The difference between VPN and Remote Desktop

You may confuse the difference of VPN and remote access software like VNC or RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). Even both of them can be used to access remote resources, the underlying technologies are quite different. Below I will explain how they work, and their pros and cons.

VPN

VPN provides a special tunnel, let all traffic through VPN, and your IP would shown as VPN server's IP, then able to get unblock the geo-restricted resources. Good VPN providers offer servers located in the US, UK, the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world to enable you access resources from any country.

VPN allows you to unlock online game, bypass school, company and hotel's internet restrictions, unblock websites, browse web anonymously, hide & change IP. While, a VPN wasn't solely designed to allow you to get remote resources. You need to setup VPN on other devices like computers, smart phones or smart TVs.

RDP

Remote Desktop Protocol is designed to let you remote control a computer as though you were sitting directly in front of the remote workstation. If you were to perform a Google search on the remote machine, it uses that computer's Internet connection to transfer data - not the Internet connection on the computer you are sitting in front of. After you have remotely connected to a computer, you do actually have access to all of the local network resources, similar to a VPN.

You can use all of your work computer's programs, files, and network resources from your home computer. RDP has improved performance over low-speed dial-up connections through reduced bandwidth. RDP is designed to support many different types of Network topologies (such as ISDN, POTS, and many LAN protocols such as IPX, NetBIOS, TCP/IP, and so on). However, one drawback with RDP is that it is not secure.

The biggest difference between VPN and Remote Desktop is from where you can access remote resources. With a VPN, you can get the remote resources from online on your computer. With RDP, you need to logging into the remote computer to get the resources.

VPN vs. Smart DNS - which is better?

Need a VPN or Smart DNS to hide your IP address and make you appear as if you are currently in another country? Want to unblock websites or geo-restricted videos, bypass censorship? Both VPN and SmartDNS are good services to allow users to access multiple services from different countries. And they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Not sure which one to use? Let's discover the advantages and disadvantages of these two services.

How VPN works

A VPN provides a secure, encrypted tunnel in which to transmit the data between the remote user and the company network. It changes your IP address to the VPN server's IP, making all websites thought the server IP is your IP. A VPN will let you wander the Internet without limit.

How Smart DNS works

Smart DNS describes a DNS server which directs users to a proxy server for an unknown list of websites and services. When you visit a website, it identifies where you are based on your IP address. Smart DNS technologies provide you with a local IP address when accessing these websites.

The difference of VPN and SmartDNS

• A VPN will slow down Internet speed, but SmartDNS has minimal impact on Internet speed.
• VPN allows you visit all websites, while SmartDNS only work for Supported geoblocked websites.
• VPN can protect your privacy, while SmartDNS can't ensure your online security.

Conclusion

Smart DNS service will enable you unlock websites, with fast speed. But you should never to do online banking or check your email when on a public Wi-Fi network. Even when visit websites, your online data and browser history are unprotected. So I recommend to use a VPN good performance. VPN is the best tool if you travel frequently since many hotels and wifi hot spots block DNS services. With a VPN service, you can visit all the websites, and your online security is protected. The information transmitted between user's device and the VPN server via the encrypted tunnel cannot be read by anyone else. You will also be able to switch IPs to access resources, games, websites, video contents from any country.