VPNs add an extra layer of security to your connection channeling all your traffic through a secure tunnel. On the other hand, the Onion network passes your traffic through a series of at least three relays, anonymizing your identity and encrypting your internet traffic. However, besides the individual tools, there's also Onion over VPN.
What is Onion over VPN, and how does it work? Read on to find out.
What Is Onion Over VPN?
Onion over VPN combines two privacy and security tools, a VPN and the Onion network. Both the Onion network and VPNs provide you with security and privacy when browsing the web.
As the name suggests, Onion over VPN combines the two in the sense that your internet traffic passes through a VPN server first, then through the Onion network before going out to the internet.
That way, you can be confident your online activity is secure and your identity remains anonymous.
In summary, the concept involves accessing the internet using the Onion network on top of a VPN. NordVPN, one of the fastest and most reliable VPN providers, offers Onion over VPN as a feature.
How Onion Over VPN Works
The inner working of Onion over VPN is fairly easy to understand. You first connect to a VPN server, which encrypts your traffic and hides your actual IP address (a VPN replaces your IP address with the address of the VPN server you connect to).
Next, your traffic is then routed through a minimum of three relays or nodes (the entry node, a middle node, and an exit node). By doing so, you achieve maximum privacy and security.
Separately, you can only access the Onion network through the Tor browser. But with a VPN provider with built-in Onion over VPN functionality like NordVPN, you can use the browser of your choice. All you need is to hit the connect button, and NordVPN handles the rest.
NordVPN's dedicated Onion over VPN feature, therefore, ensures all your traffic goes through the Onion network, which provides complete security and privacy.
Advantages of Using Onion Over VPN
If you're a privacy-conscious person, you should embrace Onion over VPN and for several reasons.
The first reason, and the most obvious one, is Onion over VPN provides maximum security and anonymity while browsing the web. First, your VPN will hide your home IP address from the entry node in the Onion network. Secondly, it also encrypts your traffic before passing it through the Onion network. In addition to that, your VPN provider will not be able to see what you're up to inside the Onion network, thanks to the additional encryption layers.
By traversing several layers, Onion over VPN makes it hard for anyone to trace a connection back to you. And even if there's an untrustworthy node in the Onion network, your VPN has your back. All of these guarantee your privacy and anonymity.
The second reason for using Onion over VPN is the simplicity involved. With NordVPN's Onion over VPN feature built-in with dedicated Onion over VPN servers, you don't need the Tor browser to use the Onion network. Just hit connect, and NordVPN takes care of the rest.
Third, using Onion over VPN means your ISP can't know if you're using the Onion network. Since Tor has primarily been associated with illegal activities, it's not surprising that some ISPs throttle or even block Tor traffic. But with Onion over VPN, you can bypass such restrictions. However, you should note that the Tor Browser does come with additional security and privacy provisions, so we don't advise you to start roaming the dark web using your regular browser.
Enjoy Maximum Privacy and Security With Onion Over VPN
Onion over VPN provides the best of both worlds. With it, you're sure that your browsing activity is secure and your identity is anonymous at all times.
Because, as you may already know, you can still be tracked when using a VPN.