SOCKS5 and VPN

By Leo S. — Verified by Sander D. — Last updated: January 16, 2025 — (0)

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With more and more privacy and safety issues, the search for anonymous online surfing is growing at an exponential rate. Although most software promises some sort of protection, security can never be tight enough. One of latest safety technologies is SOCKS5, a proxy server service that is often incorrectly interpreted and confused with a VPN, since it delivers pretty similar results. However, these two differ in more aspects than you think, so it makes sense to use them in conjunction. In addition, some VPN providers complement their service with SOCKS5, particularly when torrenting is on the table.

What is SOCKS5?

SOCKS5 is a proxy server that, in short, generates a random IP address for you. This allows circumventing geo-blocks and firewalls but the main goal of SOCKS5 is increasing performance for torrents and P2P. SOCKS5 offers faster download speeds and stable performance due to its ability of transferring smaller bits of data packets. Another feature that elevates it above the competition is the added ability to provide authentication by allowing only authorized users to have access to the server. Besides, if the SOCKS5 proxy is interrupted, your P2P process will also stop saving your IP address, which can be considered as a kill switch function. SOCKS5 has an upper hand above HTTP proxies since the latter only works for webpages (https://…) while the former works with any kind of traffic. Not to mention the ability to handle any program and protocol – both TCP and UDP ones – while its predecessor (SOCKS4) is only capable of using TCP. In short, SOCKS5 is the best alternative for torrenting and P2P purposes.

SOCKS5 vs VPN

Comparing SOCKS5 to VPNs is unavoidable and a common tread nowadays. In fact, they share the trait of overcoming internet barriers such as country restrictions and firewall protection, but the two differ in one major aspect. In short, VPNs protect and encrypt all your traffic with its protocols and encryptions, while proxy servers simply… don’t. Also, proxy servers must be manually and separately configured for each application and some of them may not support SOCKS5. VPNs prevent tracking software and organizations from monitoring your internet activity, which means you’re hidden even for your own ISP, since all they can see is that you are using a VPN. Nevertheless, the stronger the encryption, the slower your connection will be, which makes proxy servers considerably faster than VPNs since they use no encryption at all.

The trick here is combining the use of both. Many VPN providers grant the option of using a proxy server – SOCKS5 included – for free. With a VPN and proxy combined, your traffic will be encrypted and you’ll stay protected while torrenting at will, and using the proxy server for faster and more stable downloads.

Recommended VPNs with SOCKS5

NordVPN

Editor's rating:

Reviews

Intuitive multiplatform apps
Double VPN and P2P support
Plenty of security features
Large VPN network with consistent speeds
Trustworthy no-log policy

Limited VPN protocols options

Starting price: $3.99/mo Visit NordVPN

Private Internet Access

Editor's rating:

Reviews

Unlimited devices
DNS leak protection
Suitable for all users
Completely customizable
Attractive pricing

Slow servers
Lack of a free version

Starting price: $2.03/mo Visit Private Internet Access

TorGuard

Editor's rating:

Reviews

Starting price: $2.74/mo Visit TorGuard

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