SOCKS5 Proxy and VPN services are very popular solutions to get around restrictions and download torrents without exposing your identity. Both solutions offer advantages and downsides that are worth keeping in mind. We will take a look at these two technologies to help you to choose the right one. Let’s start by taking a closer look at SOCKS5 proxy and then we will move on to VPN.
What is SOCKS5?
SOCKS stands for Socket Secure and it is a protocol that is used for proxy servers. SOCKS5 is a flexible extension of the SOCKS protocol and it uses advanced networking technologies like IPv6 and UDP protocol. SOCKS5 can transfer the majority of types of data packets and protocols. When you use a SOCK5 proxy, your IP address is masked, so you can get around geographical restrictions, as well as restrictive firewalls. A SOCKS5 proxy redirects the internet traffic of a particular program or app via a third-party proxy server. This is a process that lets you change the public IP address of the app that you have setup SOCKS5 on. In order to access proxy servers, you will need to be authenticated.
What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and once you connect to a VPN server, your entire online traffic is routed through a remote server, which encrypts the content. In addition, your IP address, which is why if you want the best possible level of security and privacy, using a VPN is highly recommended. However, due to the encryption used, the speed of the connection is affected. Using a VPN will slow down your internet speed, but many VPN services still manage to offer good speeds that allow you to stream and download content without major hassle. Still, a VPN offers better protection than a SOCKS5 proxy.
SOCKS Proxy VS VPN
It is possible to hide your IP address with the help of a VPN or a SOCKS5 proxy, but the main difference is that a VPN protects your traffic with encryption, which is something that a SOCKS5 proxy doesn’t do. The fact that a SOCKS5 proxy doesn’t use encryption, allows it to be faster than a VPN, so if you are mainly concerned about speed, this could be a better solution. When you are choosing between a VPN and a SOCKS proxy, you just need to consider what is more important for you, privacy or speed. If you want to keep your data protected and enjoy privacy, a VPN is the right solution. Thanks to the end-to-end encryption used, a VPN stops ISPS, government agencies, cyber criminals and more from monitoring your internet traffic. On the other hand, a SOCKS5 proxy only hides your real IP address.
If you want to keep your identity hidden, you can rely on a VPN or SOCKS5 proxy. However, as previously mentioned, with a VPN your traffic is encrypted and with a SOCKS5 proxy, it is not. You can use a SOCKS5 proxy for downloading torrents and enjoy good speeds, but the problem is that since this technology doesn’t hide your activities, your ISP will still be able to see what you are doing online. To achieve complete anonymity and privacy, a VPN is a better choice since it applies protection to entire online traffic. A VPN also lets you defeat restrictions and if you choose a VPN with a solid privacy policy that promises not to keep logs of your activities. There are options like NordVPN that don’t keep any logs at all.
SOCKS5 or VPN?
If you are interested on both SOCKS5 and VPNs, you can try both. There are VPN providers that allow you to enjoy these two technologies in the same plan. NordVPN, Private Internet Access and IPVanish are some of the options that you can consider. These are practical solutions that give you the chance to use SOCKS5 or VPN. You can opt for the VPN when you need to handle sensitive data and use the SOCKS5 proxy when you just want to overcome geo-restrictions, but security is not a priority. A VPN is a comprehensive solution and in general, it is advisable to choose this over SOCKS5, but it is good to have the two options available.
Conclusion
VPNs and SOCKS5 proxies come with their own advantages and downsides. The main thing to keep in mind is that if you need a high standard of security, a VPN is the best solution because it applies encryption to protect your internet traffic from eavesdroppers and hackers. Both SOCKS5 and proxies are effective when it comes to bypassing restrictions, but if you want to enjoy a comprehensive solution that gives you privacy, security and flexibility to overcome restrictions, a VPN is the recommended solution.
