What is IP blocking?
IP blocking is the process of stopping identified users from being able to access a Web site. These users are identified by their IP addresses. For example, some administrators use IP blocking to keep their competitors from viewing their Web site if they are concerned about competitors seeing sensitive product information or pricing. Some administrators watch for Web harvesting or Web mining tools by watching the IP addresses.

How does IP blocking work?
The illustration on the right depicts a Web site that blocks itself from its competitors. When the Web server receives a page request, a script checks the IP address of the user against a list of known competitor IP addresses. If a match is found, the server delivers an error message that may state “Access Denied”. If no match is found, the requesting user is able to access the Web site without any problems.

How can an anonymous proxy address help against IP blocking?
The best way to protect your organization against IP blocking is to use an anonymous proxy server when you are utilizing the Internet to do your competitive research on the Web. By using an anonymous proxy server your IP address will be hidden, allowing you or your harvesting robots to surf the Web without being blocked because of your IP address. Now you can harvest and mine accurate information on all your competitors.

Contact Anonymizer to learn about enterprise-class anonymous proxy servers today and how we can help you with your Web harvesting, competitive intelligence, and online identity protection.