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I have heard that a VPN encrypts your data but a proxy doesn't.

So a proxy that encrypts your data is the same thing as a VPN?

schroeder
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Zheer
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1 Answers1

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A Virtual Private Network VPN works at the network layer, and you could use it to route any network traffic, while a proxy could be many things. E.g. a SOCKS proxy proxies TCP connections and an SSH tunnel could be used for similar purposes than a VPN, but you are more likely referring to a HTTP proxy, that forward HTTP request. Nevertheless, proxy with an encryption doesn't equal a VPN, and technically they are two very different things.

Esa Jokinen
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  • Thank you, i dont really understand, both proxy and vpn can route the network traffic and encrypt your data – Zheer Aug 13 '19 at 16:30
  • @Zheer: you can both use a bike or a car to transport things. This does not mean that a bike and a car are the same. VPN and proxies have some use cases in common, but they are not the same and they don't have all use cases in common. – Steffen Ullrich Aug 13 '19 at 16:42
  • Exactly, and a bike with an engine is still not a car (a moped at most), despite you can now use it for transportation without all the pedaling. – Esa Jokinen Aug 13 '19 at 17:17