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Keepin’ it short and sweet: data parsing is a process of computer software converting unstructured and often unreadable data into structured and readable format. Parsing offers a lot of benefits, some of which include work optimization, saving time, reducing costs, and many more; in addition, you can use parsed data in plenty of different situations.

Even tho that sounds epic, parsing itself can be quite complicated. But hold on, buddy, and get ready to explore a step-by-step process on how to parse HTML and XML documents using lxml.

Google has become a gateway to easily-accessible information. And one of the best ways to make use of Google’s limitless knowledge is data scraping. We’ve just released a detailed blog post about scraping Google SERPs with Python, where we cover lots of useful info, including the technical part. So before you dive into this tutorial – check it out.

But what if Python is not exactly your forte? This blog post will show you how to scrape SERPs using a simpler method. One that doesn't require much tech knowledge or downloading loads of applications and software. So, what do you know about web scraping with cURL and Terminal?

If you're fresh-new to data scraping, you may not be familiar with selectors yet. Let us introduce ya – selectors are objects that find and return web items on a page. These pieces are an essential part of a scraper, as they affect your tests' outcome, efficiency, and speed.

Yep, understanding the idea of a selector isn't that complicated. Finding the right selector itself might be. To be honest, even the two languages that define them, XPath and CSS, have their own pros and cons. So it can quickly become a headache to choose one of them. But here's some good news – we're here to help! Let's explore it together.

An IP address is an essential part of communication between devices and networks. Sure, it carries certain information about us, which can become a target for hackers and cybercriminals alike. But without an IP we wouldn’t be able to access the internet. And here’s the kicker – we’ve run out of IPs. 

For this reason, a new version, IPv6, was created. But why haven’t we all upgraded to the newest IP version yet? What do we even know about it in the first place? We will dig deeper into these questions by comparing the two current IP versions – IPv4 and IPv6.

Let’s face it. No one wants to camp near shops or spend hours driving from one store to another just to find that specific item. It simply doesn't fit the pace of everyday life. We all want faster, more convenient shopping. 

And here shopping bots enter the scene. Just imagine — there’s something you absolutely need to buy. All you have to do is open up a social media platform (and who doesn’t have their phone nearby when they’re chilling at home, anyway) and simply have a conversation with a shopping bot that does all the shopping for you. Dope, right?

In this blog post, we’re going to talk about what are shopping bots, their types, and benefits. We’ll also go through some of the most popular ones so stay tuned!

Businesses collect scads of data for a variety of reasons: email address gathering, competitor analysis, social media management – you name it. Scraping the web using Python libraries like Scrapy, Requests, and Selenium or, occasionally, the Node.js Puppeteer library has become the norm.

But what do you do when you bump into the iron shield of anti-scraping tools while gathering data with Python or Node.js? If not too many ideas flash across your mind, this article is literally your stairway to heaven cause we’re about to learn the most common anti-scraping techniques and how to combat them.

Okay, let’s get it straight. Data is an awesome resource for analyzing and storing records, trends, and other information. But you can make rational decisions based on this information only if it’s shown clearly. That’s why we need parsing, a method to structure raw information. Parsing allows you to save time and increase productivity by converting massive amounts of data into neat and organized formats. Only then will we get the most important bits of that data. 

If you’ve found this blog post, chances are you probably have some idea of what data parsing is or at least have heard of it. So if you’re now looking for more information on what parsing can do and how to acquire parsing software, you’re in the right place. 

Data parsing is the process of converting raw, unstructured data into well-structured and understandable information. In this article, we’ll explore what data parsing is, how it works, and the various parsing technologies that unlock a range of features to both businesses and individuals.

Have you ever noticed how certain people consistently collect online votes for Facebook competitions, YouTube videos, online lotteries, and contests? These individuals always seem to gather the most likes, shares, and retweets, but what is their approach? The short answer is a vote bot paired with a proxy network. The reality, however, is more nuanced than simply running a basic automated script, so let's take a closer look.

Cybersecurity is a prominent concern for any business. The range and sophistication of threats facing the modern business is growing by day. Unless appropriate steps are taken to put defenses in place against future attacks, and to respond to current threats as they are detected, businesses will remain vulnerable to external intrusions.

Amazon is a dominant retail force. Many smaller businesses either work under Amazon’s brand or try to compete with it. Your business cannot go up against Amazon in terms of pricing data that you have access to. Marketing agencies often rely on scraping Amazon prices to gather data on relevant products. Nevertheless, this approach is risky, because it goes against Amazon’s terms of service. The online retail giant’s system is also very vigilant to outright ban any visitors that try scraping techniques. This is why you need an Amazon proxy server to scrape it successfully.

Thousands of people get Craigslist IP blocked every day. This can happen because they try to post too many Craigslist ads or post them for another city or region. If your IP is blocked on Craigslist, read on to find out what you can do.

Selenium is the perfect web development and testing tool. It lets you use every major browser and access any site or service you want to test. This versatility makes Selenium indispensable for more than just testing. For example, you can use Selenium with Python to scrape websites. Of course, you will need a proxy service to not get blocked. This is why we are doing this short introduction about how a Selenium proxy network can help you.

Soundcloud is a perfect site for music enthusiasts and creatives. Too bad it, like so many social media sites, is dominated by the fortunate few. If you want to make your name known on Soundcloud, you have to use Soundcloud promotion agency, a tool like SCPlanner or create your own Soundcloud like bot with a rotating Soundcloud proxy service.

Thousands of artists reach an avid listener base through Soundcloud, but getting on their radar is not something that you can easily do in an oversaturated music market. If you’ve ever wondered how Soundcloud promotion works and what superstar Soundcloud promoters do, read on and get your mind blown, because you could be doing this right now.

IP hopping is the practice of using one IP address for a little while and then changing it to another one. IP hopping or IP bouncing lets you avoid flags and bans. It is an important part of many online services.

Transparent proxies are everywhere these days. You’ve been on one if you ever used public Wi-Fi. Transparent proxies are also called forced proxies, inline proxies or intercepting proxies. You see, a transparent proxy restricts Internet access to its users. This is how hotels and airports force their Wi-Fi users to accept usage Terms and Conditions. An inline proxy might also gather phone numbers, email addresses or let you enter a code for authentication.

Most public Wi-Fi networks are not secure, because their transparent proxies do not use encryption. Such transparent proxies very bad for privacy and security.

Ni hao, want to connect to your friends in China on Weixin? Create multiple WeChat accounts or a mass following in your Chinese audience? Want to advertise on WeChat? You can do all of these things and much more with proxies for WeChat.

Ad verification is a broad term for things digital advertisers do to make sure their ads appear on appropriate sites. It also checks for ad fraud, fake impressions, and fake ad clicks. If you are buying ads online, there are many techniques you can use to verify your ads. Two common ones done with an ad proxy are: localized ad verification and ad vendor verification. The first one checks how ads appear in other countries, while ad vendor verification protects you from ad fraud.