Is It Possible to Browse with a Proxy and a VPN at the Same Time?

Maintaining privacy and security on the network is something that worries many users. There are many factors that can influence and hinder the proper functioning of our equipment. Many targeted attacks, malicious software, dangerous files that reach us by email… Also, when browsing web pages and online services, our data can be compromised. To avoid this, to try to improve our anonymity, there are two tools that we have at our disposal: VPN and proxy . Now, can we use both at the same time? It’s advisable?

Proxy and VPN: two different options

Both the use of proxy and VPN can improve our privacy on the network . They serve to hide the IP address and make our connection anonymous. This is important to avoid problems when browsing web pages, to make use of online services.

Browse with a Proxy and a VPN at the Same Time

Our data and personal information have great value on the web. There are many techniques you can use to collect them. They can be used to include us in spam lists, send targeted advertising or even sell them to third parties for profit.

When we install a program, when visiting a web page, registering with an online service… We constantly leave a trace on the Internet. Some of that information is related to our IP address and everything they can find out from it. This causes users to choose to use certain tools that help us protect ourselves. Now, when we talk about proxy and VPN we refer to two different options, although in both cases they help us improve privacy and anonymity .

What is a proxy

First of all we are going to explain how a proxy works . A proxy server acts as an intermediary between the source device and the destination device. Let’s take as an example that we are using a computer and we want to access a web page. That proxy is going to act as a bridge. In this way our IP address is not visible in the destination, but that program that we are using acts as an intermediary.

We have both free and paid options. An example would be a Streaming service that is only available for one country. We can pretend that we are in that nation and be able to visualize it without problem.

Keep in mind that what a proxy server does is hide our IP address. This will not prevent our information from being compromised if we enter insecure sites or use programs that do not pass through your server.

Proxy o VPN por seguridad

How a VPN works

A different option, and undoubtedly very popular today, is to have a VPN. It is a service that can once again help improve privacy and make our connections more anonymous on the network. We will also find a wide range of possibilities, both free and paid, for all types of operating systems.

A VPN is a virtual private network . Its function is to create a tunnel where the information is encrypted. If for example we try to access a web page, our provider would not know where we are actually accessing.

However, you always have to choose the VPN correctly . If we have one installed that does not adequately encrypt the information, our data could be compromised and be an even greater problem for privacy and anonymity.

In this case, thanks to a VPN we will be able to encrypt all Internet traffic . That is, we are not only going to hide the IP address from the program that we are using (for example the browser), but also all the tools that we have on that device and that connect to the network.

Is it possible to browse with a proxy and VPN?

We have seen what a proxy and a VPN are . As we have seen, they are two types of tools that will help improve privacy and anonymity on the network. Now, could we use both services at the same time and further improve reliability?

The answer is yes. We can use a VPN and proxy at the same time. After all, what a proxy does is change our IP address and redirect the traffic to another server. Basically what we achieve with this is to hide our real IP with the proxy and later the IP of that proxy with the VPN. We would have a double layer, a double encryption.

We can have a VPN installed on our computer and in parallel navigate through a proxy. It is an option that we have available, although the truth is that it is not the most optimal. We cannot even say that it will necessarily improve security and privacy on the Internet.

Señales de problemas con las VPN

It is not necessary if we want speed and security

We may think that by using a proxy and a VPN at the same time we will be able to navigate more safely and keep our privacy safe. However, you have to think about several things before making this decision: the speed of the Internet and the need to use both options at the same time.

First of all, if we take speed into account, we must indicate that we would have problems. Using a separate proxy or VPN can already affect the quality of the Internet signal. We could have a significant loss of speed and even suffer outages, if the service we are using is not the most suitable.

But we must also bear in mind that it is not necessary to use both options if we want to maintain security and privacy . If we simply want to hide the IP address, either of the two options is valid and only one of them is more than enough. If what we want is to improve security, in this case we should definitely use a VPN program. In this way we can encrypt the entire connection, hide the IP address and achieve greater security and reliability when browsing the network.

In short, it is possible to surf the Internet through a proxy and VPN at the same time. We will have double encryption and we will be able to hide the real IP address through the proxy and that of the latter through the VPN. But, as we have explained, this could lead to speed problems and is not really something that is going to improve our safety. Better to use a good VPN that protects your internet connection.