With security breaches we hear about online every day and our privacy rights being squeezed, we are forced to look for tools to protect ourselves. Yes, you are not the first person who is tired of endless advertising, afraid of data leaks, and aware of the risks of surveillance. The key players in the privacy market are Tor, VPNs, Brave, and proxies. But they all have unique features that are better suited for some situations than others. It is time to understand these technologies and choose the best tools to protect your privacy and improve security.
Tor: The Dark Web’s Doorway to Privacy
Tor, short for The Onion Router, is often associated with the dark web and anonymous browsing. But don’t let the myths fool you—Tor isn’t some tool for cybercriminals. It’s a working browser for anyone who values anonymity and privacy. Before your traffic gets to its destination, it’s routed through a series of volunteer-run servers and nodes. Each one is encrypted, which is why it’s called the onion technology.
The key advantage is that Tor can hide your real IP address from websites, your ISP, and even hackers. It is the IP address that is usually used to determine your location and even your identity. All that encryption comes at the cost of speed. According to statistics, Tor usually slows down your internet browsing speed by 50% compared to a direct connection. It is logical that streaming or downloading files through Tor will be difficult.
Tor is a valuable tool for working with sensitive information or when you need extra privacy protection. The sacrifice in speed may be worth it if you’re a journalist, activist, or user who values privacy over convenience. It’s also worth noting that while Tor can give you anonymity, it doesn’t necessarily make you invisible from government surveillance.
VPN: Shield Your Data in Transit
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are another popular choice for secure browsing. VPN includes another intermediary server in the connection between us and the end server. It encrypts all data that comes to or from this server. It provides its own servers, which act as intermediaries between you and the destination server. This concept allows you to sort of rent an IP address and protect your real IP address, and with it your Internet identity. All the receiving party sees is data from the remote server, without any clue about you. It’s like putting on an invisibility cloak and roaming the internet.
Unlike Tor, which is free, most VPNs come at a cost. However, the trade-off is often speed and reliability. With a good VPN app, you can stream, download, and browse with minimal lag. Safe search of information is also available. In combination with the use of the DuckDuckGo search engine, it is possible to achieve the maximum level of privacy and anonymity. There is VeepN with Verizon data throttling, which will help you understand that anonymous search engines alone still cannot provide a decent level of privacy. It is reasonable to download VPN apps for PC and use a combination of several tools. With VPN apps from VeePN, you can perform safe searches on streaming services, social networks, and familiar search engines.
According to a 2024 report by Forbes, nearly 47% of all internet users employ VPN services to enhance their privacy. While Tor is effective for avoiding deep surveillance, a VPN tends to offer a smoother experience for everyday secure browsing, particularly for accessing geo-blocked content, such as streaming services not available in your country.
Brave Browser: The Privacy-Oriented Challenger
Brave Browser is a relatively new player in the secure browsing world, but it has quickly gained popularity for its out-of-the-box privacy features. Unlike mainstream browsers like Chrome or Firefox, Brave blocks ads and trackers by default. This not only increases privacy but also speeds up browsing—studies show that web pages load up to three times faster on Brave compared to Chrome.
But Brave goes beyond just blocking ads. It integrates a Tor feature directly into its private browsing mode, offering a double layer of anonymity. Additionally, it rewards users through its Brave Rewards program, where users can earn tokens (Basic Attention Tokens or BAT) for viewing privacy-respecting ads.
Proxies: The Mask of Convenience
Proxies are another option to hide your IP address and secure your browsing, although their benefits and uses differ from those of Tor or a VPN. In short, VeePN is a more advanced and powerful security tool, and a proxy is a simplified version. A proxy server works on a similar system to a VPN, also adding an intermediate server to your connection. This allows you to hide your real IP address. However, you are working with servers run by volunteers, this is a potential risk, and you do not receive data encryption like with a VPN or Tor.
Because proxies lack strong encryption, they’re more suited for less sensitive activities like bypassing regional restrictions on websites or balancing network traffic in businesses. They’re fast, simple to set up, and often free. Yet, if you’re searching for deep anonymity or protection against hackers, proxies fall short.
Choosing the Best Option for You
Deciding which tool to use ultimately depends on your needs. Tor offers unparalleled anonymity, but the trade-off is speed. VPN is the most functional and reliable tool of the listed ones. With it, you can get protection of your internet identity, encryption of your data and without a big slowdown in internet speed. Brave combines the familiarity of a browser with built-in privacy protections, while proxies provide quick but limited IP masking without heavy-duty encryption.
