A virtual private network in short VPN enables you to create a secure encrypted connection between your computer and the outside network. It masks your internet protocol (IP) address so your online actions are virtually untraceable. And with Encryption and anonymity VPN protects your online activities including sending mails, shopping online, torrenting, etc. Also using a VPN you can bypass regional restrictions for video and music-streaming sites and help you evade government censorship restrictions.
Did you know:- The main purpose of a VPN is to hide your online activity
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What is VPN how does it work?
VPN stands for “virtual private network” it’s a paid service that keeps your web browsing secure and protects your internet connection and privacy online. With VPN enabled your Internet traffic redirects through the VPN server before sending it over to your destination. It changes your IP and masks your virtual location, Encrypts your data, and protects your devices. this is especially useful for web users to protect their privacy and highly sensitive information over what could be an incredibly insecure connection.
How does a VPN work? When you connect to VPN it creates an encrypted “tunnel” over the internet. When you access the website the data first goes to the VPN, and from the VPN server to your online destination. During that, it applies several encryption protocols to make sure that no one can monitor the information traveling between you and your online destination. In addition, to ensure each data packet stays secure, a VPN wraps it in an outer packet, And when the data arrives at the server, the outer packet is removed through a decryption process.
See the above image the connection between your computer and the VPN server is encrypted. That means that anyone (even your ISP) cant read your online activity because data being sent to and from your computer are encrypted none of it is sent as plain text. The only people who will know what you’re up to are you, the VPN provider (usually an HTTPS connection can mitigate this), and the website you’re visiting.
Lets understand more clearly.
- For example When you browse the web (example.com) while connected to a VPN,
- your computer contacts the website through the encrypted VPN connection.
- Then the VPN forwards the request for you and forwards the response from the website back through the secure connection.
- If you’re using a USA-based VPN to access Netflix, Netflix will see your connection as coming from within the USA.
Paid VPN vs free VPN
Free products usually come with hidden costs, but not always.. Here are some of the pros and cons of free vs paid VPNs.
Free VPN:
- Free VPN doesn’t ask you to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee. but somehow they need money and here compromise your privacy by Tracking and selling your browsing data.
- Another way to make money for a VPN service provider is to display ads in the app. Every time users click on an ad the service provider gets its share.
- Free VPN services may experience slower speed because they don’t invent money regularly to upgrade servers. Again they don’t usually have decent server infrastructure, their security and the level of encryption might be weak.
- Again some free VPN comes with limited features and set restrictive data caps to force upgrading to paid service.
- free VPN services provide only one kind of VPN connection: the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), which is supported by most computers but is no longer considered secure.
Paid VPN:
- Paid VPNs makes money by charging users for VPN subscription so they regularly invest money in their infrastructure, introduce new features, and provide the best possible user experience.
- When you paid for a VPN subscription you expect better speed, extensive features, and solid encryption.
- Paid VPN offers more servers in a number of countries so you can hop on the server closest to your location to get the best available speed.
- Paid VPN offers advanced security protocols such as OpenVPN (an open-source protocol that uses SSL encryption) or the Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol (L2TP) and IPsec combination. (L2TP itself is not encrypted, so IPsec adds the encryption layer.) and AES 256-bit encryption, which scrambles your data and turns it into gibberish while in transit, so nobody can spy on it.
- Again Paid VPN promise no data log policy, which means they don’t sell your browsing data to third parties or collect it for other purposes,
Free VPNs won’t always by pass-heavy restrictions but premium VPNs can circumvent blocks and allow you to access the free internet.
Free VPNs are limited to one device whereas with paid VPN subscription you can use a VPN on More than one device at the same time
support is one of those things you pay for. When you choose a paid VPN service, you should expect someone to answer your tickets and do his job, while free services are usually provided “as is”.
Advantages of Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
The advantages of using a VPN are numerous, hiding IP addresses to torrenting or bypassing geographic restrictions to watch content in a different country and more.
- Using VPN Protect yourself from snooping on untrustworthy Wi-Fi hotspots and makes connecting to a Wi-Fi network safe
- VPN bypasses Geographic restrictions and allows a Stream of regionally blocked websites and content. It also makes easy access to whatever content you want from anywhere in the world.
- You can Access regional sports coverage unavailable in your location
- Watch streaming media like Netflix and Hulu.
- Gain at least some anonymity online by hiding your true location and Prevent ISP tracking
- Protect yourself from being logged while torrenting.
Disadvantages:
- You may experience slower internet speed. Because the nature of VPN is encryption to secure your data packets. And the process
takes time, though. So, the stronger the encryption, the more time-consuming it is. - You may experience an unstable connection
- Many VPN services claim to have a “zero-log” or “no-log” policy, Some providers are true to their word. However, others stretch the definition of a no-log service too much.
- VPNs Can’t Guarantee 100% Protection
Things to consider before buying a VPN
There are a number of VPN service providers available on the market, all of them help to encrypt your connection, bypass geo-restriction, allow streaming USA Netflix and more. But Speed, security, and privacy these are three things you must check before choosing a VPN provider.
- Are they recording the IP addresses you use, the websites you visit, the amount of bandwidth used, or any other key details?
- what are the acceptable terms of use for your VPN provider?
- What type of security protocols did they use to encrypt your data?
- Another important factor that should be covered is making sure your VPN supports a wide array of platforms and operating systems.
- And the most important is Speed because No one likes a sluggish connection.
- Also Having a dedicated IP address while using a VPN is so important, Here is the importance of Dedicated IP VPN
- Last but not least, the cost of your VPN should be an important factor in your decision
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