Do you want to go unnoticed on the web or access content that is in principle reserved for certain regions of the world? The best way to do this is to change your public IP address through a proxy or VPN.

Do you want to go unnoticed on the web or access content that is in principle reserved for certain regions of the world? The best way to do this is to change your public IP address through a proxy or VPN.

When you connect to the Internet with your computer, mobile or tablet, the websites you surf can locate you (with varying degrees of accuracy). How? ‘Or’ What ? Quite simply, by your public IP address. This is unique and assigned by your Internet service provider (read our practical sheet Finding your public IP address). So when you go to websites that apply geographic barriers to reserve their content only to residents of a country for example, you simply cannot access it and get stuck at the entrance of the site because of your French public IP address.

To get around these restrictions, you have the choice between two techniques: use a proxy service or a VPN service (virtual private network). Although they both allow you to hide your real IP address, these two solutions do not offer the same level of convenience and security.

What are the differences between proxy and VPN?

Free or paid, proxy or VPN services abound on the Web. They show some points in common, but diverge in several aspects. Here are some criteria for choosing between the two techniques.

The principle of the relay

A proxy like a VPN is a server set up by its publisher. It arises as an intermediary when you connect to the Internet. So, when you want to go to a website, your connection goes first to that server which then sends your request to the desired site. By the way, your public IP address is masked and replaced by that of the proxy or VPN server. So the site you are trying to reach identifies the address of the server that took over and not yours. If, for example, you try to access a US site that only reserves its content for public IP addresses within its territory and the proxy or VPN server is in the US, then you will be taking advantage of a US IP address. and you will be able to access it.

Operating mode

The most commonly used proxy is the Web or HTTP proxy. It only focuses on internet traffic coming from your web browser. For example, it can be accessed from a website. Once connected, all you have to do is indicate the address of the site you want to join in a dedicated field. Its page is then displayed in the proxy page. The proxy settings can also be made within the browser or directly in the network settings of Windows, macOS, Android or iOS.

VPN takes a whole different approach. Most of the time, it is an application to be installed on the computer or on the mobile. Once in place, it filters all of the device’s network traffic. Both web connections made from the browser and from the other applications present (streaming, mail, games, etc.).

The level of security

If there is one point on which the two techniques diverge, it is security. Indeed, with a few rare exceptions, most of the proxies are satisfied to transmit your request to a server, as is. A VPN service will encrypt the connection between your device and the server. Whether it’s watching a YouTube video or just surfing the web, encryption doesn’t matter much. On the other hand, if it is a question of accessing your bank account from a public Wi-Fi network in a train station, hotel or airport, for example, the presence of an encryption system is of quite another importance. With a VPN, the Internet service provider and any intruder who tries to intercept your connection will only have access to indecipherable data. It is also impossible to know the site you are visiting.

Confidentiality

By adopting a free service, you often have to agree to expose some personal data such as an email address or location for example. And since the service is free for you, the publisher must find his account there. Most of the time it is a matter of reselling this information to advertising agencies. By adopting a paid service, on the other hand, the publisher undertakes not to resell your data. The most serious VPN publishers also apply a policy of not keeping connection data (no log). The traces of your passage are systematically deleted.

Connection speed

Going through an intermediary server, whether it is a proxy or a VPN, inevitably slows down the connection to the Internet. If the effect is almost imperceptible when viewing web pages with little content, it is strongly felt when it comes to viewing many images or videos. A little more noticeable discomfort with VPNs since these services add data encryption. In addition, the number of servers made available with free services (both for proxies and for VPNs) also influences connection speed. Few servers accommodate many users, which causes some traffic jams. By adopting a paid service, connection speeds generally improve as the number of servers available is greater. processing is faster, including encryption, which becomes imperceptible.

Server locations

Proxy services generally offer few settings. You just have to connect to it to endorse a new IP address. Few of them, however, allow you to choose the country where this IP address is located. VPN services (even free) are often more flexible and allow you to choose a specific country (from a generally restricted list, however). To benefit from a wider choice, it will again be necessary to take out a paid subscription.

