No matter a Proxy Server or a VPN, they are both a way to hide personal information, but do you know the differences between them? If you don’t, let’s take a look at it.
When to use a proxy?
If you just want to break the site blocking, then the proxy server is probably the easiest and most convenient solution. Since all the work is done by a remote server, you can visit the website by selecting the right location. If you find a blocked website that needs to be resolved in case of emergency, the proxy is a good choice. And as many proxy servers use web pages to provide services, you can use them in any operating system. That means no need to install the software. Of course, installable agents are also available, from mobile apps to browser plugins to desktop apps, but technically this is not necessary.
The proxy server is sufficient, but it also has its shortcomings. If you want to access a large number of websites and applications anonymously, the proxy server may not be able to do this for you. What’s more, when using the proxy server for a long time, the drawbacks of the proxy server will be obvious – the speed is lower and not stable.
When to use a VPN?
VPN and proxy servers are very close. With VPN service, the information you transmit will pass through the VPN server firstly and then arrive at the destination. The main difference between VPN and proxy is the way you send data to the server. To use VPN, you must first install the VPN software. The VPN software will encrypt your data and pass it to the VPN server so that the data you transmit is unreadable to the interceptor. This technique is called “tunneling” which is a very vivid word. Imagine that you are driving on the road, then people on both sides can see: Who is driving, what is the model, what is the license plate number… But if you drive in the tunnel, the people outside the tunnel can not see them at all.
So VPN establishes a tunnel from your host, no one, including the network service provider, can “see” what you are transferring. Many criminals will steal user information by intercepting packets sent by users, but you don’t have to worry about this problem when using a VPN.
