Which is more secure - a VPN, a proxy-server, Tor, etc.? And why so, exactly?

Question

I want to know how to ensure the most complete anonymity when browsing the internet and connecting to remote servers: I want to be as anonymous and secret as possible. I don't know exactly how VPNs differ from proxies, but are they safer? Is it possible to do a combo: proxy, VPN, Tor, etc.? Will combinations as such make it more difficult to be traced?

For example, a proxy alone isn't completely giving me confidence. But what about a proxy-server, VPN and specialized kernel which has no device information, cookie blocking, concealed MAC address/etc., surf behind Tor and add more proxies to the mix, encryption of sent data, etc.?

Like, on top of circumventing any simple IP, if data is passed anonymously, such as through Cryptabyte behind proxies, Tor, VPN, etc., this makes not only the illegal act hard to pinpoint, but the data which may've been used impossible, correct?

I know I asked multiple questions, but I expect mostly one answer to my main one.

Wow! There is a lot of different questions in one! Please ask many question of simplify our one. What's the *main one*?? — F. Hauri - Give Up GitHub, Apr 24 '14 at 20:14
The main one's in the title -- the rest of importance (to me) are in paragraph one and three. — Seqchro, Apr 24 '14 at 20:23
This is a multitude of questions, all of which could have multiple differing answers. Far too broad for SE. — Rory Alsop, Apr 25 '14 at 07:10
You need to explain who you're trying to protect yourself from - government, girlfriend using a private investigator, law enforcement, doing naughty things on a company network...? — k1308517, May 26 '16 at 15:04

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 08 '18 at 03:37

You ask about services, tools and concepts in one question.

All this could be used together, sometime one by another:

You could implement a proxy server to re-routing all you web traffic via Tor, for sample.

I think you have to invest (our time) to ensuring your understanding.

A proxy-server is a tool installed locally or remotely, but installed in one server, to re-serve web pages.
A VPN is a concept that could be implemented by using a lot of different ways (IPSec, OpenVPN, SSH, ...)
Tor is unique, it's an entity (like Facebook, but not with same goal). They use a lot of tools and concepts, like proxy servers and VPN.

Which is more secure - a VPN, a proxy-server, Tor, etc.? And why so, exactly?

1 Answers1

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