Internet restrictions by governments and governments’ surveillance over internet are the two major reasons to use VPN or Proxy. In countries that the law started banning some internet access the rate of the use of vpn or proxies increased. Other reasons might be of criminal activities. If someone was to commit a crime, digital or in any other way, and didn’t want their location to be found by their IP using a VPN or proxy would do the job.
What’s the difference between VPN and Proxy?
They both are the same in providing the user almost the same application. Both VPNs and Proxies help you to appear as if you are connected to the internet from a different location. Although they offer the same function in surpassing the geographical restrictions of the internet, yet they are so different.
Proxy
Proxies are the lighter version of surpassing the internet restrictions. Basically proxies hide your IP address. When you connect to a proxy server that server plays the role of the middleman so your activity seems to be initiating from that server and not yours.
As you can see in the picture above there is no encryption of the data in network traffic in proxies. So your information in traffic is there with no security measures. Consequently, anyone with access to the stream of data can use your information. Moreover your identity is at risk by Flash or JavaScript elements. This is why proxies are the lighter version of surpassing the limitations. Proxies are good for low-profile tasks like watching a video on a platform that cannot be watched in your country.
The proxies are application based and don’t cover the whole computer connection. This is good if you only want to use the internet freely only on one or few apps. For example you can install a proxy and choose the applications it should cover like Facebook, YouTube, and your browser.
HTTP and SOCKS are the most common proxy protocols. HTTP is the oldest proxy server that works on web-based traffic. Because the proxy data is not encrypted be sure the browser’s SSL is active. You should use websites that support SSL encryption. On the other hand, SOCKS can pass through any kind of data. Their downfall, besides no encryption of the data, is that they are slower than HTTP proxies.
VPN – Virtual Pricate Network
Like proxies , VPNs make your internet activity appear to come from another IP address. The difference is twofold. One, VPN connects all of your traffic to its server, unlike proxy that could only play as a middleman and cover your connection for an application or website. The second difference is that the VPN encrypts the data in between its server and your computer. This makes VPN to be a more secure way of going around internet restrictions.
In short, VPN is safer than Proxy because of the data encryption. Yet you have to consider your use for it. If your network traffic includes bank information or such vpn is a wiser choice. But which are better, free or purchasable vpn and proxy? There are risks and disadvantages for free vpn and proxies.
When talking about security in the internet those services with a price tag usually are the safest path to take. Especially for proxies that are not encrypted. But security is only one part of the story. Performance is the key factor to choosing the best VPN or even proxy for yourself. Be sure to go through the best options before purchasing a VPN. Here is a link introducing The best VPN service 2019.
