What Is the Difference Between a VPN and A Proxy?

Have you ever seen a message on YouTube or Netflix that this video is not available for your country? Or have you ever wondered how anonymous your internet activities actually are? 

A VPN or proxy offers a simple answer to this. Both of these hide your actual location so it looks like you're using the internet in a different location than where you actually are. 

How exactly does it work and what are your options?

 

What Is a VPN or A Proxy?

To better understand VPN or proxy, it is good to get a general picture of how the internet works in general. 

To view a website on your computer, you send a series of queries across the Internet at the same time by typing "google.com" or clicking a link. Such a requirement consists of several steps and uses different types of equipment. 

Your web request reaches the server on which the website is stored via the router in your home or office. 

In addition to your web request, you also send information such as the IP address of your computer and your location so that the webserver knows where the requested content should be sent. 

If you don't want the webserver to know that you sent the request, You can use a VPN or proxy server to continue displaying the web page. Both work as a stopover to ensure that the request cannot be traced back to you. 

This makes surfing the internet much more anonymous and gives you more privacy.

 

How Does a VPN Work?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It creates an encrypted tunnel for all internet traffic from your computer. 

This means that all internet requests you make through this tunnel will be sent to the VPN server. Your encrypted internet traffic will then look like a collection of illegible characters. 

Only your computer and the VPN server can decrypt the code, which cannot be read by others.

How Does a Proxy Work?

A proxy is like a VPN - an intermediate station between the user and the internet to make your location look different. 

You send another request for a website to the proxy server and forward it to the webserver. If the webserver tries to trace your request, it can only go back as far as the proxy server. 

The difference to a VPN is that a proxy is simpler and less secure. You need to install a proxy for every application (web browser, email, agenda, etc.) while a VPN anonymizes all internet traffic. 

Also, a proxy only hides your IP address by replacing it with the proxy IP address. Proxies are not encrypted, which is why your anonymity is not always guaranteed. 

Your internet service provider or someone who searches the WiFi network in public transport can still see or intercept your internet traffic. 

The advantage of a proxy is that it isn't as heavy on your computer as a VPN and therefore it doesn't slow the internet down. 

A VPN can have a significant impact on your internet speed as it has to encrypt and decrypt every request. A proxy can easily be used for simple, less privacy-related tasks. 

To use the internet safely, it is important to use a reliable proxy. Unreliable proxies can sell your data or inject viruses. that it is not as heavy on your computer as a VPN and therefore the internet is not slowing down. 

A VPN can have a significant impact on your internet speed as it has to encrypt and decrypt every request. A proxy can easily be used for simple, less privacy-related tasks. 

To use the internet safely, it is important to use a reliable proxy. 

Unreliable proxies can sell your data or inject viruses. that it is not as heavy on your computer as a VPN and therefore the internet is not slowing down. 

A VPN can have a significant impact on your internet speed as it has to encrypt and decrypt every request. 

A proxy can easily be used for simple, less privacy-related tasks. To use the internet safely, it is important to use a reliable proxy. Unreliable proxies can sell your data or inject viruses.

Differences Between VPN and Proxy

A proxy and a VPN are very similar, but there are significant differences. We have therefore briefly summarized the most important differences for you.

 

VPN	Proxy
An encrypted tunnel for your internet traffic to appear as if the VPN server is making the request	Only hides your IP address. The internet traffic can still, be visible to the internet service provider or hackers
Secures all of your internet traffic from your computer	Installed per application (web browser, online game)
Is heavier and can slow down your internet	Little difference in internet speed if it is a good proxy

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