordable option? ID Watchdog offers an Individual Select Plan for identity theft protection at $14.95 per month or $150 annually. This plan includes features like Equifax credit report monitoring, identity monitoring across billions of data points, and fully managed resolution support in case of identity theft.

The ID Watchdog Individual Select Plan offers a comprehensive suite of identity protection features. It includes regular monitoring of your Equifax credit report to identify any suspicious activity, as well as comprehensive monitoring across billions of data points to uncover potential fraud. Additionally, you can lock and unlock your Equifax credit report to prevent unauthorized access.

The plan also provides social account monitoring to keep an eye on your social media accounts for suspicious activity and offers up to $1 million in insurance coverage for identity theft-related expenses. Finally, you'll receive fully managed resolution support to assist you in resolving identity theft issues with step-by-step guidance and support.

ID Watchdog does a better job than some others in this space to offer multiple tiers of plans, both for families, and individuals, and also to have flexible payment options.

Interface

ID Watchdog's interface diverges from the conventional dashboard and wizard-driven designs commonly found in identity theft protection services. Instead, it resembles a virus-scanning tool, presenting a refreshing and unique approach to managing personal data security.

Features

Upon launching the application, the main window greets users with a straightforward layout. At the forefront is the option to initiate scans for Dark Web monitoring, an essential feature that scours the hidden corners of the internet for any traces of your personal information that may have been compromised in data breaches or leaks.

Another valuable feature is the ability to receive alerts about any changes to your physical address. This is crucial, as fraudsters often update their targets' addresses to reroute sensitive mail, such as credit card statements and tax documents. ID Watchdog's monitoring ensures that you are promptly notified of any unauthorized modifications, allowing you to take swift action to protect your identity.

For those concerned about potential sex offender registrations in their vicinity, ID Watchdog offers a scan feature that provides peace of mind. By keeping track of registered sex offenders in your area, you can make informed decisions about your personal safety and the safety of your loved ones.

At the heart of ID Watchdog's services is the comprehensive display of credit checks and credit scores. These are the primary calling cards of the platform, empowering users to monitor their credit health and detect any suspicious activities. The easy-to-understand presentation of credit information allows you to stay vigilant and address any issues promptly.

ID Watchdog's unique interface and focus on essential identity theft protection features set it apart from many of its competitors. It provides a user-friendly and visually appealing tool for safeguarding your personal data and maintaining peace of mind.

When compared to other identity protection apps, there aren't many distinctive features in this app. Although it offers standard features such as monitoring, reporting, credit history checks, credit scores, and address change alerts, it lacks unique elements.

For instance, while the app has an alert system for sex offenders moving into your area and monitors social media, the monitoring primarily focuses on your own behavior. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide alerts for more common scenarios like abusive comments directed at you or account compromise.

Support

ID Watchdog offers comprehensive support to help you with any issues or questions you might have. Their Customer Care Center is available 24/7, 365 days a year at 1-800-970-5182. You can also contact them via email through their official website. Access your account and find answers to frequently asked questions on their online portal. For questions regarding their mobile app, customer service can be reached at 1-800-967-9005.

A shortcoming is that there is no chat, an increasingly popular support option.

The competition

Similar to other identity theft protection tools, ID Watchdog faces competition from the more prominent Norton LifeLock. Additionally, it struggles with its own name, as customers often associate it with its parent company, Equifax. This association is reinforced by the prominent notice about Equifax's ownership on the ID Watchdog website. Consequently, Equifax becomes a significant competitor, influencing customers' perceptions of the protection ID Watchdog offers.

During the registration process, ID Watchdog requires personal information, including social security numbers, bank accounts, physical addresses, emails, and phone numbers. This requirement may give customers pause, considering that Equifax experienced a data breach in 2017, which became widely publicized.

Similar to Experian IdentityWorks' uphill battle in overcoming the 2015 data breach involving 15 million customer records, these apps face significant challenges. Understanding their purpose is crucial. They aim to provide customers with tools to explore their credit history. This is particularly relevant when securing a substantial mortgage, as banks prioritize individuals with clean records.

Additionally, credit history can be crucial during job applications. While we appreciate the existence of these apps in helping us proactively manage our personal information beyond credit scores and finances, their laser-focused concentration on credit reporting and monitoring aspects may not be genuinely helpful, especially for subscribers not actively seeking loans.

Final verdict

Equifax's ID Watchdog offers a budget-friendly approach to identity theft protection. While it may not be the most comprehensive option available, its low monthly cost of approximately $20 for the premium package makes it a compelling choice for those seeking affordable security. Compared to competing services that often charge around $30 per month for similar features, ID Watchdog provides excellent value, particularly for consumers primarily concerned with price.

When selecting a product of this nature, cost is undeniably a significant factor to consider. However, it should not be the sole basis for decision-making. In the case of an app from a company that has had a prior data breach, there may not be an elevated risk of using it. The security vulnerabilities may have been identified and rectified, and the company may be more vigilant in ensuring the security of its users' data. However, it is essential to acknowledge that this remains an unresolved issue.

