Working on the Internet is often unsafe for the user. To avoid compromising equipment, accounts in social networks, mail, Internet banking, additional tools are needed. Sometimes you need to solve problems with access to sites and services blocked in the region. For example, Facebook, YouTube, Google in China. Blocking is bypassed with the help of specialized technologies, most often - proxies and VPNs. What is the difference between these technologies and what to choose - VPN or proxy? We will tell in this article.

What is a VPN

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a virtual private network, a technology that runs on top of the internet. The data that is transmitted over the VPN is encrypted. Such a network allows you to connect to the corporate network from anywhere in the world, regardless of location. Due to the fact that information is encrypted, it cannot be intercepted - neither cybercriminals, nor government organizations or unscrupulous competitors will be able to do this.

Encryption is end-to-end. This means that the information is protected all the way from the entry point to the exit point. VPN intercepts the traffic of any application that requires access to the Internet and encrypts it.

You can work with VPN immediately after installing a special client program or browser extension. In addition, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux have built-in VPN clients. In any region of the world where there is internet, you can use a VPN - in a cafe, in the airport lounge, in a park or a hotel.

Using a VPN, you get:

·         The ability to replace the regional IP, if it is necessary for the operation of the service or application. For example, Spotify did not work in Russia before, and to listen to music, advanced network users from the Russian Federation used a VPN, redirecting traffic.

·         Bypass blocking of sites and services.

·         Work securely with valuable data from anywhere in the world.

What does a VPN give to a business? Also a lot:

·         The use of IP-telephony, 1C-accounting, CRM, intranet corporate resources without deploying an expensive network infrastructure that will serve the central office and regional offices, not to mention the employees sent to other countries and regions.

·         If the company's employees go online via VPN, you can always find out which of them is doing what on the network, and if the situation is out of control, block an unwanted resource. For example, employees often spend time on social networks outside of work. If necessary, access to them can be easily blocked.

·         Bypass blocking of sites and services necessary for work. In Russia it is LinkedIn, in China - Facebook, Google and most of the social services and instant messengers popular in other sites.

VPNs also have drawbacks. Unknown VPN services can be a tool for marketers or cybercriminals to help redirect user traffic and analyze it. We recommend working only with services about which there are many positive reviews on the network. The second drawback, however, is relative - the cost of good VPNs. A company that provides virtual private network services needs to create and develop the appropriate infrastructure, which costs money. Therefore, customers are charged a subscription fee, which is insignificant if you compare the cost of VPN with the cost of creating your own network.

What is a proxy?

This is a network technology that also makes it possible to replace the IP address of the user's device, replacing it with another. Proxies, like VPNs, allow you to bypass a site blocked in the country or maintain anonymity on the Internet. Also, the proxy is a protection against "vampire" scripts that collect information about users for commercial purposes: displaying personalized advertising, mailings, analyzing behavioral patterns, etc.

As for the corporate use of proxies, businesses can use this technology to:

·         Prevent office workers from connecting to certain sites that are not needed for work.

·         Data compression – in this case, the proxy compresses the data before redirecting traffic to the user.

·         Data caching - saving static pages already visited by employees on a proxy server. A user who has accessed sites already visited by someone from the office will receive a cache - pages stored on the server. If the data has changed, the proxy server will determine this and provide up-to-date information.

·         Reverse redirection of traffic - from the outside to the inside, to connect to the "fuse" - a well-protected server that will not allow attackers to connect to the corporate network.

Cons of proxies - the danger of using unverified servers. Their administrators have access to the data that connecting users transmit. It is best to use proven services, reviews of which can be easily found on the network.

What is the difference between a proxy server and a VPN?

The technological difference is that a proxy is any server that executes a user request on its own behalf. In this case, the proxy server in most cases works only on one protocol. In addition, the program whose traffic the user directed through the proxy "knows" that it works with proxy technology. A proxy is an intermediary between a client and servers.

A VPN is a virtual network that is no different for a device than an on-premises one. In most cases, a VPN is defined by the software as a network adapter, so the program whose traffic is routed through the VPN does not "know" about it. Applications run using conventional network protocols.

For the user, the difference is that the VPN uses end-to-end encryption, the transmitted data is safe from the entry point to the exit point. And proxies are a less secure technology, it should not be used if you need complete anonymity and protection of valuable data.
Source: https://vpnheroe.com