VPN VS SSH Tunnel? Which is Better and Why?

Cybersecurity plays an integral ingredient in the fate of technology. In this era of rising cybercrimes and new viruses and malware popping now and then, it becomes essential to take additional security measures to make sure that hackers don’t invade your digital lives. Don’t you think it’s essential to realize that your private and sensitive information can be sabotaged in just a minute, and you may lose your precious data in a snap? Yes, of course, you don’t want your online identity to be exposed where a hacker tries to impersonate and gain unauthorized access to all your accounts?

So, when the questions arise, how can you keep your online identity intact and browse through a secure platform while using the Internet, the term VPN is the first thing that hits on our mind. Isn’t it? VPNs have gained massive popularity, especially over the last few years, as they now come loaded with plenty of security features. VPN is not merely used to set up a secure connection between your device and the remote server, but it can also be used for various other purposes.

Have you ever heard of the term SSH tunnel? Well, SSH tunnels are also intended to encrypt the network traffic, just like a VPN. So, what do you think is more secure between VPN VS SSH Tunnel?

Also read: How To Troubleshoot VPN Not Connecting Issues?

Let’s find out how both these technologies work, which is better, and why!

Understanding SSH Tunnels

SSH Tunnels are an acronym used for the term Secure Shell. Secure shell tunnels have the sole objective of redirecting the network traffic through a secure encrypted medium. So, when your device connects to an SSH tunnel, the traffic passing between your device and the remote server becomes encrypted.

You can think of SSH as a raw version of VPN, as a VPN offers you many other security features in addition.

VPN VS SSH Tunnels

VPN (Virtual Private Network), just as its name suggests, helps you connect to the Internet via a private network, making sure that your online activities stay secure while browsing the web. With the help of a VPN, you can instantly connect remotely to a server located in any location or country.

A VPN encrypts your network traffic info to keep your digital privacy intact. This added encryption layer makes sure that intruders, hackers, and third-party website trackers are not able to snoop into your network traffic info. Hence, a VPN works on a broader level as compared to SSH tunnels.

SSH tunnels, on the other hand, work on an application level and have to be manually configured each time you want to encrypt the network traffic. Also, compared to a VPN, SSH tunnels are harder to set up and might even slow down the connection speed.

Download Systweak VPN for Windows

Looking for a reliable VPN service for the Windows platform? Download Systweak VPN for Windows featuring more than 4500 remote servers in 200+ locations worldwide. With Systweak VPN, you can experience lightning-fast server speed connections through advanced 256-bit military-grade encryption technology.

Systweak VPN also unlocks a wide range of entertainment content and allows you to watch restricted content on popular platforms, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, ESPN, HBO, and more, while bypassing censorship hindrances. It also comes equipped with a unique “Kill Switch” feature that instantly terminates the connection the moment anything goes wrong so that your private information does not get leaked on the network at the time of connection failures or drops.

Also read: 11 Best VPN For Windows 10, 8, 7 PC In 2020 – (Free & Paid)

Conclusion 

Both VPN and SSH follow an underlying mechanism of “Tunneling” your network traffic, but they slightly differ from each other on various fronts. We hope our guide mentioned above has helped you highlight the differences between VPN VS SSH tunnels to decide better which service you should use to enhance your security on the Internet.