introduction

Back in the day, Businesses used VPNs to allow employees to connect to the company network while working remotely. When we found that government bodies worldwide were spying on citizens’ internet use, people became more cautious about their online privacy. This and the practice of content providers using geo-blocking to stop access from certain countries have increased the popularity of VPNs. This Blog explains the most critical aspects of VPNs in theory and practice. If you’ve never used a VPN before and want to know more about how they work or wish to enhance your knowledge before signing up for a subscription, you will get a good insight in this VPN guide.

What is a VPN?

VPN is an acronym for Virtual Private Network. To explain fully what a VPN is and what it does, let’s first look at how you connect to the internet typically –

When you connect to the internet, your device, such as a laptop or mobile, relates to a router via Wi-Fi or an ethernet cable. The router is connected to a modem connected to the internet via your internet service provider (ISP). Your device sends small information, called data packets, through these connections that contain instructions on what you want the internet to “do,” i.e., which website to visit, log-in details, etc. The website then responds by sending data packets back to you that show the website and any content or components required.

These data packets can give away a lot of information about you to your ISP and the websites you visit, such as:

• Your precise location is based on your IP address.
• Which web pages do you see, when, and for how long.
• Any information you enter on websites that aren’t secured with HTTPS.

This information can track your behaviour or location and restrict your access to content. Your Internet service provider may limit the scope; for example, a well-known torrent-sharing website is blocked by all ISPs in the UK due to government regulations. Websites themselves may also restrict it. Netflix is one of the most used examples of restrictions because each country has a different library of available titles, which we’ll take a deeper look at in just a moment. Now, what a VPN does, on the other hand, is to create a secure VPN tunnel or also called a VPN gateway, between your device and the internet. This means that all those data packets I mentioned earlier are encrypted and sent through your ISP to a remote server owned by the VPN company, where they are decrypted and sent on their way to the internet. Packets coming back follow the same path. This means that even if the network you’re connected to is compromised and someone is monitoring the data packets you send and receive (known as packet sniffing), they will only see a load of jumbled-up letters and numbers (known as ciphertext).

The main differences between a VPN connection and regular internet are:

• All information is encrypted at the point of origin (your device) and only decrypted once it reaches the server controlled by the VPN company.
• An IP address is masked by the IP address of the VPN server.
• Internet service providers can’t see which websites you visit.
• VPN use may cause the internet to slow down due to the time it takes to encrypt and decrypt data, and it also depends on the speed of the VPN server.

However, one of the most popular uses of a VPN is to change your apparent location. That’s because you get the IP address of the VPN server, which could be anywhere on the planet.  For example, you’re on vacation in Switzerland and want to take an evening off partying to enjoy some downtime with Netflix. Still, if the show you’re watching isn’t available on Netflix Switzerland, then you can use a VPN to change your IP address (and, thus, your apparent server location) to your home country, where the show is available.

Bypass blocks and restrictions

There are three main ways to block websites.

• Network blocking – The administrator of your network, say at school or work, has decided certain websites are not allowed.
• Government censorship – When the government decides certain websites aren’t allowed, they can block them for the entire country.
• Geo-blocking – Online services such as YouTube, Netflix, and BBC iPlayer utilise geo-blocking only to allow access from certain parts of the world.

There are several reasons to block access to certain websites, but this blocking is often implemented not to protect people but to control them. YouTube, for example, has been blocked at one point or another in at least 25 countries, Facebook is completely blocked in China, and ThePirateBay is blocked in the UK. Also, many porn websites are blocked In India. Many websites themselves limit their content to specific countries. Netflix and HBO, for example, offer different movies and titles depending on your country. They do this by checking the IP address of the connected device, which tells its location and provides the content they’ve decided for that region. Now, if you use a VPN to change your IP address to one in an area where there is no blocking, you get to enjoy unrestricted access to the internet.

How to set up and use a VPN

Using a VPN is simple. Most of the Best VPN service providers have created products that are simple to set up and use. Signing up to a VPN provider is easy, and many allow payment via cryptocurrency and require an email address. The exact steps vary between providers:

• Choose a quality Service; this is probably the essential step, as some VPNs promise a lot but deliver underwhelming performance.
• Sign up for the service. Many will offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee, so you will not lose anything if you find it not useful for you.
• Download the software and install it on your advice. Many services have different apps for each device.
• Open the VPN software and sign in. You may have to choose some settings to get started; they are covered in the appropriate review.
• Choose a server or country you want to connect to.
• Enjoy a private, borderless internet experience

Should a VPN be left on at all times?

There are arguments for and against leaving a VPN running in the background. Some people regard their online privacy with a higher degree of concern than others, and people from countries where the internet is censored or monitored by the government, law enforcement, or ISPs, may want to keep their VPN on at all times to enjoy the internet in the democratic and accessible manner in which it was conceived. Someone might have a VPN subscription mainly to access geo-blocked content such as Netflix or get a broader range of live sports by watching overseas TV channels. Others might feel safer carrying the protection of a VPN for android to help keep their data secure when they need to connect to an untrusted Wi-Fi network such as a public Wi-Fi. Luckily, the best VPNs can always be left on without worry. If you want to do this, make sure your VPN has a Kill Switch so that it will cut off the internet connection in the event of VPN failure, and you will not be left vulnerable without realising it.

When you should be using a VPN

You should always use a VPN if you need to connect to an unknown and untrusted Wi-Fi network, such as at a cafe or airport. This is because you don’t know if someone is monitoring the network. If you’re on an open Wi-Fi with no password, anyone connected to it could be capturing your data packets and snooping on your internet activity. Most websites nowadays use TLS to encrypt data in transit between your device and the website, but not all, and any spy would still be able to see which websites you visit, which could become the basis of a more powerful attack. Another time you’ll want to use a VPN is when accessing content blocked in your country yet not illegal. Pornographic websites are blocked in several countries despite pornography itself being legal. I agree that children should be prevented from accessing such content. If you want to access those sites when the ban has been implemented, provided you’re of legal age, you can use a VPN to connect to the closest country and enjoy it.