However, what truly prevents ID Watchdog from being ranked among the top choices is not its history of data breaches, but rather its lack of groundbreaking or novel features. In a crowded market where numerous apps offer identity theft protection, ID Watchdog fails to stand out. It provides standard identity monitoring and alert services, but it does not offer any unique or innovative features that would set it apart from its competitors. This lack of differentiation makes it difficult for ID Watchdog to stand out and attract users who are looking for a truly comprehensive and exceptional identity theft protection solution.

We've also highlighted the best identity theft protection

Our series on identity theft protection apps will evaluate the features, pricing options, competition, and also the overall value of using each app. However, these are not full hands-on reviews since evaluating identity theft protection apps is almost impossible. It would require several months of testing, purposefully hacking accounts to see if the protection app works, handing over personally identifiable information, performing multiple credit checks, and risking exposure of the reviewer’s personally identifiable information.

Preserving the safety of our identities has become paramount, playing a crucial role in achieving various personal and professional milestones. A secure identity is foundational for maintaining a spotless record, a stellar credit history, and a clean criminal background. These elements serve as the bedrock for financial well-being, enabling individuals to unlock employment opportunities, purchase vehicles and homes, and access bank loans for ventures such as starting a new business. As we navigate this landscape, understanding the implications of identity theft becomes increasingly critical, particularly in light of the surge in online activities we've witnessed in recent years, particularly during the pandemic.

The concept of identity theft is no longer a distant worry; it has become a salient threat that looms over individuals in the digital age. This invasive crime can lead to catastrophic disruptions and financial devastation. Unfortunately, many people harbor the hope that they will never fall victim to such deceit; the stark reality is that identity theft can happen to anyone, regardless of how prudent or careful they may be. Identity theft typically occurs when someone unlawfully acquires and exploits another individual's personal information—such as their name, address, social security number, or credit card details—for fraudulent purposes. The repercussions are often far-reaching and can linger for years, affecting every aspect of a victim's life.

One of the most immediate and devastating impacts of identity theft is the inability to access financial resources. When personal information is compromised, banks and lenders may abruptly deny loans or credit applications, leaving victims in a precarious financial position. This disruption can hinder individuals from purchasing essential items like homes, cars, or securing personal loans necessary for everyday life. Additionally, victims may find their existing financial accounts frozen or compromised, further exacerbating the situation and preventing them from accessing their own hard-earned funds to meet their financial obligations.

Employment opportunities, too, can be negatively affected by the ramifications of identity theft. Many employers conduct background checks as part of their hiring process, and if discrepancies or red flags associated with a victim’s stolen identity are flagged, it can lead to job rejections or even terminations. This loss of income can be particularly devastating, leaving individuals struggling to provide for themselves and their families.

Beyond the tangible financial consequences, the emotional toll of identity theft can be equally devastating. Victims often report feelings of violation, anger, and helplessness as they grapple with the breach of their personal security. The process of restoring one’s identity and repairing damaged credit can be not only time-consuming but also financially burdensome, requiring significant emotional resilience. Moreover, identity theft can foster social isolation, as victims may become wary of engaging in everyday activities that necessitate sharing personal information, eroding their trust in others.

In a world where identity theft poses a significant and growing threat, taking proactive measures to safeguard personal information has become essential for everyone. Individuals can fortify their defenses by employing robust passwords, implementing two-factor authentication on various accounts, and exercising caution when sharing sensitive data online. Regular monitoring of credit reports and bank statements enables timely detection of suspicious activities, serving as an early warning system for potential compromises. Additionally, identity theft protection services offer an extra layer of security, often providing assistance in the event of account breaches and credit restoration.

For those concerned about identity theft, services such as IDShield are worth considering. This product emphasizes fraud intervention by deploying licensed private investigators who act on behalf of victims. By granting them Power of Attorney, individuals can ensure that these professionals navigate the complexities of credit agencies to restore their good name effectively. However, while IDShield offers notable services, there are concerns regarding its efficacy. An ideal identity theft protection app should be more proactive in preventing fraud rather than merely addressing it post-incident. Additionally, some users have expressed frustration with unclear explanations on their website, which can create confusion about the specifics of what the product actually offers.

Plans and pricing

IDShield offers straightforward plans designed to protect individuals and families from identity theft, with pricing that varies primarily based on whether you opt for one-bureau or three-bureau credit monitoring.

For individuals, plans typically start around $14.95 per month for one-bureau credit monitoring (usually Experian). If you desire more comprehensive credit oversight, the three-bureau option (monitoring Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) is available for approximately $19.95 per month.

For families, IDShield provides coverage for two adults and eligible dependent children under 18 living in the same household. A one-bureau family plan typically costs around $29.95 per month, while the three-bureau family plan is approximately $34.95 per month. Some sources indicate the family plan covers an unlimited number of children.

