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IP whitelisting vs username/password: which proxy authentication to use

Updated November 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Two ways to prove a proxy is yours. When whitelisting your IP is simpler, when a login is safer, and the mistakes that cause 407 errors.

A proxy has to know that a request comes from a paying customer. It can check a username and password sent with every request, or it can check the IP address you connect from, against a whitelist you set up in advance.

Username and password

  • Works from anywhere: your laptop, a server or a phone, with no setup.
  • Carries options: country, city and session ID usually live in the username.
  • Downside: anyone with the line can use your data. Do not paste lines into public code or shared screenshots.

IP whitelisting

  • No credentials in your code or tool: you connect to host:port and the gateway recognises your IP.
  • Needed for tools that cannot send a login, such as Chrome's --proxy-server flag and some older software.
  • Downside: every program on a whitelisted machine can use your proxies, and it breaks as soon as your own IP changes.

When whitelisting breaks

  • Home connections with dynamic IPs. Your ISP can change your IP after a router restart or overnight. Use whitelisting on servers with a fixed IP.
  • VPNs. If your machine connects through a VPN, the gateway sees the VPN's IP, not yours.
  • IPv6. Whitelists are usually IPv4. If your machine prefers IPv6, the connection may come from an address that is not on the list.
  • Private addresses. 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x are addresses inside your own network, not what the internet sees. Search "what is my IP" to find your public address. Proxare only accepts public IPv4 addresses for this reason.

Reading a 407 error

407 Proxy Authentication Required means the gateway did not accept who you are. Check, in order: the username and password are complete (including any targeting options), the format matches your tool, special characters in the password are encoded in URL format, and, if you rely on whitelisting, your current public IP is on the list.

Which one to pick

Use username and password by default. Add whitelisting for a server with a fixed IP or a tool that cannot send credentials. If a line has leaked, reset the password: old lines stop working immediately and you generate fresh ones.

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