The web has become more of a necessity than a choice for many people, since its use has expanded exponentially and nowadays there are incredible things for someone to proceed with online. You can use the Internet for live streaming or streaming on demand of content that you are interested in, you can communicate with others via VoIP and you can socialize using social media platforms and chat.
You can share files and documents with your friends, family or even with your customers and business associates; you can do your research and gather information about literally every single thing promptly and efficiently.
As you can see (and as you know by experience), the Internet is a huge and gravely important part of our life and this is why our web experience ought to be as great as it can be. Anonymous browsing is able to help us out a great deal, in order to keep all threats at bay and still enjoy the web to the maximum.
If you are wondering how you can browse the web anonymously, you will be happy to know that there are numerous different methods guaranteeing that nobody is ever going to track you down and threaten you digitally. However, not all of these methods are equally effective and qualitative and this is what has led us in this article.
Below, you will be given details as to the pros and cons of methods like Tor or premium VPNs, free web proxies and anonymous remailers. At the end of our display, we will suggest the most suitable solution that covers your needs and protects you thoroughly online. So, do not waste any more time exposed and instead start working towards ensuring that your web surfing is always secured!
- Tor: Tor is actually an open source solution that offers free tunneling through various filtered servers. In this way, you can avoid Internet traffic analysis and be kept under the radar as you surf the web. The use of Tor is pretty simple and straightforward, without any requirement of being proficient in computing. The transportation of your data is ensured and your location remains secret, unless you wish to reveal that to somebody. Tor stands for The Onion Router and is perfectly compatible with all OS and devices.
- VPN: One of the major comparisons held online as to the quality and reliability of security digitally is that of VPN vs Tor. Although this is not an easy question, let’s stick to the use of VPN now. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and it includes an integrated system for preserving one’s anonymity, privacy and integrity online. With the contribution of the cutting edge in technology and with advanced encryption, all your data is out of reach and cannot be interpreted by anyone else on the web. You download and install the VPN setup and you connect to the server of your choice, succeeding in anonymous browsing.
- Proxy: The proxy servers help with providing the necessary tools for overcoming limitations online, with the masking of your IP address. There is no encryption involved in the whole procedure, but you can surf the Internet anonymously through their tunneling of data. Instead of presenting your own IP as the receiver of the data from a specific website, the proxy presents its own IP and therefore nothing leads back to you.
- Anonymous Remailers: In order for you to remain anonymous, a different approach is given through the use of anonymous remailers. To be more specific, these are servers that receive messages in an embedded format. This means that there are special directions as to where these messages should be forwarded again. As a result, you can send anything and rest assured that your identity online will never be exposed.
Differences among the 4 Methods Displayed above
We have showed you four different methods that will help you out, so as to help you out with your effort to surf the web anonymously and without any problem whatsoever. Of course, you can comprehend why not all of these methods are identical or even similar, when it comes to the quality level that they provide to their users.
In other words, even though they all have the same goal in the long run, they use different approaches and consequently they end up covering different aspects of the online protection field. In our article, we are able to point out the major differences between Tor vs Proxy servers, remailers and apparently VPN service providers. Let’s have a look, shall we?
- Encryption is a huge part of online protection. VPN offers high end encryption using the most advanced security protocols, whereas Tor and proxy servers do not have the same function. Remailers are able to send over messages in a secured manner, but this does not apply to all cases.
- VPN offers servers in a plethora of locations and therefore variety is another aspect for you to consider. Most of the times, different solutions that have been highlighted above do not have the same level of flexibility for you to benefit from.
- The protocols that are used by VPN vary greatly and include OpenVPN, PPTP, SSTP, L2TP and Stealth. On the contrary, Proxy either uses Socks5 and http as protocols.
- The cost is a definitive factor when choosing the perfect solution for you. In general, the VPN is not as affordable as proxy servers or Tor and remailers (which can at times be provided for free). However, you need to check out what you get along with what you pay.
- Due to the encryption, VPN can be slow and especially during heavy traffic. Proxy can confront with the same problems, though no encryption is included within its services.
- Compatibility is exceptional in all of the options mentioned within our article.
- Setup and installation of specific software is required in the case of VPN, as much as in Tor. In other cases, you can do your thing without any download and setup process whatsoever.
Having all that in mind, we have concluded that the ultimate tool towards ensuring anonymous browsing is in fact VPN. With solid encryption and with reliable performance that suits all OS and devices, making use of a VPN account will not only help you access content that you couldn’t before.
VPN will also help you browse the web absolutely anonymously, keeping all threats from hackers and prying eyes at bay. Even if it means that you need to spend a few coins more, the result you get will be stellar and it is worth it!
Top-right Image: By asrafil / Clipart (https://openclipart.org/detail/168952/anonymous-people-by-asrafil)
I would never go with free VPN service. There is always a catch and you even don’t know at what point your online activity could leak out. It’s good to at least pick the cheapest option like Hide My IP, which guarantees online protection at competitive cost.