Regardless of the plan you choose, all IDShield subscriptions come with a robust set of features. These include dark web monitoring, social security number (SSN) monitoring, financial account monitoring, social media monitoring, public records monitoring, and alerts for various identity threats like address changes and court records. A significant benefit across all plans is access to licensed private investigators who will work to fully restore your identity if it's stolen, alongside up to $3 million in identity theft insurance to cover eligible financial losses and certain legal fees. Many plans also bundle in digital security tools like a VPN and password manager for up to three devices on individual plans and up to 15 devices on family plans, typically provided by Trend Micro. It's worth noting that while credit monitoring is a core feature, some plans may not provide full credit reports, only a monthly credit score tracker. IDShield often provides a 30-day free trial for new members.

Interface

Before discussing the desktop and mobile apps, it's imperative to highlight the IDShield website. Unlike other apps that can be downloaded and used right away, identity theft protection requires some self-education. Understanding the field of identity theft, including how criminals can harm your reputation, destroy your credit, and even impersonate you to commit crimes, is essential.

Despite its efforts, IDShield encounters some obstacles in conveying critical information. The primary website provides descriptions of the app's features, but the "See more" option that elaborates on additional functionalities is easily overlooked due to its diminutive size.

Furthermore, the consultation feature's description lacks specifics, leaving out crucial details. It merely states that “We monitor your personal and financial information 24/7. When we detect fraud, we work to restore your identity quickly.” However, without some more specifics, it fails to provide any meaningful information about the restoration process or the actual steps taken to return consumer reports and other records to their pre-theft status. This generic description leaves potential customers with some unanswered questions and an unclear understanding of the services provided.

Mobile app

Within the app, just like in other sections, there's a lack of detailed explanations about the features' functionality. In contrast, Norton LifeLock excels in presenting options in a dashboard layout, similar to a wizard. It clearly indicates the remaining steps or the number of accounts that require configuration.

IDShield places too much emphasis on your credit score. Some of the information intended to explain features actually ends up explaining general credit monitoring concepts. This issue persists not only in the desktop app but also in the mobile apps for iPhone iOS and Android.

Features

IDShield lacks substantial features, except for the consultation with licensed investigators. This service primarily addresses issues that arise after identity theft has already occurred. The app monitors credit bureaus and sends alerts for credit-related problems, allowing users to address them promptly before they become severe, such as a low credit score. However, some of these features are repetitiously listed, causing inconvenience.

On the IDShield website and in a feature comparison document, "Unlimited consultation" and "Licensed private investigators" are listed. However, these phrases essentially convey the same idea. Another example is social media monitoring, which is not as impressive as it seems. It primarily tracks illicit images, drug references, and foul language, but it does not monitor for account hacking.

IDShield excels in its vigilance in safeguarding your identity. While Norton LifeLock offers superior tools for identity protection, IDShield surpasses it in monitoring the usage of your personal information, such as your address, phone number, and other identifiable details. IDShield's capabilities extend to tracking public court records and detecting pay-day loan fraud attempts made with your name and identity.

One standout feature of IdentityForce is its capability to alert users when a registered sex offender moves into their neighborhood. However, it's worth noting that the app currently lacks the ability to notify users if a sex offender attempts to steal their identity. This could be a valuable addition to the app, as it would provide users with a more comprehensive identity protection solution.

Support

IDShield understands that customers may have questions or concerns about their services, and they offer multiple support channels to ensure timely and convenient assistance.

For immediate assistance, customers can call IDShield's dedicated phone support line at 1-888-494-8519. Phone support is available from Monday through Friday, from 7 AM to 7 PM Central Standard Time (CST). Customers can speak directly to knowledgeable representatives who are trained to address a wide range of issues, from account inquiries to technical support.

For customers who prefer written communication, IDShield offers email support at Idshield@legalshield.com. Customers can send detailed queries or concerns to this email address anytime, and they can expect a response within 24 hours. This option is particularly suitable for non-urgent matters or complex inquiries that require more comprehensive explanations.

IDShield's website features a live chat option for customers who prefer real-time assistance. The live chat function allows customers to connect directly with a support representative and have their questions answered promptly. This option is available during business hours, and customers can initiate a chat by clicking the "Live Chat" button on IDShield's website.

In addition to these support channels, IDShield also provides a comprehensive knowledge base and frequently asked questions (FAQs) section on their website. Customers can find answers to common questions, troubleshooting tips, and other resources without contacting support directly.

IDShield's commitment to customer satisfaction is evident in their diverse support options. By offering phone, email, and live chat support, IDShield ensures that customers have convenient and accessible channels to resolve their queries and concerns.

The competition

In today's digital age, the threat of identity theft has become increasingly prevalent, prompting consumers to seek robust identity theft protection services. IDShield operates in a competitive landscape, where several strong players vie for attention with their comprehensive offerings.

