We live in a digital world, and these days, people are concerned about their online safety almost as much as their real-life safety. Your digital footprint can say a lot about you, and that’s why people turn to different ways to protect themselves.
In most cases, they’ll come across two different terms – Proxies and VPNs. While the two share some common traits, they’re essentially entirely different. In this article, we’ll explore the differences between a proxy service and a VPN service, elaborate a little bit on both of them, and provide a couple of common use cases.
Exploring Proxies
Proxies are an essential tool for modern internet users. Ever since the current internet has existed, so too have proxies. Proxies make almost everything on the internet happen in a faster, better, and safer manner.
a) Definition
Proxies are the middlemen of the internet. They’re the bridge that connects you to your favorite website. They take your request, process it, send it over to the server, fetch a response, and deliver it to you. In this way, both sides are protected while making the process smooth and streamlined. They also have a positive impact on the speed at which your requests are processed.
b) How do they work
Proxies essentially work as an intermediary between two sides – the server and the client. Connecting the two would likely cause the server to be overloaded and infect it with malware and vice-versa. However, going through a proxy reroutes you to a proxy network, meaning that you from the client-side never actually interact with the server – just the proxy.
c) Use cases
Proxies have traditionally been used to streamline communication on the internet. These days, they’re used for just about anything. SBiensses use proxies for data harvesting. People use proxies to protect themselves from hackers and access geo-blocked content, and websites use proxies to improve their services by a considerable margin.
Exploring VPNs
If you asked someone ten years ago what a VPN was, you’d get an odd look – and now they’re everywhere. Since the threats of the modern internet are emerging, so too are the protective measures, and one of the most efficient options out there are VPNs.
a) Definition
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and it’s almost all in the name. It’s a virtual private network, or better yet, a collection of virtual private networks that people use when they’re looking to add another layer of protection to their day-to-day browsing.
b) How do they work
VPNs work in a relatively simple fashion, setting up a massive network of networks worldwide and allowing their users to connect to a network of their choice. This, in turn, obfuscates their actual IP address, hiding their browsing from their ISP and anyone else that might be trying to find their browsing history out.
c) Use cases
The use cases of VPNs are pretty limited. Practically no one uses VPNs for anything other than an added layer of cybersecurity. VPNs are a very nifty tool, and since they’ve become so popular, they’ve become increasingly cheap, available, and fast.
This allows VPN users to access an abundance of geo-locked or geo-specific content for a small subscription at relatively no cost to their bandwidth or speed.
In Comparing proxies and VPNs
Comparing proxies and VPNs is a little complicated, as proxies can do all that a VPN can and that much more, while a VPN can only do so much. A proxy service was invented to ensure that we can use the web as it was intended.
It has use cases in personal and professional security, data mining and harvesting, things such as botting, and way beyond that.
VPNs, however, have only the ability to mask your IP address and help you access geo-blocked and geo-specific content, which is a good thing if you’re just looking for one added layer of cybersecurity. One of the things that VPNs do have over proxies is that they’re usually packed in a neat little application with an easy-to-use interface.
In essence, proxies are better suited for almost all applications, as they’re both more versatile and powerful than VPNs, but VPNs are still a good deal if you’re looking to protect yourself. If you still have any questions on proxies and how they work, you should visit oxylabs.io.
In Conclusion
Proxies and VPNs are buzzwords at this point. Cybersecurity standards have gone up so much that the average internet user knows that they need to protect themselves.
So, make sure to secure yourself or your business today using a proxy service for both the heavy and light lifting or a VPN if you’re looking for some quick ‘n’ easy protection!