On the surface, proxy and VPN are very similar services, which can help us disguise Internet traces, eliminate geographical restrictions and obtain more information more safely. But in fact, there are differences between proxy and VPN. If we want to better hide our identity and access the Internet, we must choose the appropriate technical means.

What is VPN?

VPN is the abbreviation of the virtual private network. When we use VPN, VPN will encrypt data through technical means to form a "tunnel", and then send data to VPN server through this tunnel. From a technical point of view, VPN is essentially a closed system, and others can't see your online data.

What is a proxy?

The proxy is an open port that can be connected and acts as an intermediary. In short, when we use a proxy to access some websites, we don't need to directly link to the target website, but the proxy server to access the website. Then the proxy server will send these contents to our computer window. In this way, the target website can only obtain the proxy IP and will not expose our real IP. Proxies are usually sold in three main formats: HTTP, HTTPS, and Socks. Each of these features is different in terms of security.

Differences between VPN and proxy

 (1) Connection mode

VPN: it forms a closed "tunnel", and the outside world cannot see the specific information in the tunnel; Proxy: it is an open port, and anyone can connect to it.

(2) Security and privacy

VPN: Although VPN is technically more private than a proxy, a free VPN will keep the user's activity log. When we use a free VPN, we need to agree to some user agreements, including "occupying the user's bandwidth" at will. VPN services will conduct secondary sales of bandwidth, which may lead to malicious activities similar to DDoS attacks. Proxy: the proxy needs to be used together with clean IP so that the IP displayed by the proxy to the website will not be the user's real IP. HTTPS proxy is the most ideal with the highest security.

(3) Internet speed

VPN: due to the network structure of VPN itself, the network speed of VPN will be slower than that of proxy. Proxy: the network speed of clean proxies is generally unlimited. Even in the peak period of network use, the network speed of proxies is much faster than VPN.

(4) Audience Group

VPN: it is more suitable for individual users who are not good at technology. They can use it directly by installing only one software. Proxy: it is suitable for users who need to use software to capture a large amount of data. These users usually need to use multiple residential proxies or datacenter proxies at the same time for batch management. Therefore, the proxy is very suitable for small companies and teams. Generally speaking, VPN is more private and secure and is very suitable for individual users. Enterprise VPN charges too much. Proxies are cheaper and more technical and can access a large number of IP addresses at the same time, which is more suitable for team/enterprise users. When using the proxy to access multiple IP addresses, enterprise users should pay attention to the anti association between accounts. Some large websites will not only collect the IP address of visiting users but also obtain some parameter setting information of users' computers through scripts, which is what we call browser fingerprint information.

Browser fingerprint information includes:

General fingerprints: Cookies, Session, Evercookies, Flash Cookies. Basic fingerprint: hardware type, operating system, user agent, system font, language, screen resolution, browser plugins (Flash, Silverlight, Java, etc.), browser extension, browser setting (Do Not Track, etc.), browser GMT offset, etc . Browser fingerprint is the unique identifier of web browser and operation configuration, so various tracking technologies like to collect user data from browser fingerprint. When the browser fingerprint remains unchanged, even if we use a proxy and clean IP, it will be judged as an associated account by the website, and it is considered that the same user accesses the website. This is obviously not what we need, so we also need to use a fingerprint browser. The traditional anti-browser tracking method is to change the user's IP address and prevent cookies monitoring, while the fingerprint browser achieves the purpose of "stealth" on the Internet by changing and camouflaging our real browser fingerprint parameters. Each window of fingerprint browser can be configured with an IP independently, which solves the problem that the proxy can only open IP alone. Fingerprint browser is an anti-association browser developed for professional applications in marketing, development, advertising analysis, and other fields. It is very suitable for teams.

Fingerprint browser recommendation

Linken Sphere: the best browser on Chromium for multiple accounts. User customizable navigation. AntBrowser: it is suitable for users who are used to the Mozilla Firefox kernel, and the cost is not high. MultiLogin: This product combines Chrome and Firefox functions and supports Mimic and Steelhfox browsers. Ghost browser – Chromium-based professional and affordable antidetect browser. It provides many tools for SMM practitioners, developers, and designers. GoLogin: a young and fast-growing antidetect browser. Lalicat fingerprint browser: it combines the functions of Chrome and Firefox. The cost is relatively low. And 5-20 sub-accounts can be connected under one account. Multiple windows and multiple IP addresses can be opened. Support user-defined multi-parameter settings to ensure that the user's real browser fingerprint is not exposed to the greatest extent.

Here are some tutorials for using proxies with Lalicat fingerprint browser:

911 Proxy: https://www.lalicat.com/911-socks5-proxy Luminati/Bright Data proxy: https://www.lalicat.com/luminati-brightdata-proxy YiLu proxy: https://www.lalicat.com/yilus5-proxy