In summary, a VPN moves your visible internet connection from your device to a remote server. This has a similar effect to a VPN but only for web browsing. To all web servers on the internet, you are the proxy server. All other communication remains direct from your device to the destination servers and back.

Depending on the location of your VPN server, you will be able to bypass some or all of the restrictions described earlier.Ī web proxy receives requests for web pages from your device and fetches those pages on your behalf. To everyone else on the internet, you are the VPN server, not the real you. This server then unwraps it and sends it to where you wanted it to go.

All of your traffic is from the country in which you reside.Ī virtual private network (VPN) wraps all of your online activity in an encrypted envelope and sends it to another server, your VPN server. Your access is limited to what your ISP and government will let you see. To everyone else on the internet, you are you. Web pages, Skype and Zoom calls, online gaming, it all goes straight from your device to the final destination. Your standard internet connection gives you direct access to everything on the internet. There are many reasons to do this including bypassing content geo-restrictions, bypassing government filters ( Great Firewall of China), bypassing censorship enforced by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), and hiding your real identity from others online.

People use proxies and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to hide their real IP address and masquerade as other devices on the internet. What’s the Difference Between a Proxy and a VPN? I’ve got nothing against using reputable proxy services or VPNs (virtual private networks), but the ‘free’ proxy services you find on the web can be anything but. In a world of ever-decreasing online privacy, it’s easy to get sucked into the ‘use an anonymous proxy to stay safe’ narrative. Free and open proxy servers promise anonymous internet access, but at what cost? Photo by Mikael Seegen on Unsplash

Free private proxy server