What is the difference between a Proxy and a VPN?
While both of these technologies will keep you anonymous by hiding your IP address, they work in slightly different ways. A proxy acts as a gateway to the software you use it in, for example your ISP is your gateway to the internet, same idea for the proxy to your software, proxys (apart from SSH proxys) are not encrypted but traffic wont reach your network to begin with. An anonymous VPN will protect your entire internet connection the moment you connect to it, disguising your use of everything from utorrent to email to basic web browsing by establishing a virtual network via our servers to reroute all your traffic and DNS.
Proxy Service:
Think of a proxy server as a gateway. You have control over proxy settings, which only affect your torrent client (utorrent, bittorrent, vuze, ect) or any other program that supports socks5 proxies. A proxy only provides IP masking to one application at a time. When you download and seed torrents or browse the web, all your traffic is routed through the anonymous proxy server and directly to you. This means that peers in the torrent swarm will not see your IP address, but rather the IP address of TorGuard’s proxy server. When using a torrent proxy, you get all the benefits of torrenting and the proxy server, including security, speed, geographic location, and an anonymous IP.
Unlike a proxy, which only secures your torrent client or web browser, VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypted tunneling secures 100% of all your internet access, replacing your local ISP routing for all applications. With a fully anonymous VPN server, you will enjoy enhanced security regardless of geographic location. This protects not only your torrent downloads but also all other online activity or programs such as your web browser, email, and any other third party applications that connect to the web. You’ll also get faster connections and military grade encryption when using a VPN like TorGuard. And, your VPN can easily be connected or disconnected with just one mouse click. (by torguard)
Can You Use Them Both?
For some people, it’s not a matter of which one to use. It’s a matter of which one they should use for which situation. SOCKS proxies are most commonly used when people want to scrape the web or use social media tools. These proxies are also used for downloading torrents in bulk.
VPNs are most commonly used by people who want privacy and want to hide their locations for basic web surfing. These are popular with people who aren’t tech-savvy. That doesn’t mean you need to be tech savvy with a proxy, but you do have some tech options if you want to use them.
Some people choose to have SOCKS proxies and VPNs set up on their computers, and they turn one off and other on, depending on what they do. Still others use both simultaneously for the extra layer of security, but that is not necessary. Both SOCKS proxies and VPNs are secure on their own. There is no reason to add that extra layer of security.
Which One Is Right for You?
Now that you know the basics, it’s time to make a decision. For most people, a SOCKS proxy is the right choice. It offers the same security as a VPN, without the software. Plus, the extra IP addresses are a huge bonus since most internet marketing techniques require multiple IP addresses. Most people get everything they need out of SOCKS proxies.
This is why SOCKS5 proxies are more popularly used for web activities that don’t involve connecting to different websites where your data may be easily obtained. Outside of less encryption, proxy servers also often log activity. This means that anyone who can get access to those logs can find out both who you are and what you were doing while routing data through the proxy. Additionally, proxy servers that have been hacked are more likely to push malware and viruses onto your machine.
When to use SOCKS5 proxies, VPNs or both
As you might expect, there are clear benefits to using SOCKS5 proxies over VPNs, and vice versa.
Best uses for SOCKS5 proxy servers:
- More bandwidth required
- Torrenting or using peer-to-peer services (speed purposes only)*
- Hiding your location
- Bypassing geographic or content blocking
- Improved security over regular proxies
Best uses for a VPN:
- Secure web browsing
- Torrenting or using peer-to-peer services (when more encryption and security is desired)
- Getting past firewalls
- Bypassing geographic or content blocking
- Better privacy protections than SOCKS5
SOCKS5 proxy vs VPN for torrenting and P2P
If your entire goal is to torrent or utilize a P2P service with the fastest speed, your best option may be to use a SOCKS5 proxy. However, the faster speed will come at the cost of significantly less privacy, at the risk of drawing attention to yourself from your VPN. However, if your goal is to torrent with the maximum amount of encryption and privacy, go with a VPN. The speed will be noticeably slower, but with the right VPN service, the damage can be lessened a bit. Additionally, SOCKS5 proxies only connect select applications to the web, so it’s important to remember that all of your computer’s internet-related activities are not hidden while connected to a SOCKS5 proxy.
If your goal is to do a large amount of web surfing, getting past firewalls or simply protecting your entire online presence regardless the online activity, you’re better off using a VPN. The bandwidth will be worse, but not unbearably so if you utilize a higher-quality paid service like those from IPVanish and NordVPN. Both services, in fact, have both SOCKS5 proxies and VPN servers.
For a better idea on the additional benefits provided by VPN services, you can check our reviews of IPVanish, NordVPN and Private Internet Access.
- Torrenting while connected to a proxy is not wholly anonymous. Your ISP may still be able to see that you’re uploading and downloading large amounts of data. The primary benefit to using a SOCKS5 proxy for P2P is the better upload and download speed, as well the fact that monitoring organizations cannot connect the the newly assigned IP address back to you. This results in more privacy than complete anonymity.
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