Among these, Aura stands out as a prominent competitor, frequently receiving high marks for its all-in-one approach to digital security and identity protection. Aura distinguishes itself by bundling essential features like a virtual private network (VPN), antivirus software, and thorough dark web monitoring with its identity theft services. This integration of tools provides users with a holistic security solution, allowing for a seamless experience. Additionally, Aura's three-bureau credit monitoring, included across all plans, enables users to gain a complete view of their credit status, enhancing their ability to detect fraudulent activities promptly.

Another key competitor in this space is Norton LifeLock, a well-established name recognized for its extensive suite of monitoring features. LifeLock offers an array of services that extend beyond typical identity theft protection. Users benefit from comprehensive monitoring of their credit and financial activities, as well as unique features like home and auto title monitoring. This focus on a broad spectrum of identity protection resonates with consumers looking for a more integrated solution. Moreover, the incorporation of Norton 360 antivirus with LifeLock subscriptions appeals to those seeking to combine cybersecurity with identity theft protection, ensuring that users’ devices are safeguarded against various online threats.

Identity Guard is another significant player that has garnered attention for its strong monitoring capabilities, leveraging artificial intelligence to detect threats swiftly. This technological advancement allows Identity Guard to provide proactive alerts and real-time monitoring, which can be invaluable for users keen on staying one step ahead of potential fraud. The service typically offers a range of plans at various price points, making it accessible to a wider audience. This flexibility can be particularly appealing for consumers primarily focused on alerting and monitoring, rather than extensive recovery services.

Beyond these top contenders, other notable services such as IdentityForce also provide substantial protection, incorporating features like social media monitoring and personal identity safety scores. Such tools help users maintain an awareness of their online presence and identify potential risks associated with their digital identity. Experian IdentityWorks and ID Watchdog stand out for their strong ties to credit bureaus, offering users a direct link to credit monitoring services that can provide significant peace of mind, especially in times of heightened concern about financial security.

As identity theft protection continues to evolve, companies like McAfee and Bitdefender are increasingly integrating these services into their broader cybersecurity suites. By bundling antivirus capabilities, VPN access, and identity protection, they create an all-encompassing security solution that appeals to users looking for comprehensive protection under one roof.

Ultimately, the choice among these competitors often comes down to individual needs, budget constraints, and the desired level of credit bureau monitoring. Factors such as additional features, like enhanced digital security tools or personalized restoration services, can also play a crucial role in the decision-making process. Consumers must carefully evaluate their priorities and preferences to find the identity theft protection service that best meets their unique requirements in this ever-evolving digital landscape.

Final verdict

IDShield could benefit significantly from rebranding with a more fitting name. Since its primary focus is on collaborating with investigators to handle fraud cases, a name like "IDRestore" would better align with its core function. This strategic change in naming would provide a clearer and more accurate representation of the app's services.

When comparing IDShield to its competitors, it stands out as a cost-effective option. Its pricing structure makes it an accessible choice for individuals and families seeking protection against identity theft. The affordability of IDShield makes it a practical solution for those who prioritize financial security without overspending.

Despite its low cost, IDShield does not compromise on the quality of its services. The app employs robust security measures and advanced technologies to protect users' personal information. Its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features enable users to monitor their credit reports, detect suspicious activities, and receive real-time alerts easily.

By offering a competitive price point alongside effective identity protection services, IDShield presents an attractive value proposition. Its commitment to providing affordable yet reliable solutions makes it a compelling choice for individuals and families looking to safeguard their personal information in an increasingly digital world.

Take a look at our full guide to the best identity theft protection

Our series on identity theft protection apps will evaluate the features, pricing options, competition, and also the overall value of using each app. However, these are not full hands-on reviews since evaluating identity theft protection apps is almost impossible. It would require several months of testing, purposefully hacking accounts to see if the protection app works, handing over personally identifiable information, performing multiple credit checks, and risking exposure of the reviewer’s personally identifiable information.

Maintaining a strong understanding of your online identity is crucial. This knowledge empowers you to effectively monitor your credit, review bank accounts, and stay vigilant against potential threats. Equipped with accurate information, you can proactively respond to and potentially prevent identity theft. The absence of such information can leave you feeling vulnerable and powerless against hidden adversaries who may impersonate you and commit crimes without your awareness. The field of identity theft protection relies heavily on the information at your disposal and the subsequent steps taken to address any issues that arise.

Identity Guard, an identity theft protection app, offers a plethora of robust features, including expert consultations for identity recovery. However, it falls short in providing detailed information about its functionality and benefits. The website, resembling an online brochure, lacks comprehensiveness. In comparison, Norton LifeLock excels in presenting clear and detailed information about how its tools protect, assist, and resolve identity theft issues. Identity Guard could greatly enhance user understanding and satisfaction by improving the website's content and incorporating more detailed explanations within the app.

