What Is the Difference Between a Proxy and VPN?
A VPN is a virtual private network that you connect to via the internet. Once connected, your computer behaves like a part of a private network – all the devices on your private network can communicate with each other and with the outside world via the VPN connection. Your computer also acts as a sort of “man in the middle”, relaying all your internet traffic through its own network before delivering it to the destination address you were seeking.
A web proxy is like a VPN but for the web. A web proxy is a third party that you connect to via the internet and to which all your web requests are forwarded. In other words, when you type in a website address in your browser, the web proxy will determine which site you’re actually trying to reach and will route you to it via its own servers.
Features Of Both Solutions
Both VPNs and proxies have features that make them attractive to different types of users. Let’s examine each of these features and whether or not you need them.
Security
VPNs are generally considered to be more secure than web proxies, if only because they are typically used between two sites or organizations that already know and trust one another. However, this is generally considered to be more of a compliment than a drawback. It’s always better to be secure than insecure, after all.
The most effective proxy servers are completely anonymous. They don’t track or store any identifying information about you or your computer. They also don’t keep logs of the websites you visit. This makes proxies perfect for people who want to browse the internet privately, or for people who simply want to access websites that their employers or schools block. Since they don’t collect any identifying information, they have no way of tying your activity to your computer or any other devices on the network. If you’re concerned about security, this is the type of solution you need to look into.
Speed
All the data we discussed above comes into play when it comes to speed. If you’re connecting to a server that’s far away, the speed of your connection will be greatly reduced. This can make a massive difference in your overall speed when browsing the internet. When comparing the two solutions, VPNs are likely to be faster than web proxies, simply because they’re using a private connection rather than a public one.
Privacy
Like security above, privacy is another important consideration. Many web proxies collect your personal data and even track your browsing habits. You have no control over this and neither does the company running the proxy server. This is generally considered to be a major privacy concern. People who want to keep their personal data private should look into using VPNs rather than web proxies when available.
Management
Finally, let’s not forget about management. When we set up a VPN, we generally have to enter a lengthy password each time we log in. This is both tedious and insecure. Fortunately, there are tools that can automate this process, making management much easier. Many VPNs also provide a web interface through which you can manage your connection from anywhere. This can be extremely useful for people who want to browse the internet privately and don’t want to have to enter a lengthy password every time they want to use the service.
On the other hand, web proxies are generally very easy to set up and use. They don’t require much management at all since you just need to configure the server once and then you can begin using it without any further complications.
At this point, it’s important to note that none of these features are mutually exclusive. You can have a VPN that is completely private and doesn’t log any of your activities, or you can have a public VPN that is quite fast. Ultimately, it’s up to you to choose which features are most important to you.
Hopefully, this article will help you distinguish between a VPN and a web proxy so that you can make the right decision for your specific needs. If you found this article valuable, you should check out the rest of the website, as there’s a whole lot more content there that you might find useful.