SOCKS is a network protocol used to transfer data to a server. It makes network requests on behalf of its users when it sends packets through a firewall by routing the user's traffic to the target server. To do this, SOCKS uses the Transmission Control Protocol, establishes a TCP connection to the target server, and begins the exchange of packets between the user and the server.

The SOCKS protocol can route all types of network traffic created by all types of software or protocols. This makes SOCKS proxies the go-to solution for heavy processes like streaming and peer-to-peer sharing.
SOCKS4 vs SOCKS5
There are two versions of the SOCKS protocol: SOCKS4 and SOCKS5. The main differences between them are:
1. Authentication: SOCKS5 can use multiple authentication methods, while SOCKS4 does not support authentication at all;
2.UDP proxy: SOCKS5 is supported, SOCKS4 is not supported.
3. Security: SOCKS5 routes traffic through a more complete TCP connection and SSH tunneling method, providing better security.
Advantages of SOCKS5 Proxy
1. Faster and more reliable connections
While SOCKS5 proxy uses TCP for data transmission, it also supports User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as an alternative. TC is quite strict in sending data and aims to follow a strict order of packets and merge them into streams. UDP is more flexible and provides faster and more reliable Internet connections.
2. Fewer errors and higher overall performance
Unlike other proxy types, SOCKS proxies do not modify the headers of data packets, which is more beneficial for performance because the proxy has less heavy lifting to do and does not run the risk of misrouting traffic.
3. Some platforms have better performance
SOCKS is optimized for sending smaller data packets, which makes it the best choice for saving data from the web. It provides extremely fast download speeds, making it ideal for low-latency tasks and peer-to-peer sharing websites and applications.
This article comes from online submissions and does not represent the analysis of kookeey. If you have any questions, please contact us