There are many, many free web proxy services online. HideMe, proxySite, Hidester, Megaproxy or ProxFree for example. All are based on the same principle of going through their web page to connect anonymously to the site of your choice. For our example, we have chosen Kproxy which allows you to choose from a dozen servers around the world and has extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

• With your usual browser, go to the website of Kproxy.

• The page that is displayed contains an edit control. Enter or paste the full address of the website you want to connect to (for example https://www.abc.com the website of the American audiovisual group ABC) and validate with a click on the button Surf!.

• A new page is displayed. It presents the home page of the site concerned and, at the top, a bar indicating that you are well connected from the Kproxy proxy.

• If you want to know the IP address by which you are visible online in your browser, enter the address https://whatismyipaddress.com/ in the Kproxy field and confirm with a click on the button Surf!. The page that appears shows your fictitious IP address (located in Canada in our example).

• If this server does not suit you, you can change it. To do this, click on the Kproxy at the top right of the window. Back to the home page, activate the link Change server placed on the address entry field. Immediately a list of ten servers is displayed.

• Unfortunately, it is impossible to know, at the moment, where they are located on the globe. Click on one of them then repeat the previous operation to find out your new IP address. In our case, server number 2 located us in New Jersey.

• To note : with this method, your fictitious IP address is only valid in the tab where the proxy is opened. If you change tabs, open a new page, or change web browsers, you’ll return to your real public IP.
• You can also install the Kproxy extension for your browser (Chrome, Firefox or Edge). In this case, all the tabs that you open will have a fictitious IP address and you will not need to go through the Kproxy web page. On the home page, of Kproxy, click on the green button Donwload.

• In the page that appears, choose your web browser from among the three options.

• Then add the extension to the browser and allow its use.

• Click on the still gray icon of the Kproxy extension which has taken place at the top right of the browser window. Click on the button Start Kproxy.

• The tool now allows you to connect with an IP address established in two countries: Canada and France. To access the other countries offered, you will have to switch to the Pro version billed between $ 10 (approximately € 8.5) for 10 days to $ 30 (approximately € 25) for six months.

• However, you can choose from several different servers for each country. To do this, click on the arrow pointing down next to the name of the desired country then on the button Connect desired server. The switch is automatic.

• You can stop the connection to the proxy at any time by clicking on the red button Stop Kproxy.

Free VPN software is also plentiful on the web. Many are light versions of paid services or fully functional evaluation versions, but valid for about 30 days. Among them, ProtonVPN, WindScribe, TunnelBear or even the browser Opera which directly embeds a VPN function. For our example, we have chosen Hide.me which does not require, in its free version, any registration. It authorizes the transfer of 10 GB of data per month and offers to choose servers from four different countries.

• First, download the version of Hide Me that matches your system. Go to the page of Hide Me. Click on the button Download Free VPN then Download now.

• Start the installation then click on Get your free plan (it is renewable indefinitely).

• In the window showing Hide Me’s prices, click Activate at the bottom of the column Free.

• The VPN is installed but not yet activated. You can now choose the country that will host your fictitious IP address. Click at the bottom right of the window on the button Change.

• Hide Me offers five different locations: Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States (West or East coast). Click on the region of your choice.

• You can add this region to favorites to connect to it more quickly later by clicking on the star or, define it as the default connection by clicking on the eponymous option. Confirm with a click on the button Log in.

• Your internet connection is now going through the VPN. Open your browser and go to the site WhatismyIPaddress to verify your fictitious address. In our case, we are well located in the United States in the state of New York.

• To cut the VPN connection, return to the Hide Me window and click on the button Disable VPN.

• To note : during its installation, Hide Me immediately grants itself the right to launch at the same time as your Windows session. If you do not want it to start when the PC starts up, press the keys Ctrl + Alt + Delete on the keyboard and, in the screen that appears, choose Task Manager. In the window that appears, activate the tab Start-up. Right-click on Hide me and choose Deactivate.