Difference between VPN and Proxy: Which one is Best for Security?
If you are an internet user and are aware of your online security, then you must have heard the name VPN and maybe use VPN often. People use one more thing to hide their IP which is called proxy or proxy server. Many people think of proxies and VPNs as the same thing. Because both things have one thing in common, it is to hide the IP and to unblock the blocked website. But to be honest, the similarity between VPN and proxy server ends right there. Today we will discuss the differences between these VPNs and proxies and see which one is better for your security.
VPN acts as a middle-man between you and the website or server you are trying to connect to. If you use a VPN, your device will first connect to the VPN provider’s own server before you can connect to the server and then to the server of your desired website. As a result, your IP address will be hidden and the request that goes to the webserver will remain the IP address of your VPN provider.
This will keep your own IP address secure and confidential. Simply put, when you use a VPN, your entire device travels to and from the Internet through an encrypted tunnel created by the VPN provider, where no one but the VPN provider and you can find out your real IP and location. As a result, you can access geographically restricted sites, in other words, websites, or web services that are blocked in your country.
Simply put, the work of a proxy server and a VPN is much the same. The proxy server also acts as a middle-man between you and the webserver you want to connect to. All incoming and outgoing requests from your device to the Internet first come to your connected proxy server and then to your desired web server or to your device. As a result, the webserver assumes that the requests are coming from the IP address of that proxy server, not from your actual IP address. However, the similarity between VPN and proxy is still there.
The difference between a VPN and a proxy
There is a considerable difference between how a VPN and a proxy work and what kind of security is ensured. First, VPN encrypts your connection from the system level of your device, so that all the apps and services on your PC and all incoming and outgoing connections are encrypted with the help of VPN server. You can often exclude certain apps from your VPN software if you want, but in most cases, the proxy does not encrypt the connection from your device’s system level. To activate the proxy, you need to change the proxy server from the settings of individual apps or software, and as a result, only that app or that service uses the proxy.
The most common of the proxy servers are HTTP proxies that you can access from web browser settings or go to a free proxy website, type your desired website address, visit the website and hide your IP address using the HTTP proxy. However, you can understand from the name that HTTP means non-secure connection and HTTPS means secure connection. So you’re using an HTTP proxy, which means your connection doesn’t have any encryption. This means that the proxy server is only hiding your IPT, not encrypting your connection! Which is absolutely ridiculous. Because, if your connection is not encrypted, why would you want to use a proxy server?
And speaking of VPNs, you can create a non-encrypted VPN server by configuring your own using any of your own servers, but in most cases the VPN service you use will encrypt your connection. There is also no practical reason to create a non-encrypted VPN server by configuring it as you wish.
Speaking of proxies, in addition to HTTP proxies, there are many other proxies that support HTTPS connections. However, almost all the free proxy websites you find and use on the Internet use an HTTP connection. That is, it will only hide your IPE. However, since your connection is unencrypted, everything you do on the Internet will be visible to your proxy provider and web server. This will allow the proxy server to use you for various purposes. For example, since your connection is not encrypted, they can inject ads as they wish. Cause – Your connection is not encrypted and they can modify your connection since you are using their proxy server. Now you must understand why and how these free proxy websites can offer free services. So always try to stay away from free proxies.