Identity Guard, established in 1996, stands as a venerable entity in the identity protection sector. Its longevity in the industry speaks volumes about its commitment to safeguarding individuals' sensitive information. With over two decades of dedicated service, Identity Guard has significantly impacted protecting over 47 million identities. This remarkable achievement showcases the company's proficiency in recognizing and mitigating identity fraud risks.

Identity Guard, renowned for its commitment to safeguarding individuals' identities, has achieved remarkable success in resolving identity fraud cases. Surpassing the milestone of 140,000 resolved cases, Identity Guard's expertise and dedication have empowered countless individuals to reclaim control of their compromised identities. This outstanding track record is a testament to the organization's unwavering commitment to protecting its clients from the devastating consequences of identity theft.

Through the years, Identity Guard has honed its capabilities, developing a comprehensive suite of identity protection solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of individuals and families. Its team of highly skilled professionals, armed with cutting-edge technology and extensive knowledge, works tirelessly to detect and resolve identity fraud attempts promptly and effectively. Identity Guard's proactive approach includes continuous monitoring of credit reports, social media activity, and dark web surveillance, ensuring that potential threats are identified and addressed in a timely manner.

Moreover, Identity Guard's commitment to excellence extends beyond resolving identity fraud cases. The organization is dedicated to providing unparalleled customer support, offering personalized assistance and guidance to individuals throughout the recovery process. Its team of knowledgeable and compassionate professionals works closely with clients, providing emotional support and practical advice to help them navigate the complexities of identity theft and restore their peace of mind.

• You can sign up for Identity Guard here

As a result of its exceptional service and proven results, Identity Guard has earned the trust and confidence of individuals seeking comprehensive identity protection solutions. Recognized as a leader in the industry, Identity Guard continues to raise the bar for identity protection services, empowering individuals to take control of their identities and protect themselves from the ever-evolving threat of identity fraud.

Plans and pricing

Regarding pricing, Identity Guard is transparent, unlike Norton LifeLock, which has confusing plans and tiers. Identity Guard categorizes its plans into two main groups: individual and family, with the latter being more expensive. Within each group, there are three tiers: Value, Total, and Ultra. Unfortunately, the lowest tier, the Value plan, lacks credit monitoring and an actual credit score, two essential features offered by Identity Guard. Some identity theft protection apps provide credit monitoring but don't include the full credit score. To access the credit score, users must upgrade to the Total or Ultra plan.

Value offers a budget-friendly identity protection plan at $8.99/month (or $7.50/month when paid annually). While it provides essential features like high-risk transaction alerts, a risk management score, and $1 million in identity theft insurance, it lacks more advanced options like a VPN or a comprehensive credit score. Its safe browsing extension and password manager are useful additions, but may be too similar in comparison to free browser extensions. Given its omission of a credit score, the password manager might seem somewhat superfluous to some users.

By upgrading to the Total plan, which costs $19.99 per month or $16.67 per month with an annual subscription for the individual plan, you'll gain access to a credit lock, financial transaction monitoring, and 3-bureau credit bureau monitoring, along with a monthly credit score. Furthermore, Identity Guard provides bank account monitoring as an added layer of protection.

For $29.99 per month or $25 per month on an annual subscription for the individual plan, the Ultra tier provides advanced monitoring services. These include credit and debit card monitoring, 401k and investment account monitoring, and criminal and sex offense monitoring. Additionally, premium features such as home title monitoring, USPS address change monitoring, and an Experian credit lock are included with this subscription.

In contrast to some competitors' family plans, which limit the number of children covered, the Family Plans offer the advantage of covering up to two adults and an unlimited number of children. The Value tier of the Family Plan starts at $14.99 per month, with annual discounts available.

All plans include customer support through phone or email with a dedicated case manager based in the United States. The support service is available six days a week: Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 11 PM, and Saturday from 9 AM to 6 PM They are not available on Sundays. For email inquiries, the target response time is 24 to 48 hours.

Although there isn't a free trial, the annual plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Interface

If you seek detailed explanations of every feature and a user-friendly dashboard that guides you through each step, Identity Guard may not be the ideal choice for you. The marketing department's involvement appears to have overshadowed the app's functionality. Website notifications about IBM Watson and a prominent logo on the dashboard serve as reminders of its presence, although paying customers may not fully grasp the role of this super-intelligent mainframe in protecting their identity. While IBM Watson likely correlates identity tracking information and alerts users to potential issues, the customer's primary concern should be the effectiveness of the app, not the underlying mechanisms behind its operation.

While the app highlights the fundamentals of credit scores and monitoring, offering valuable insights for identity protection, it lacks comprehensive information in other crucial areas. Notably, there's limited coverage of criminal activity, fraud, banking issues, credit card problems, and identity theft beyond credit agency reports. Furthermore, the interface falls short in providing sufficient tips and instructional resources to assist users in navigating the process and comprehending potential risks.

Features

Identity Guard offers tiered identity theft protection services, including a standard suite of monitoring and tracking tools designed for individuals concerned about their credit. The higher tiers provide additional features like a credit score check, making it easier to identify and address potential suspicious activity.

The standard entry tier of Identity Guard includes the following features:

• Credit Monitoring: It continuously monitors all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) for unauthorized changes or inquiries. If any suspicious activity is detected, you will be notified immediately.
• Fraud Alerts: Identity Guard places fraud alerts on your credit file, making it more difficult for fraudsters to open new accounts in your name.
• Identity Theft Insurance: This coverage reimburses you for expenses incurred due to identity theft, such as legal fees, lost wages, and child care expenses.

The two higher tiers of Identity Guard (Total and Ultra) include all the features of the standard tier, plus the following:

• Credit Score Check: With this tool, you can regularly check your credit score and track your credit history. This information can be helpful for identifying any potential problems that could affect your creditworthiness.
• Dark Web Monitoring: Identity Guard scans the dark web for your personal information, such as your Social Security number, credit card numbers, and passwords. If your information is found, you will be notified immediately so you can take steps to protect yourself.
• Identity Restoration Services: If you become a victim of identity theft, Identity Guard's team of experts will work with you to restore your identity and minimize the damage caused by the fraud.

In terms of the more basic features, the app does alert you about activity related to your bank account and other personal info, such as if there was suspicious activity over the phone where someone tried to use your bank account. The app provides consultations with experts who can guide you through any recovery or fraud remediation steps. Identity Guard doesn’t note whether these are licensed private investigators (which is the staple feature of some competitors, such as IdentityForce).

Identity Guard lacks a virtual private network (VPN) component, which is a notable limitation.

The competition

Identity Guard offers a limited user experience compared to Norton LifeLock. While Norton LifeLock provides comprehensive background material and a user-friendly dashboard to track progress in protecting online identities, Identity Guard lacks these features.

Other apps like IdentityForce excel in explaining their features but have their own drawbacks, such as hard-to-find explanations. Identity Guard's standout feature is the inclusion of an actual credit score, which can be beneficial for individuals focused on credit checks, such as those applying for a home or car purchase.

However, Identity Guard lacks monitoring for criminal activity conducted in the user's name, such as sex offenders impersonating individuals to secure loans. This limitation could compromise the overall effectiveness of Identity Guard's identity protection services.

Ultimately, users seeking a more comprehensive identity protection solution with background material, progress tracking, and robust monitoring capabilities may find Identity Guard lacking compared to other options in the market.

Final verdict

The Identity Guard website, which acts as the entry point for the app, gives the impression of haste and lack of polish. Upon arriving at the landing page, users are greeted with a minimalist design that lacks essential navigation options or information about the app's features and benefits. This omission is particularly confusing, as users may struggle to understand the purpose and functionality of the app without proper guidance. To access the homepage, users must manually delete the landing page URL, which adds an unnecessary step to the user experience. These issues collectively make it challenging for potential users to evaluate and learn about the app, potentially limiting their understanding of its capabilities and deterring them from exploring it further.

While the app does include valuable features such as credit score monitoring, there is a concerning lack of transparency regarding its identity protection capabilities. This lack of clarity leaves customers in the dark about the specific measures the app takes to safeguard their personal information and protect them from identity theft. Without detailed and accessible information about these critical aspects, users may be hesitant to trust the app with their sensitive data, undermining their confidence in the app's ability to effectively protect their identity. This deficiency in transparency not only erodes customer trust but also makes it challenging for users to make informed decisions about using the app.

We've also highlighted the best identity theft protection

ESET’s home user range starts with ESET NOD32 Antivirus, which focuses on the antivirus, anti-phishing, and anti-ransomware basics. It supports Windows, Mac, and Linux, with the pricing beginning at $39.99 for a single-device, one-year license. Extending the license to cover five devices during three years is possible at $179.97.

Upgrading to ESET Home Security Essential adds a spam filter, parental controls, webcam protection, a secure browser to protect online transactions, and an anti-theft feature for Windows. It also throws in a firewall, traffic monitoring, Android support, and a vulnerability scanner feature for your home devices. Prices start at a reasonable $49.99 for a single-device, one-year license, rising to $227.98 (284.97 on renewal) to cover 10 devices over three years.

Next is ESET Home Security Premium, which extends the suite with a password manager, file and folder encryption, and a LiveGuard feature to proactively discover and stop previously unseen types of threats, starting at $59.99 for one device during one year, and increasing to $251.98 ($314.97 upon renewing) for a 10-device, three-year license.

Finally, ESET Home Security Ultimate tops the range with the addition of enhanced browser and privacy protection and unlimited VPN. It starts at $179.99 for a five-device, one-year license, climbing to $614.97 to expand coverage on 10 devices for the duration of three years.

• You can sign up for ESET Antivirus solutions here

ESET NOD32 Antivirus

Installing ESET NOD32 Antivirus is as easy as it gets. Upon successful installation, ESET NOD32 Antivirus automatically launches a full system scan.

