For the lovers of athletics, the 2018 winter Olympics will be happening in Pyeongchang South Korea starting February 8th. If you are traveling or just happen to be outside the US, streaming the game live is your only viable option. Since most of the sporting sites like NBC and BBC iPlayer are geographically restricted, you need either a VPN or a proxy to gain access to their broadcasting servers and catch the games.
Although you will be virtually able to watch the games using either option, we highly recommend using a VPN to using a proxy server and here are three reasons why:
- VPN Encrypts your entire connection
A VPN encrypts all your online traffic thus guaranteeing your online security as you stream the 2018 Winter Olympics online and surf the internet. Since your entire connection remains secure, even your app traffic is encrypted. A proxy only works to route your browser traffic and does not in any way secure the information. Therefore, aside from limiting you to browser-based streaming, it does not provide for any security.
- A VPN hides your IP address
The VPN does not only secure your entire connection through encryption but routes your traffic through a secure network tunnel which guarantees your anonymity online. While using a VPN, your actual IP address remains encrypted and anonymous. The only identifiable IP address is that of the VPN server.
When connected to a proxy, the proxy server’s IP address is noticeable. However, since a proxy does not encrypt the connection, the proxy server’s IP address is not the only identifiable IP. Anyone with the technical skills could backtrack the IP address from the proxy to your very own, which exposes your personal information.
It is equally important to note that most streaming sites frown upon the use of proxies and VPNs. Since most proxies only make use of a single server to serve millions of people, they are easily identifiable. In this regard, you might find that most proxy servers will be blocked from streaming the Winter Olympics. However, since VPNs make use of multiple, highly encrypted servers, you can use them to connect to the streaming sites and watch the games.
- VPN connections are better than proxy connections
Bandwidth throttling and server overload are some of the inconveniences that you have to look forward to while watching the Winter Olympics online. However, you can avoid all these and more difficulties by using a VPN. Since a VPN makes use of multiple servers, your connection remains free from server overload, which also means that the speed remains unaffected. More so, since the ISP cannot identify your connection due to the high encryption, they cannot throttle your bandwidth. Proxies are at risk of server overload, throttled bandwidth, and slow connectivity speeds.
The Bottom Line
Judging from the explanation, it is clear that the VPN wins the VPN vs Proxy argument and is the best option when it comes to streaming. Aside from better speeds and connectivity, you also get security privacy and anonymity which are invaluable in this day and age, especially with the rise in cybercrime.
