VPN
Encrypts all of your device's internet traffic and routes it through a remote server, hiding your IP and protecting data on untrusted networks.
Full Definition
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service that creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server, routing all internet traffic through that server. The destination websites see the VPN server's IP address, not yours. Unlike a proxy (which only re-routes application traffic you explicitly send through it), a VPN tunnels all traffic at the operating system level — every app on your device uses the VPN automatically. VPNs use protocols like WireGuard, OpenVPN, or IKEv2/IPSec for the tunnel. They are primarily privacy and security tools; for scraping at scale, proxies with rotation are more practical than VPNs.