The executables and data files grab about 100MB of hard drive space, which is very little, there are three background processes, and you can use your system as usual when it’s on.

Besides, AV-Comparatives’ November 2024 Performance Test has also delivered mostly positive results, placing ESET fifth out of 17 for minimal impact on system performance.

Interface

ESET NOD32 features a clear and easy-to-use dashboard showing your current security status, allowing you to launch a full system scan with a click, as well as a sidebar that enables browsing the program’s other options. You can also drag and drop features to arrange them in the most convenient way for you.

You can also drag-and-drop files or folders you wish to scan separately. The logs for individually scanned items can be exported into an XML or TXT file using a right-click menu inside the recent antivirus events. It is also possible to filter items by multiple parameters.

Antivirus

Scan types might be a bit more limited than some of the competitors’ - there are only Full System, Removable Devices, and Custom scans. There’s no Quick Scan - at least as a standard, as it’s actually possible to create scan profiles to run more limited checks.

The app scanned our 80GB test system in less than 10 minutes during the first run, and 6 minutes for the second, which is a rather fast time.

If you feel comfortable enough with tinkering, you can browse the Advanced Settings box for expert-level options ranging from basic objects to scan (boot sectors, network drives, archives, and more) to finer details like email protocols to check/ignore and the level of nested zip files to scan.

For more flexibility, you can right-click a file in Explorer, and ESET NOD32 gives you the option to scan it for threats. You can also check the file’s reputation, scan it without cleaning it, submit it for analysis, or manually quarantine it even if it’s not been flagged as malware but you’re concerned about it.

Protection

AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Test summary report for July-October 2024 saw ESET in fifth place (out of 16), with a protection rating of 99.2%.

In terms of AV-Test’s Home Windows User reports, ESET performed marvelously, scoring maximum points for the past year in areas of protection, performance, and usability.

Blocking malicious sites

ESET NOD32 Antivirus is equipped with multiple URL defense system layers. They include web access protection, an anti-phishing option, traffic scanning, and browser protection through an advanced script scanner, all built into the core engine.

This means that there’s no need to install browser extensions or worry about supported or unsupported browsers - you’re automatically covered for everything that accesses the World Wide Web.

There are a lot of configuration options here as well. Most are on/off switches, like those for scanning HTTP sites, as well as creating handy blacklists and whitelists of sites to always/never be blocked, alongside ThreatSense which combines various complex threat detection methods.

AV-Comparatives’ 2024 Anti-Phishing Test discovered that ESET blocked 87% of malicious URLs and delivered no false positives, thus outperforming NordVPN Threat Protection Pro (85%), but trailing behind Kaspersky (93%), McAfee (92%), and Avast (91%).

Device control

Extras start with Device Control, an unusual feature that enables defining what happens when users connect any type of a host device to the system, be it external storage, a USB printer, a Bluetooth device, a scanner, a smart card reader, modems, and more.

Specifically, options include making devices read-only, displaying a warning to users, or blocking them entirely. Rules can apply to all or specific devices, as well as to some or all user accounts. The system logs all device connections for later review.

More features

ESET NOD32 doesn’t have the usual bonus tools that many other security apps do, so there’s no password manager, file shredder, junk file cleaner, and the like. However, there are some uncommon options hidden away in the Tools menu.

Here, you can view logs, see what the program has blocked, monitor running processes with additional reputation information from ESET LiveGrid, fire up the ESET SysInspector that collects detailed information about your system, clean your device, and more.

That said, some of these hidden features may be a little odd. The System Cleaner claims to warn you if key Windows settings have been changed from their defaults (like because of malware), but it doesn’t offer enough information to make a clear decision.

Meanwhile, ESET SysInspector takes the spotlight by taking a snapshot of your system and highlighting interesting items: running processes, network connections, critical files (HOSTS), important Registry entries, and more, something like an extended task manager.

Final verdict

ESET NOD32 is an interesting antivirus that boasts some expert-level tweaks and tools, as well as boasting solid results from the independent testing labs.

ESET Home Security Essential

Previously known as ESET Internet Security, the Home Security Essential builds upon the NOD32 Antivirus edition, adding a firewall, spam filter, parental controls, webcam protection, network monitoring, extra network attack and botnet protection, an anti-theft feature for Windows, as well as an Android app.

Firewall

ESET Home Security Essential’s firewall starts in automatic mode, allowing all outgoing traffic without making any filtering attempts while blocking uninitiated traffic from the web.

It doesn’t tell you that outbound traffic is unfiltered by default, so if a process tries to get online, it can. Secondly, even if you enable the alternative Interactive Mode, it still won’t make any decisions by itself, instead asking you whether it should trust any application making an outbound connection.

And it’s literally any application, including the most well-known and trusted processes such as Firefox, Chrome, Windows system processes, and others. While this may be straightforward for the above apps, looking at something like ‘64DriverLoad.exe is trying to communicate with remote site 255.255.255.255’ won’t make much sense.

