A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is used to secure internet traffic. The main goal of a VPN is to safely encrypt internet traffic. This is to prevent others, such as bad actors (commonly known as hackers), from gaining access to your data. Furthermore, a VPN can be region-based to make your internet traffic appear as if it is originating from another source. This further adds to your privacy.

How VPN's Work
When you install a VPN on your device, such as a computer or phone, the VPN takes several steps to layer security over your data sent across the internet. First, the VPN should encrypt all data before it is sent from your device. To encrypt the data, your device and the VPN server exchange encryption keys used to encrypt and decrypt the data. For extra security and efficiency, two types of encryption methods are used: asymmetric encryption and symmetric encryption.
Put simply, asymmetric encryption is slower but more secure. It can transfer data without exposing the private key first. Symmetric encryption is much faster but requires sending the private key unencrypted first before the data is encrypted. Using both together allows the key to be encrypted before being sent using asymmetric encryption, then have faster speeds with symmetric encryption, the best of both worlds. The establishment of a connection between the device and server is also referred to as a "handshake."
AES-256 is used for high security. AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, and 256 refers to the number of bits used in the encryption, which is the size of the key. Imagine having a password that is 256 characters long.
Now that the connection is established and secure, all internet traffic is sent from your computer fully encrypted straight to the VPN servers. The VPN now sends your data through their network instead of normal means of transportation. Just before the data is sent to the final destination, it is decrypted so the recipient can understand the data received. This process is also referred to as "Tunneling".
Why Use a VPN?
Using a VPN is critical when considering online privacy. However, there may be more reasons to use a VPN.
Securing your private data is the main reason to use a VPN. When viewing emails, searching the internet, browsing unknown webpages, and even making online payments, a VPN will enhance the security of your data. Furthermore, using untrusted networks, such as the Wi-Fi at McDonald's, or any free guest network, or even at known friends' homes, using Wi-Fi may allow anybody on the network to access your personal data. A VPN will scramble and encrypt this data so it becomes unreadable to anybody.
Location spoofing your internet traffic. A VPN allows you to have your traffic appear to originate from anywhere; even if you live in the USA, your traffic can come from Germany. This may allow you to hide your location for privacy or view content not available in your region. For example, some media content is blocked in your state or country, such as a movie, post, or video. You may use a VPN to change your location to where this media is allowed to view it.
Avoiding surveillance and censorship, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is capable of seeing all traffic you generate. This means the websites you visit, the games you play online, everything. Using a VPN hides this data from the ISP and anybody else who may be watching, such as potential hackers, government officials, or local devices on your network. Remote work connections: If you work remotely or online, it may be necessary to have a VPN to securely establish a connection to your workplace. This would typically be required by your employer and not a decision you would make yourself.
Downsides to a VPN
Although a VPN may sometimes increase internet speed, such as bypassing ISP throttling, often it may slow down your speed. This depends on the provider of your VPN.
Not all VPNs are created equal. It is important to decide which VPN you will use and do proper research on the best choice. Some VPNs are not trustworthy as they may sell your data. Some VPNs are faster than others, and some value privacy more than others.
You must trust your VPN. As mentioned earlier in this post, all traffic is routed through the VPN servers. This means they have access to your data and the key to decrypt it. You must trust the VPN you use; otherwise, a wrong choice may result in a loss of privacy.
Pricing of VPNs differs depending on the provider and the services they provide; some are free and some may be pricier. Although free sounds nice, typically they need a way to make money, which could be showing ads or even selling your data.
Processing power may be limited; older devices may struggle to run a VPN and other complex tasks at a single time. Although modern devices should have no issues.
A VPN is used for privacy and security. If your phone has GPS on, your location is still visible. A VPN only hides network traffic; it will not stop certain functionalities. For example, if you have a maps function on your phone, such as Google Maps, that uses GPS to show your location. Typically, this is okay as it is just for you and your phone. However, other applications on your device may use this information to know where you are located. Location can typically be turned off per application. When asked if a service may have access to your location, deny it.
Government interference, also referred to as state actors, may force VPN providers to give up all information they have on someone. This is unavoidable; organizations must adhere to laws and regulations if they want to continue being an organization in that region. Your privacy, such as a linked email, may be enough to expose your activities. Some VPN providers delete all information they have; therefore, if requested, there will still not be much data on you. Furthermore, the main goal of a VPN is to protect you from bad actors such as hackers. As long as you are not actively committing crimes, you will have no issue with the government forcing information from a VPN provider. The information provided would be limited to none depending on your provider.
What to Look for in a VPN
You will want to find a well-known and reputable VPN. A VPN that many users use, avoid any that may be newer, or not well known. Look for privacy practices, such as a no-log policy. Some VPNs offer no logs, which means they do not track your data or store it.
These policies may be taken a step further by ensuring that not even the VPN provider can access the content or data being tunneled.
With exceptional policies like this, even if the VPN provider was breached by a hacker, your data will still be safe.
My VPN provider I use is NordVPN, as they meet all the criteria for my personal privacy. They also have other tools, unfortunately, the other tools cost extra. However, I believe it is a reasonable price to safeguard my data with very little slowdowns.
Using the link I provided is a referral link. Signing up will give me extra months to my plan, and you will also get at least a free month added to your plan too. https://refer-nordvpn.com/SVYQRONvPEd
Another VPN I would recommend is ProtonVPN. This VPN is well-known and open-source. This means the VPN does not aim to gain any monetary compensation. It is completely free and non-profit. ProtonVPN also works on Linux devices.
Make sure you properly research your chosen VPN to ensure it is right for you. Research is key to ensuring the best practices and choices are made.
References
Microsoft. (n.d.). What is a VPN? Microsoft Azure.
Comments