Though proxies and virtual private networks are both used for anonymous surfing, they work in very different ways. Depending on your reasons for anonymous surfing, it may not matter and the results produced could seem similar. However, there are situations where you need to define the difference, and make sure you get the right product. In general, VPNs are known for “changing” your IP address, while proxies are able to “mask” your IP address.
Virtual Private Networks
When you’re connected to a virtual private network, your computer or phone is assigned an IP address, and this becomes the IP address that you surf the Internet with. The VPN servers do NOT make traffic decisions for you, or cache data from sites. It’s YOU who is surfing the Internet, under the protections of VPN tunneling protocols and data encryption.
VPN tunnels provided secure “tunnels” to transport all chats, calls, downloads, and general Internet browsing from your computer’s Internet access point to the private network location and from the private network to the website’s servers. In addition to this tunneling for safe transfer of data, the data that’s actually transported to and from the servers is encrypted in such a way that only those with appropriate credentials are able to unlock it. Various levels of encryption are possible, but 128 bit is standard, and 256 is also widely available. They provide all the advantages of being part of your own private network, without the cost and impracticality of maintenance and hardware.
Proxy Servers
There are several ways to access proxy servers – software, web access, and even your standard Internet browsers. Proxies work in different ways to VPNs – they mask your IP address instead of changing it. This may also be knows as “hiding your IP address” because you’re essentially hiding behind the proxy sever. Instead of your phone or computer connecting directly to the site you want to visit, the proxy sits between you and the Internet. You connect to the proxy, and it can either provide you with cached information stored on the server, or make a request for you. There are varying levels of anonymity, but anonymous proxies do not reveal your IP address. Some other types of proxies may make your IP apparent to websites they request data from. Still, some other proxies hide the fact that they are proxies at all! Many users make use of proxies, anonymous or not, to bypass IP bans, access gaming sites, download anonymously, and prevent malicious adware from infecting their phone or computer.