ESET also offers a firewall Learning Mode, which the company says ‘automatically creates and saves rules according to predefined parameters’ but warns shouldn’t be used permanently as it’s intended for initial configuration only.

Spam filter

ESET Home Security Essential’s spam filter can integrate into Microsoft Outlook. It is quite capable, allowing you to decide whether to scan incoming, outgoing, and read emails, select an action to take (delete, move to the spam or a specified folder), add custom text to the subject line, and log the spam score.

Other features

ESET Home Security Essential’s webcam protection is powered by a very configurable rules-based system, so you can always allow access to some apps, block others, prompt for a few, or just automatically block everything.

The Banking and Protection feature opens your default browser in a hardened form which ESET says makes it more difficult for keyloggers to capture personal data.

In terms of Parental Controls, ESET’s are also very basic, with support for content filtering and activity logging, but nothing else, even the basic functionality like restricting internet access or device use by time.

At the same time, the Anti-Theft feature allows you to track your device’s location, use webcam image capture to get a view of its location or send a message to its finder.

Elsewhere, the Network Inspector lists devices connected to your network and raises alerts for any new connections. It can scan your network for open ports, weak router passwords, and other vulnerabilities.

Internet Security App

ESET Home Security Essential also has Android support, and upgrading from a free Mobile Security and Antivirus app packs extras, from mobile versions of desktop tools (anti-theft, banking protection, network monitor), to an app locker, security audit, and more.

AV-Test’s January 2025 Android Test gave it full marks for protection, performance, and usability.

Final verdict

ESET Home Security Essential has a long list of features, some impressive, some not as much. If you’re an ESET fan or need this precise feature set, the suite might be interesting, but if not, you might want to look elsewhere.

ESET Home Security Premium

Previously called ESET Smart Security Premium, the ESET Home Security Premium adds the new LiveGuard feature (an extra layer of cloud analysis), a password manager, and a file encryption system to the Home Security Essential’s feature list.

Live Guard

The LiveGuard tech is a new form of cloud analysis aiming to detect the very latest and yet undiscovered threats. This means that, if you turn it on, whenever you access a file it hasn’t seen before, it will automatically send it to the ESET cloud for in-depth testing.

Password manager

Although it’s not as powerful as specialist standalone apps like Dashlane and LastPass, ESET’s Password Manager is smarter than the efforts you get with most security suites, and it covers the basics well enough.

Wide platform support includes apps for Android, iOS, and Mac, as well as browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. You can import passwords from Chrome, Firefox, and a range of other password managers (1Password, LastPass, Dashlane, BitWarden, Enpass, and many more).

Once you’re up and running, the browser extensions allow you to generate secure and customized passwords, save your credentials, sync them across devices, and automatically fill in web forms.

You can also create one or more Identities, with personal details to be automatically filled into web forms: name, address, date and place of birth, common forms of web ID, credit card information, and more.

The service also highlights particularly weak and reused passwords.

Secure data

Finally, the Secure Data feature allows you to create an encrypted vault on a hard drive, USB stick, or another device. The vault is opened with a password and acts like a virtual drive or folder, where you can save or copy files to encrypt them, or open or view them to decrypt them.

Final verdict

All things considered, ESET Home Security Premium is a solid offering, especially taking into account its extras - the password manager, LiveGuard service, and Secure Data option. However, if you don’t need any of these, you may want to skip this package.

ESET Home Security Ultimate

ESET’s top-of-the-line Home Security Ultimate adds enhanced browser and privacy protection, unlimited VPN, as well as identity protection through dark web scanning, credit report monitoring, identity threat alerts, SSN tracking, lost wallet assistance, and recovery alongside $1 million insurance.

That said, due to local legislative and sales barriers, this tier may not be available in many countries at the time of writing, and these are listed on the website.

Enhanced browser and privacy protection

Ultimate takes Premium’s browser security and privacy to a whole new level with identity protection, dark web scanning, credit report monitoring, social media identity monitoring, identity threat alerts, SSN tracking, lost wallet assistance, and identity recovery alongside $1 million insurance.

Unlimited VPN

An especially useful feature added by Ultimate is the unlimited ESET VPN, which is available on Windows, macOS, smartphones, and tablets, with a guaranteed no-logs policy, zero tracking, DNS leak protection, and MAC spoofing protection.

You’ll also get access to servers in over 60 locations around the world. The VPN allows you to unblock geo-restricted content, ‘kills’ the internet when the VPN is off, enables you to decide which apps to pass through it, as well as configure which proxies and connection protocols you want to use (WireGuard, IKEv2 (IPsec), UDP, TCP, Stealth, or Wstunnel).

Final verdict

The unlimited VPN, aside from the advanced identity protections and insurance, makes ESET Home Security Ultimate a complete and desirable package for anyone concerned with online privacy and identity - unless you’re in one of the excluded countries, that is.

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