Using A Bing Proxy (How To Scrape And Unblock Bing)

What do you know about Bing? Do you know that it’s Microsoft’s answer to the giant that is Google—the web engine synonymous with the internet searchers? Perhaps you know it for the gorgeous, breathtaking wallpapers that backdrop its search interface. Maybe you just thought it was the sound your phone or computer makes when you receive an email. No judgment. The word literally beckons, invites curiosity, and invokes an idea of discovery—which no doubt is part of the branding.

What you may not know about the third largest search engine worldwide is that you’ve been using it all wrong. Well, perhaps not wrong, but certainly not to the fullest. Why this important? Well, for data of course.

In this installment, I’ll give you all the intel on how you should be using Bing and why you need a Bing proxy to truly unlock the search engine’s full potential. Because to this point, the truth is, you’ve barely scratched the surface. Read on to find out exactly how to dig deeper and realize what real online freedom really looks like.

Table of Contents

Bing, What is a Bing Proxy?

In a simple explanation, a proxy is merely a middleman between you and the internet. In a more complex, technical definition, proxies are intermediary computer networking devices or applications that act upon and fulfill requests from a client seeking specific resources while operating between the client and the servers that provide those resources. Whichever description you prefer, a proxy’s core function remains the same: to handle your online requests for you while ensuring anonymous online browsing and personal privacy.

Now, a proxy accomplishes this by taking your computer or mobile device’s IP address and exchanges it with its own whenever you go to make a connection online. Therefore, even though you are the one actually making the requests, any website that you access will only ever know the identity of your proxy. This means that you stay completely anonymous. The added layer of privacy ensures you can browse the internet without fear of hackers stealing your personal data, being unable to access certain sites because of your regional location, or even being bombarded by annoying pop-up advertisements generated from your recent search activity. A proxy, in other words, grants you incredible freedom.

Now, there are different types of proxies and each one offers a specialized set of functions depending upon your particular needs and online habits. A Bing proxy is a type of web proxy, meaning this private proxy operates in conjunction with the Bing platform, strengthening your security and improving performance behind the scenes as you go about your online activity.

Of course, now that you know what a Bing proxy is and how it works, you need to know what you can do with it. Although there are many ways to use them, for Bing proxies, there is no more principal purpose than web scraping.

Scrape Bing with a Private Proxy

Bing is an excellent search engine to use if you’re searching for very specific information. The search engine is so proficient at retrieving accurate results that 57% of users prefer its results over Google (30%). The reason for this may have to do with how Bing functions.

Unlike Google’s more simplistic home page and search results based upon keywords used, Bing optimizes for specific topics and industries in order to provide the best search results. Bing Ads, Bing Events, Bing Recipes, Bing Social, Bing Finance—even Bing Dictionary—are all features integrated right within the Bing search engine. This organization structure makes it much easy to find better-targeted information for even niche topics such as university enrollment or bank interest rates.

Bing’s wide range of dedicated services makes it a great place chock full of information ripe for the taking—or rather, scraping. Web scraping is the process of extracting specified data from a website often using an automation tool or scraping robot, and when it comes to scraping data, speed is key. Unlike you or I, who’d spend hours or days manually collecting data from a web page, the scraping bot can compile desired data in seconds depending on the size of the scraping project. However, the bot needs something to keep it hidden from the bot-blocking defenses of websites trying to prevent data mining.

Which is exactly where having Bing proxies becomes of such importance.

Scraping data from Bing searches

Scraping data from Bing searches is incredibly easy as long as you have a private proxy for Bing, or rather, private proxies. Having a large number of Bing proxies will ensure that your bot can continue working even if the website you’re trying to collect data from winds up blocking the IP address your bot is using. Instead of having to spend valuable time and manually reconfigure a new proxy repeatedly, your bot can simply rotate through the pool of available proxy IP addresses you have and keep on trucking through the data scraping process.

Web scraping Bing using a proxy allows you to gain incredible insights for literally anything you want to know. Want to know the enrollment rates, costs, and student population of a certain university? Search Bing University to find out. Unsure of what to make for dinner? Try Bing Recipes and discover weeknight meals to suit any diet or culinary craving. You can even utilize your proxy as a Bing maps proxy and collect data on what sort of businesses or services are in a particular area.

