TOR vs VPN, a visionary argument that has been in presence for a decade. The two are different technologies but they are intended to accomplish the same goal: anonymity and free access. Though, there are some variations among TOR (The Onion Router) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) which you might want to examine before adopting one of them.
The two anonymity mechanisms, Tor and VPN, are often involved to be competitors, as pretended by a general internet user. But the question about the competition between the two is as nebulous as it is to rival a burger and french fries. Both of them are meant to satisfy our paunch, and the burger + fries combo does a deserving role in intensifying our taste.
Uttering about our anonymity messiahs, they can be interpreted as two modes of transit, like a glider and a double-decker. VPN is like an airplane which is faster but more high-priced. And TOR, like a bus, is slower but inexpensive (actually free).
A double-decker can pick you up directly outside your house, but that’s not the situation with the airplane. This refers to availability. It takes time to get Tor up and running as there is only a single alternative to it. On the other hand, one has to resemble multiple VPN services before picking the best one.
Tor and VPN are intended to provide anonymity to you and assist you to protect your data and location from any “middle-man” being in the network you’re correlated to.
Tor vs VPN: When to Use Tor?
The single intention of TOR (The Onion Router) is to afford anonymity for you. It hides your location by masking your data with some encryption layers and ejecting your data through various relays that exist in the TOR network, unknown to everyone practicing the TOR network.
Let me tell you the fact, TOR enciphers your connection, not your data. So, if you’re sending some ‘normal text’ information, then at the outlet junction, where the last layer of encryption is deciphered, there are possibilities that someone might reach your unprotected data.
TOR is used usually where a huge level of anonymity is needed by the practitioner. It’s also useful when you don’t want someone to recognize who you are and what are you doing. Even NASA takes it challenging to identify someone on the TOR network.
Besides, you can also use Tor in unification with a VPN service to increase your safety and anonymity while browsing the web.
You can visit this link to download Tor Browser’s latest version for different OSs as per their compatibility. Besides, Tor Browser and Orbot are two other options for an android.
Tor vs VPN: When to Use VPN?
A VPN connection is an encrypted tunnel that is built to allow an unbroken stream of your data from your device to the VPN server, which acts as your agent to the public internet. It is proficient in providing high speeds, but in this thing also, only your connection is encrypted and not your data, so We advise you to use PGP encryption mechanisms while sending some confidential data.
The VPN server has access to all the traffic you’ve initiated, but popular VPN services claim that they don’t store any logs. Well, that claim might sound legitimate until any government agency asks them about your existence on their network.
A VPN network can be used in under-risk circumstances like if you’re not arrested for some crime that you may or may not have engaged, or if you want to get protected from various tracking tools on the internet and simply browse the internet or download torrents.
VPNs are also used to increase a company’s private network helping the employees to work from a remote location (home) and still have entrance to the company’s resources. Its network can also be used to avoid geographical boundaries to gain access to blocked sites or use the internet in places where the federal associations have executed network constraints for the general public. Some of the best VPN Service Providers are ExpressVPN, Surfshark, NordVPN, and so on.
Tor vs VPN: Conclusion
Both TOR and VPN have their merits and demerits, but they are no competitors. Instead, they were built to obey the same idea, to provide anonymity to online users, but they have been mistaken as competitors. We do not recommend any particular of them as each one defeats the other in some features, and we cannot announce a winner in the TOR Vs VPN battle.
It depends on your need to use both of them as per your requirement and assist your aims. It is wise not to talk about their trustworthiness which only adds to a useless debate. So, stay incognito, stay safe.
We believe that you get more than just an interpretation on the topic entitled, “Tor vs VPN? What’s Best And Which One Should I Use?” If you have any confusion on the following topics, please feel free to ask us in the comment down below.
You can also do read: