What is a VPN and How Does It Really Work?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure tunnel to the internet from your device to a network that offers you protection online.

This secure connection is encrypted so that all your information is hidden from potential threats such as:

• hackers

• snoopers

• governments

A VPN is capable of serving many different purposes according to your needs. From security to anonymity, a VPN connection truly has boundless possibilities.

Securing your data has never been easier than with VPNs. This is because there are numerous providers who offer VPN services. In addition, there are also many free VPN providers.

With the technology being easy to use, VPN connections have seen increasing popularity not only from experienced tech gurus but also from the everyday user.

With a click of a button, you are able to establish a VPN connection. VPN services are offered on many platforms like mobile apps, web extensions, and computer applications.

How Does a VPN Work?

Sure, you have that VPN you use to protect yourself, but how exactly does this happen?

While online activities and operations have increased significantly, internet security is not faring as great. You may find that your information is often prone to high exposure from online banking to online shopping.

To overcome this, a VPN redirects your connection to a remote server provided by your VPN host. The connection is masked, and your IP address is HIDDEN from your internet service provider.

So if you were to access certain websites or services online, your ISP or government has no way of tracing your activities.

According to statistics by Earthweb, 20% of users use VPNs to hide themselves from the government. This offers a greater sense of security.

A VPN tunnel encrypts your connection, so any data you send is broken into data packets and encapsulated to provide an extra layer of security. These packets contain the data being sent and information about how the packets should be handled during transmission.

Using a protocol known as IP Security (IPsec), headers are placed on the packets so that they find a way into the destination address.

Some VPN services offer dedicated IP addresses.

A dedicated IP address is a unique address that only you can use. Since you are the only user, connection problems such as network sluggishness are eliminated. Having a dedicated IP address gives you more control over your VPN connection since you can host services that are unique to you online.

A dedicated IP VPN assigns you a static IP address that is different from your local IP. This will still give you anonymity and security when accessing the internet. Having a dedicated IP address overcomes all the problems that come with shared addresses.

Shared IP addresses can often cause a sluggish network connection and lead to an unpleasant experience.

Moreover, since you share this connection with other users, you may experience problems accessing some platforms. Since there is a lot of traffic in a single IP address, a website may think that a bot is trying to gain access. For example, when trying to log into your account, you may be asked to perform a captcha verification