Private Proxies and VPN
By: Kelly Conti
Tags: Private Proxies, Free Proxy, VPN, Shared Proxies

If you scrape data or download torrents, you must be aware of the term private proxies and the VPNs. The proxies and VPNs are getting stronger and faster and thus more and more people are now using them for additional security purposes. If you aren’t using these protocols yet, now is the time to use them because they’ll let you bypass the geological restrictions and censorships too. These protocols help you unleash the full potential of the web which is otherwise not equally enjoyed in all parts of the world. In this post, we are going to discuss private proxies and VPN in detail.

What is a private proxy?

A private proxy is a server with a dedicated IP address and can be accessed by only one person at a time. A private proxy is also known as a dedicated proxy because it is dedicated to a single person and others can’t access it. There are many benefits of using a private proxy, and one main one is that they can’t be shared and thus anonymity is maintained. These proxies are faster than the public or shared proxies, and thus they save a lot of time too.

You can use other methods too if you want to change the IP address but when you use something for free such as the public proxies, they aren’t secure. The public proxies affect the browsing and surfing experience as they are very slow. Private proxies, on the other hand, offer a lot of geographical locations for a single IP address and in this way you can bypass geological restrictions in various places of the world. So, with a private proxy, you can use websites from various parts of the world such as the U.S, U.K, Canada, Australia, France, or any reliable location.

Why do you need a private proxy?

If the internet connection is not encrypted, the proxy or the service provider can easily know the contents of the traffic that is passing through them. Any activity that you do on the web can be interpreted easily and accessed for any purpose because your IP address isn’t hidden. Even if you’re using your personal computer, anyone who wants to know where you are and what you have been doing on the web, they can quickly tell that using your IP address. This is why one should use a private proxy as it is safe, secure and fast too.

To get the best service, you must go for a trustworthy and premium private proxy service provider. Private proxies don’t maintain any kind of logs on the data you access, they are easy to install, and are very fast. The good thing with the private proxies is that no website that you are visiting will know about your exact IP address, in fact, it is the masking thing that makes you appear at a remote location. Installing a private proxy is very easy, and you have to enter your details similar to installing a browsing extension.

Types of proxies:

There are two types of proxies that are used on the web. These proxies differ from each other in many aspects. Following are the two main variants of proxies:

HTTP proxies:

The HyperText Transfer Protocol proxies are the most common one, and they are used to transport the information such as text, images, audio, and video on the web. When a user types a web address, a connection is established between the HTTP client and the HTTP server. The HTTP client sends a message request, and the server then sends a response request and this way the websites are viewed. HTTP proxies are smart, and they can interpret the data that is being exchanged between the client and the server. Thus, HTTP proxies are not secure because they allow the penetration of data. Following are the types of HTTP proxies commonly used:

The public proxies are available for free, but they aren’t secure. These proxies are very slow, and thus the surfing experience is not good. Since there are a lot of people using the web, there is no chance that you’ll get a good network.

The shared proxies are the ones that are used by only some people, and thus the speed is good. These proxies aren’t that much secure either because there is no encryption.

The elite private proxies are the ones that are dedicated to a single person. These proxies are a bit expensive, but they are very fast and offer excellent value for money. We are discussing the elite private proxies in this post, but the explanation of other proxies is to clear the concept for you.

Socks proxies:

Socks proxies use the tunneling method to transfer the data and information, and thus they are very secure. Since they aren’t smart, they can’t understand the data that is passing through the tunnel, and therefore there is no penetration or data leakage. Socks 4 and Socks 5 are the two variants of socks proxies, out of which socks 5 is very secure and can be used if additional security is needed.

What is VPN?

Virtual Private Networks use an encrypted tunnel system to transfer the traffic, and thus they are very secure. The main difference between a VPN and a proxy server is that VPN is system based and it involves the encryption of the whole system. This means that all of your traffic is going to be passed through the VPN connection. This way your traffic is secure and no one can view it, even the ISP or government can’t access your activities. Though the investigation firms can know that you’re using VPN they won’t be able to find out your activities on the net.

VPNs are used to add an extra layer of security to the already installed connection. For example, if you’re using a public WiFi hotspot, it is good to use the VPN connection along with it so that you browse safely. These networks are mostly used by firms and corporations to maintain privacy and keep their data and information protected. With VPN, the users get increased security because the IP address of the users is replaced with some other remote one by the Virtual network provider. The users of VPN can quickly obtain the IP address of any country and thus bypass geological restrictions or censorship to view the content of a website.

Why do you need a VPN?

The main reason why people or corporations use VPN is that of the security. There are many methods to hack the information such as Firesheep and WiFi spoofing. When someone uses the web, there are chances that the information gets hacked or attacked because of its vulnerability. VPN protects the information and data on the internet while the firewall protects the system from being attacked. This is because the VPNs use a secure encryption method which makes sure that the data is traveled safely through a tunnel. Following are the main reasons why you should use a VPN:

To hide your IP address

To replace your IP address

To encrypt the information

To bypass geological restrictions

To access the censored or block websites

To increase the speed of the connection

To browse and surf anonymously on the web

So, if you have to perform confidential tasks on the internet such as online banking and transactions, it is imperative that you use a VPN to make the whole process secure. A VPN also makes integrity checks so that security and safety of the traffic are ensured. With VPN you can easily watch your favorite video while hiding your IP address or making it appear at a remote location.

How to set up a VPN?

VPN is very easy to set up and the process overall is very straightforward. Sometimes the service provider has done everything, and all you have to do is to enter your username, password and server address, and then you’re good to go. These days almost all the mobiles are equipped with VPN configuration through the L2TP/IPsec and PPTP protocols.

Which one should you use?

Unlike the proxies, VPN encrypts the data and thus keeps it secure. Proxy servers act as intermediaries or middlemen between the computer and the client so that information is shared between them. The public proxy servers are very insecure and slow, but the private proxies or dedicated proxies are a good choice especially if you need privacy and good speed.

However, if you need to perform highly confidential activities on the web, you must use a VPN. Many people use VPN when they are using a public WiFi hotspot. This is because the public WiFi hotspot is insecure and VPN adds a security layer to the whole network. Some VPN service providers allow logging of data too, which can result in a loss of privacy. We recommend our readers to read the terms and agreements and go through the fine print before buying from a particular VPN service provider.