Both proxy servers and VPN are used to protect your user identity, all while being great tools for accessing a certain geo-restricted website. Since these services are very similar in their features and can bring results quickly, people tend to use them interchangeably – thinking they are both one and the same thing. But are they really?
Well, not quite. Indeed, you will have to buy proxies, just as you will have to buy VPN – no matter if you use IPV4 or any kind of IP server. However, one of them protects your privacy (not to be confused with identity), whereas the other does not.
What Is the Proxy Server?
A proxy server will act as a relay between your device and the website that you are trying to access. The traffic will go through a “middle-man” – which is actually a remote machine that has the purpose of connecting you to the main (host) server. The proxy will hide your main IP address so that the website you are trying to access will only see the Proxy IP. In some cases, the computers for other people using proxy would actually be used for this.
However, one thing that you should know is that proxies only function on the application level – meaning that all they do is reroute the traffic originating from a single app with which you set up your proxy. They also do nothing in regard to encrypting your traffic.
Here are different kinds of proxy servers around, which you may use depending on your preferences. You have HTTP proxy, SOCKS proxy, and also transparent proxies. You may find them on proxy-store.com and you will use them based on the features that they provide.
What Is the Virtual Private Network (VPN)?
Just like the proxy, the VPN also works by rerouting your Internet traffic by the use of a remote server – it hides your true IP address – so each website that you access will be unable to see your location or original IP. Bear in mind that it functions through an operating system level – which means that it will redirect all of the traffic – no matter if it is coming from a background app or your browser.
The VPN will also encrypt the traffic occurring between your device and the Internet. To put it simply, this means that your Internet Service Provider (ISP), the one which monitors all of your activity on the Internet, will no longer be able to see what you are doing when you are going online. All they will be able to see is that you have been connected to a VPN server.
This encryption will also keep you safe from website tracking, government surveillance, as well as any hackers or snoopers that might try to intercept your device. The VPN will provide you the ultimate security and online privacy.
What is very important to note is that both the proxy providers and VPN may log user data – for example, the DNS request, user IP address, and other similar details. Even shared proxy, which is considered one of the cheapest, can be very efficient in ensuring that your activity on the Internet is fully private.
Concluding Remarks
A VPN is not exactly a proxy – but both of them work in similar ways. Proxy and VPN are similar because each of them reroutes your traffic, directing it to a remote server – and therefore, hide your IP. However, in many respects, the VPN is considered to be superior to proxy servers, as they have the ability to provide more privacy. If your research is trivial, proxies are very safe – but if you have delicate work that you want to protect from snooping, the VPN should be your go-to.
