SecurityHow A VPN And Proxy Can Protect Your Business

How A VPN And Proxy Can Protect Your Business

VPNs, Virtual Private Networks, and proxy servers are two options you can take to help protect your online safety and keep your activity and traffic private.

When you think about all the things you do online, whether it is sending emails, uploading files, or streaming videos, all these activities include a huge amount of data traffic back and forth between your PC and server to the recipient and back.

This leaves certain personal information, online data, and more at risk and vulnerable to cybercriminals, nefarious third parties, and others who may want to get your data.

Thankfully, technologies like VPNs and proxy servers can help you keep that semblance of anonymity and safety. In today’s world, we are seeing more and more data breaches and online attacks on businesses that are inadequately prepared for the digitization that the pandemic of 2020 accelerated.

The largest data breach ever reported was the Cam4 breach in August 2020 which saw 10 billion records of online personal data leaked.

As the world progressed into the world of digital, both big and small businesses, governments and institutions have grown dependent on using tech to collate, analyze and store personal online data.

The average single cost of protecting and storing online personal data came at almost $4 million, according to Statista. Forbes also found that 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyber attack are out of business within six months.

This highlights the huge need for all types of businesses to be protected and to do it smartly and cost-effectively.

A combination of a VPN and a proxy server solution could be the perfect remedy to protect your business and avoid any personal data leak or cyber attack that could financially cripple you. 

What Is A VPN?

A VPN is a fantastic tool for keeping online security, anonymity, and safety in place. They work by putting an encrypted tunnel between your PC server and the website.

On top of this, they also hide your IP address and prevent the websites you are visiting from storing the internet traffic, data, or your real IP address.

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For example, a UK VPN does this for all internet activity and traffic, regardless of whether it is coming from a browser or a different kind of application. 

The VPN creates a process of encryption between the PC and the internet, stopping Internet Service Providers (ISP) from tracking and monitoring internet activity or collating your online data – they can only see that you are using a connection to a VPN server.

The encryption is particularly appealing to use for many consumers as it stops third-party businesses, governments, and internet service providers from getting their online data and using it for whatever means they want. 

What Is A Proxy?

A proxy server works as the middle passageway between the websites you want to visit online and your PC or device. The internet traffic you create is routed through this middle passage, which is a piece of hardware that is remote and connects you to your desired host’s server.

The proxy server hides your IP address and replaces it with that of the proxy server itself, meaning the website server will only see the IP address of the proxy server and not your real one.

Proxy servers work only at the baseline for applications and will route the traffic for a specific app that you have set and configured specifically with your proxy.

Proxy servers also do not encrypt your data, but store it internally within themselves, meaning you have to have full confidence in the proxy server admin if you do not want it leaked. 

Pros And Cons Of A VPN

A VPN encrypts your data and that is a huge advantage when comparing it to a proxy server. When it comes to just an individual, VPNs are usually preferred as the security and anonymity are pretty much confirmed and don’t require more legwork from the user.

Related:   A Risk You Can’t Afford To Take: The Significance Of Data Security For Online Businesses

VPNs do more than a proxy, which just routes its traffic through the middleman of the proxy server. It makes sure everything goes via the proxy, and also can encrypt all browser activity and any applications running in the background as opposed to just selected apps.

By using a VPN you ensure your business protects its sensitive and confidential information like financial information or login data, and in turn, protect your business and customer data records. 

Due to a VPN processing internet traffic through several middling points, it creates a lag and can slow down your internet speed.

This could be a detriment, especially if you work in an industry where the timeliness of internet speed is a big factor. A strong VPN option can also cost a large sum, especially if you are looking at selecting an opportunity for a business. 

Pros And Cons Of A Proxy

A proxy can work as a perfect piece of security and safety for online activity for a business. The perception is that a proxy is just a cheaper alternative to a VPN, that it is very useful for hiding an IP address but is a simple option. This is not the case at all, especially when it comes to business use.

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A proxy server can be a centralized point of online activity and internet traffic for a business, handling requests and storing data. The proxy server also can handle many users at once, which isn’t always the case with VPNs. 

Its ability of it to cache website speeds uploads times across a business and can balance internet traffic loads to ensure speed levels are maintained.

An admin can also implement a filter on the server, to stop any malicious or dangerous websites from being accessed by anyone inside the business.

Beyond collecting cached copies of websites which increases internet speed and bandwidth, it allows for a higher level of analytics when it comes to internet traffic and data.

You can also utilize other tools to help improve corporate security, to ensure all employees are maintaining a high level of online safety.

A proxy still has been highly protected and can lead to data leaks as it stores the data it processes internally, which means potentially more costs for overheads to keep it secured. 

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