In the end, no matter what you’re searching for, a Bing proxy enables you to gather data en masse in a fraction of the time it would take to collect it manually. This invaluable data then allows you to evaluate your personal business/website performances against your competition, adjust marketing campaigns to drive greater conversion rates, and even free up more time for yourself. In this competitive world, that goes a long way toward success.

Other Reasons You Need Bing Proxies

Although scraping web data is the primary use for them, there are several other reasons for using proxies for Bing.

For starters, security. Envision a medieval castle with a deep moat surrounding it. Any marauding invaders would first have to negotiate the moat before tacking the castle’s other robust defenses. A Bing proxy works in the same fashion as the moat. Most hackers and online predators looking to steal your personal data would first have to work through the proxy’s defenses before then having to deal with your actual computer’s malware and virus firewalls. Most thieves aren’t looking to work that long or hard to get what they want, so using a proxy as the first line of defense strengthens your device against such threats.

Privacy is another huge benefit of using a Bing proxy. After all, why would they call it a private proxy for Bing if that weren’t the case? Since a proxy essentially relocates the location from which an online request comes from, a user is able to stay hidden from the internet. The complete anonymity means you can enjoy even more freedom while online, never having to worry about who is watching you or logging your search history or web activity.

Finally, utilizing a proxy means you can unblock Bing if it’s restricted due to geo-location or network settings. This can happen frequently when traveling to a foreign country where Bing is significantly controlled or outright banned. Connecting to a Bing US proxy, however, lets you access the service from within your country of origin as if it were never blocked. Once again this gives you unrestricted access to the content you crave without any issues.

The use cases for Bing proxies are very similar to those of proxies used for Google, so if you’re interested in knowing how to use them with that search engine check out our blog here.

How to Set up a Bing Proxy

The first step in setting up a Bing proxy is making sure you have quality proxies. For starters, the best proxy for Bing will never be free. Free proxies are the perfect place to invite trouble upon yourself, with hackers and online predators regularly using public proxies to prey upon unsuspecting victims. So always pay for your proxies. The investment is worth the security, and if y0u’re purchasing from a trusted provider, you’re sure to get what you pay for. Look for a provider that sells proxies that are fast (at least 1Gbps), dedicated (unlimited bandwidth is best), and readily supported (as in 24/7 customer service that you can rely on).

Once you’ve purchased and downloaded the proxies to your computer, you’ll need to properly configure them to Bing. You have a couple of options depending on your browsing habits and goals. If you’re simply trying to access Bing with a proxy for personal use, you’ll need to configure your proxies to your preferred web browser. This will enable you to experience unrestricted access and total anonymity right from the moment you get online. For a step-by-step guide to set up a Bing proxy on your browser of preference, you can check out our blog on setting up proxies for different browsers.

Your other option will depend on whether or not you’re performing any scraping or automation with Bing. In this case, you’ll more than likely have a scraping bot or automation tool you’re using that you can input your proxies into. If you are using one of these tools, your best bet is to follow their instructions for how to configure your Bing proxy appropriately.

After you’ve completed those steps, that’s it! Now, whenever you perform a Bing search, proxy settings will automatically activate and be handled by your Bing proxy. You can connect from anywhere in the world and your proxy will keep your identity and location hidden, providing you improved security, greater privacy, and incredible freedom like never before.

The Final Scrape

Inspiration can strike you at any moment, and when it does, the last thing you want to have to deal with is an Internet you cannot fully enjoy. Whatsmore, you’ll want to be able to take advantage of all the invaluable opportunities created from that sudden inspiration, meaning you can ill afford to be unequipped. Because whether you’re gathering web page data to analyze how you stack up against the competition, or simply researching something new you’re curious about,  without the proper tools and execution, you simply won’t get the most out of all the online world has to offer.

Thankfully, having a Bing proxy or twelve at your disposal can ensure you’re prepared to face any challenge or roadblock you may face.  No matter your online habits or preferences, the best proxy for Bing will provide you security, privacy, and freedom like you’ve never known before, and in doing so, create a whole new online experience for you. Now, that’s something to be inspired about.

The information contained within this article, including information posted by official staff, guest-submitted material, message board postings, or other third-party material is presented solely for the purposes of education and furtherance of the knowledge of the reader.

All trademarks used in this publication are hereby acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.