If you are just starting out and looking into how you can be anonymous on the Internet, then the bad news is that it is not an easy area to navigate if you don’t know what you are doing. Why do I say this?
Because there are MANY different ways you can be anonymous online, and the problem is compounded by people using several different terms when referring to being anonymous.
They might say they want to change their IP, spoof their IP, get a new IP or simply be anonymous. The end result is that people want to be anonymous but aren’t sure how to do it or aren’t sure what the best way to do it is. Have you seen things like Elite proxy, proxy server, HTTP proxy, socks proxy and VPN but not sure what to make of it?
Well, don’t worry because I am about to take you through the wild roller coaster of explaining what all those fancy terms really mean and what they can or cannot do for you if you want to get a new IP and be anonymous on the Internet.
Let’s start with the absolute best way to protect your privacy online, an elite proxy. An elite proxy is what “most” people are looking for when they talk about changing or hiding their IP online, even if they don’t realize it. Another very common name for elite proxies is a proxy server.
What’s the difference between these two servers? Well, they are essentially the same and both allow you to be anonymous online, but there are a few minor differences which you can read all about in a post I made previously by clicking HERE.
If you don’t have the time to read that post, then I’ll mention the main points here – An elite proxy is the king of proxies. They are completely anonymous and cannot be detected by websites, which is a good thing if you want to be 100% anonymous while connected to the web, whereas other kinds of lesser proxies can be detected via several different means.
So, if you are looking for a proxy server that can’t be detected and want to be invisible online, then you obviously want an elite proxy. What can you use them for? These proxies are for surfing the Internet or doing anything online that involves HTTP or HTTPS.
If you know a little about the web and websites, then you probably already know that websites either look like http://www.name.com or sometimes https://www.name.com.
The difference is that HTTPS is meant to be “secure”. You’ll see these kinds of URLs where security is important, like checking your email or maybe on some e-commerce sites like Amazon.
So what’s the difference between an elite proxy and a HTTP proxy?
Well, it’s kind of a trick question because they are pretty much the same thing. HTTP or HTTPS is just a “protocol”, as I mentioned above. This protocol allows the web to transfer data and communicate with all the interconnected sites.
When people are looking or searching for HTTP/S proxies, what it means is that they want a proxy server that they can use to surf the Internet with. Elite proxies support both HTTP and HTTPS.
The difference being that an HTTP proxy is a much broader term that includes proxies of all kinds, like ones that are shared, private, and can potentially be detected as a proxy server.
There isn’t really anything as an HTTP proxy, it’s just a general or broad term that refers to any kind of proxy server that supports the HTTP protocol.
The other term being thrown around the net a lot is a socks proxy. Are proxy servers the same as socks proxies?
No, they aren’t. Someone decided to make the Internet just that bit more confusing and also created something called SOCKS.
It’s beyond the scope of this article to give you a breakdown of what SOCKS is, but basically if you send and receive email using Microsoft Outlook or something like that, then you are using SOCKS to send and receive your emails.
The key point here is that you aren’t using HTTP/S to send your email, you are using SOCKS.
So, what’re a socks proxy good for?
They are primarily used for sending and receiving email. People use them to SPAM, or should I say send a lot of bulk email. You may also find that certain software uses SOCKS, and you could also use a SOCKS proxy with software like this.
Socks proxies are NOT for web surfing or doing anything that you would normally do with an elite or HTTP proxy.
Now, just to make things a little more interesting there is also something called a VPN. VPN stands for virtual private network, which is a very fancy term that only makes things more confusing if you are new to being anonymous online.
So what’s the difference between a VPN and all the other kinds of proxies mentioned above?
Well, VPNs and elite proxies have much more in common than they do with socks proxies.
VPNs are actually very similar to elite proxies. They function almost the same way, but there is one key difference: security. All data that you send and receive through a VPN connection is totally secure.
The data is encrypted using a special key/protocol that only YOU have, and this key, for all intents and purposes, is virtually uncrackable.
So, VPNs are good for doing anything on the Internet that you want to hide from others. A good example of this is when businesses want to transfer data from one workplace to another. They simply use a VPN to connect from office A to office B, and any data that is sent or received is inaccessible to any prying eyes that may be watching.
VPNs also make it possible for you to change or hide your IP. This is especially useful if you use an iPad or some other Apple device that runs Apple APPs.
Apple devices support both proxies and VPNs, but only APPs will be able to use a different IP with a VPN. So if you want to change your IP whilst using Apple devices, then the best solution would be a iPhone VPN and not an elite proxy.
The biggest weakness of VPNs is that the added security they provided comes at a cost. They are typically slower when surfing the web when compared with normal proxies that don’t encrypt data.
OK, all of the above explanations sound great, but what does it mean for you if you are undecided as to if you should use an elite proxy, socks proxy or VPN to be anonymous online.
Well, if you want to change or hide your IP, then I would strongly recommend that you use an elite proxy or VPN, nothing else.
Socks proxies won’t work for what most people use proxies for, and that is visiting websites or anything that involves the HTTP/S protocol.
Now, to VPN or to elite proxy, that is the question.
For most people an elite proxy is the best choice. Why? Because they are VERY fast and VERY reliable.
Does this mean VPNs aren’t reliable?
Of course not, but all that data encryption that VPNs offer is really only useful for businesses or people who send sensitive data online that they want to protect from others.
VPNs are also MUCH slower than an elite proxy, and while this decrease in speed won’t make much of a difference if you are surfing ordinary websites, you will see a big impact if you start to download huge files or watch a lot of videos online.
Elite proxies are the absolute best way to hide your real IP or change your IP online.
Tags: Elite Proxy, Http Proxy, socks proxy, vpn
Hope it’s okay to leave this here, but this is a cool proxy vs vpn article out there – https://www.techuseful.com/proxy-vs-vpn-benefits-of-private-proxies-compare-with-vpn/