VPN, Proxies and Tor

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a method used to add security and privacy to private and public networks, like WiFi Hotspots and the Internet. VPNs are most often used by corporations to protect sensitive data. However, using a personal VPN is increasingly becoming more popular as more interactions that were previously face-to-face transition to

the Internet. Privacy is increased with a VPN because the user's initial IP address is replaced with one from the VPN provider. This method allows subscribers to attain an IP address from any gateway city the VPN service provides. For instance, you may live in San Francisco, but with a VPN, you can appear to live in Amsterdam, New York, or any number of gateway cities.

How does VPN works?

Using VPNs, an organization can help secure private network traffic over an unsecured network, such as the Internet. VPN helps provide a secure mechanism for encrypting and encapsulating private network traffic and moving it through an intermediate network. Data is encrypted for confidentiality, and packets that might be intercepted on the shared or public network are indecipherable without the correct encryption keys. Data is also encapsulated, or wrapped, with an IP header containing routing information.

VPNs help enable users working at home, on the road, or at a branch office to connect in a secure fashion to a remote corporate server using the Internet. From the users perspective, the VPN is a point-to-point connection between the user's computer and a corporate server. The nature of the intermediate network, the Internet, is irrelevant to the user because it appears as if the data is being sent over a dedicated private link.

There are a number of ways to use VPN. The most common scenario is when a remote user accesses a private network across the Internet using a remote access VPN connection. In another scenario, a remote office connects to the corporate network using either a persistent or an on-demand site-to-site VPN connection (also known as a router-to-router VPN connection).

Proxy Server

A proxy server, also known as a "proxy" or "application-level gateway", is a computer that acts as a gateway between a local network (e.g., all the computers at one company or in one building) and a larger-scale network such as the Internet. Some proxy servers are a group of applications or servers that block common Internet services. For example,

an HTTP proxy intercepts web access, and an SMTP proxy intercepts email. A proxy server uses a network addressing scheme to present one organization-wide IP address to the Internet. The server funnels all user requests to the Internet and returns responses to the appropriate users. In addition to restricting access from outside, this mechanism can prevent inside users from reaching specific Internet resources (e.g., certain websites). A proxy server can also be one of the components of a firewall.

How does proxy server works?

A proxy server works by intercepting connections between sender and receiver. All incoming data enters through one port and is forwarded to the rest of the network via another port. By blocking direct access between two networks, proxy servers make it much more difficult for hackers to get internal addresses and details of a private network.

TOR

      The Tor project is a non-profit organisation that conducts research and development into online privacy and anonymity. It is designed to stop people – including government agencies

and corporations – learning your location or tracking your browsing habits.

      Its software package – the Tor browser bundle – can be downloaded and used to take advantage of that technology, with a separate version available for Android smartphones. 

How does Tor works?

Based on that research, it offers a technology that bounces internet users' and websites' traffic through "relays" run by thousands of volunteers around the world, making it extremely hard for anyone to identify the source of the information or the location of the user.