VPN and ‘proxy’, your new best friends

At first glance, you might think that a proxy server and a VPN (Virtual Private Network) are the same thing, but they’re not. The differences are important, and it’s good to know them to protect your online privacy.

What is a proxy server?

A proxy is an intermediary or a «router,» meaning it «directs or redirects information requests from one computer about a website or file to another computer that actually has that information,» explains Ángel Rubio, an Information Technology specialist at the Complutense University of Madrid, to The Objective. Furthermore, this «router» can simulate that you are connecting from a different IP address, in a different country, and give you access to information or content restricted in your region. For example, with Netflix, you could watch content from other countries that isn’t available in your own.

However, using a proxy is not recommended if your main concern is security and privacy, since with this method the data between your computer and the server is not encrypted. This means that if you are in a café with a free Wi-Fi hotspot, anyone with access to the data stream can easily access your traffic.

What is a VPN server?

A VPN allows us to connect, using a small program and login credentials, to an internal network—whether institutional or corporate—located outside the physical geographic area of ​​that company or institution. For years, numerous companies have been using VPN technology to maintain secure browsing when working remotely. It’s similar to an office intranet, with files accessible only to company employees. However, VPN connections are no longer limited to businesses; they are becoming increasingly accessible to the general public. As with proxies, a reliable, high-quality VPN is generally a paid service. TunnelBear is one of the best-known VPN tools, offering three paid plans: a free, reliable, though somewhat limited, plan and two paid plans for unlimited access.

The VPN, like the proxy, can hide your IP address, or rather “it randomly and invisibly assigns you an IP of the institution or company you are trying to connect to,” Rubio tells us. But the big difference between VPN and proxy is that when you use the former, the traffic between your computer and the server is completely encrypted. “It is a closed pipe” that protects your data, says Sergio Carrasco, lawyer and Telecommunications engineer. With Virtual Private Connection you can connect to free WiFi without worrying about the few security guarantees that these types of networks offer by default.

Of course, you have to know that the VPN will reduce the speed of your connection. This is the price you pay for having your data encrypted and sent over longer distances. Typically, the stronger the encryption, the slower the connection.

Why use these servers?

Although controversial, VPNs and proxies protect your identity and improve your security defenses when you use the Internet. Something especially useful at a time when network surveillance or cyber attacks are the order of the day. “The government’s surveillance powers are increasingly advanced and, for example, the United States Senate has just approved a bill that will allow American ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to sell customer web histories and other data collected without permission,” Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate at Comparitech.com, tells Wired.

When undemocratic political systems, sometimes those that are considered democratic as well, prohibit or censor certain websites in some way, the use of VPN manages to bypass those restrictions. However, protection for users through, above all, data encryption can be a double-edged sword, since it would make the work of authorities difficult when detecting certain attacks.

Source: theobjective.com