VPN VS Proxy – The Privacy Protection Tools
A lot of internet users consider VPN and Proxy as one and the same thing. One of the most common usages of these two tools is to protect privacy of online users. We can use these tools to overcome IP restrictions imposed by different websites. These tools help access the websites that have been banned or prohibited access from the regions in which we live. Despite of this one common thing, we need to understand how these two technologies are different. There is no denying that both VPN and Proxy help protect privacy of users online. VPN is however a much more complicated tool, which is why it cannot be compared with something as simple as a proxy. VPN also many value additions besides hiding your identity online and enabling you to access websites otherwise not approachable. The security offered by VPN is a lot more comprehensive when compared to that of proxy. When we use a VPN, we are operating through a secure network through which our data is travelling. There are different networking protocols supporting this network. Two of the advanced features that VPN offers include data encryption, and improved level of data security. Still, ordinary internet users think that VPNs and Proxies are one and the same thing. Let us discuss VPN and Proxy in detail. VPN The VPN allows you to easily by pass geo restrictions and overcome any censorship that your ISP has imposed. The VPN hides your real IP and makes you undetectable on internet. Even the most sophisticated online surveillances lack power to penetrate through VPNs. There is a wide range of encryption levels from 128 bits to 2048 bits (military grade) allowing you to scale up or down the kind of sophistication you need. Also, VPN makes it super-easy for you to upload, download and share data, using torrent without any fear. The only downside of using a VPN is that it comes at a higher cost than a proxy owing to the sophisticated network infrastructure required for it. Proxy Proxy is the most accessible way of unblocking websites and bypassing censorship. Proxy comes at a much lower cost than a VPN. Some companies even offer free proxy but for that you need to be careful as some of the IPs has already been used online and many websites blacklisted them due to their spam related activities. Your real IP is hidden by proxy. The new IP given to you masks your real IP. You can easily access contents restricted to your country or region. When you are using proxy, you do not need to worry about uploading, downloading, sharing, or infringement of any copyright restrictions. Despite of all these benefits, you need to know about the limitations of proxy. It has limited usage for unblocking websites. It is less reliable than VPN. The free proxies come with a lot of malware to choke your computer. Proxy does not always hide your identity completely. It has a lower level of encryption which puts you in greater risk of getting exposed. Lastly, you need to manual configure proxy each time you are using a different browser for it.
