How to Use PIA Proxy Servers & Alternatives
The recent disruption of a major residential proxy network by Google has sent shockwaves through the data collection industry, rendering services like PIA S5 Proxy inoperable and forcing businesses to urgently seek reliable and, most importantly, ethical alternatives. This article explains what happened, why it matters, and provides a detailed look at some of the leading alternative proxy providers available today.
In a significant collaborative effort, Google's Threat Intelligence Group, along with Cloudflare, Spur, and Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, dismantled one of the world's largest residential proxy networks, known as IPIDEA. This network was not a single entity but operated through a facade of at least 13 seemingly independent brands, including PIA S5 Proxy, 360 Proxy, Luna Proxy, and Cherry Proxy. This is why many users searching for "PIA proxy" found their service suddenly unavailable.
The takedown was a direct response to the network's unethical and illegal operations. The operators behind IPIDEA embedded software development kits (SDKs) into seemingly legitimate applications like games, utilities, and even other VPN services. Without their knowledge or proper consent, users' devices were turned into residential proxy exit nodes. This allowed cybercriminals and state-sponsored threat actors to route their malicious traffic through these unwitting users' home internet connections, masking their activities for espionage, password spray attacks, and botnet command and control.
