VPNs are incredible tools that can help you access blocked websites, hide your location, encrypt your data, and much more.
But how does it work? What does it do? How can I use one?
Those are all questions we answer below.
VPNs started with businesses
Before we get started on how VPNs work,
let’s go back to why they were created.
VPNs, which stands for Virtual Private Networks, were originally designed for large organizations where employees needed to connect to a certain computer from different locations.
To make it easier to explain, we’re going to use an example:
Imagine that the Coca-Cola Company has an office building in Atlanta,
Georgia where all of the computers connect to the company’s server via a
network of cables.
These cables are physical and secure, and it makes it very difficult for a hacker to break into Coca-Cola’s private network.
But then let’s say Coca-Cola opens an office in Canada, and its
employees in Toronto need access to the private network in Atlanta.
Running a cable from the office in Atlanta to the office in Toronto is inefficient, to say the least. So instead,
the company creates a virtual private network.
This is essentially a virtual private cable between the office in Toronto and the office in Atlanta.
Great… But How Does it Work?
A VPN essentially creates a virtual cable between a computer and a server. That virtual cable creates a tunnel that encrypts any data that passes through it.
This prevents hackers, ISPs, governments, or anyone else from viewing your activity.
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty for a second:
A VPN has three main components to it.
- Security protocols
VPNs use a security protocol that protects any information that passes through the server.
This protocol
creates a secure connection and also influences the type of encryption the VPN uses.
While the security protocols are not as perfect as a real private network (or a physical cable), it comes close.
In general, though, the most secure protocol is OpenVPN, and it’s typically the best protocol to use.
- Encryption
Encryption goes hand in hand with the security protocol.
This feature guards your data by encrypting it. So,
even if a hacker or someone else gets a hold of your data, they won’t be able to decipher it.
The best VPNs use AES 128-bit and 256-bit. AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, and it’s the most common cipher.
The majority of VPNs use this, and it’s compatible will all of the main VPN protocols.
The numbers 128 and 256 correspond to the key length, and it
represents the possible number of combinations. To put it in
perspective, the fastest computer would take more than a billion years
to come up with all the possible combinations for AES 128-bit.
Encryption is a crucial factor when it comes to VPNs.
- Servers
A lot of times you’ll hear certain VPNs boasting their number of servers. This is because
it is typically better to have a wide array of servers and locations.
Why?
Usually, when you use the internet, you send your data to a server
with a request for a certain website. That server then sends the website
information back to your device.
When you use a VPN, your data first goes to the VPN’s server, and then the VPN sends it to the intended server.
This is important because when you ping a server for a website, you
constantly send data back and forth over that connection. If you insert a
VPN in the middle,
your request for the website goes to the server, but your data only moves between your device and the VPN’s server (which is also through an encrypted tunnel). Therefore, the intended server does not receive any of your information.
This is how VPN users remain anonymous online. This is also how VPNs can change your location to unblock certain websites (more on that below).
What can a VPN do?
Now that you know how a VPN works, let’s talk about what it does.
Like we mentioned above, VPNs can do many things. We break it down
below.
- Unblock content
Let’s say you live in France but want to watch a show on Hulu. Or,
let’s say you’re vacationing in Greece but want to watch a show that’s
only available on Netflix’s US library.
Without a VPN, you won’t be able to access the website.
However, with a VPN
you can change your geolocation so that it appears as if you are in America.
A VPN can also help you unblock other types of sites that your government or ISP might block. For instance, in China, you can’t access Facebook, Gmail, or Youtube without a VPN due to China’s Great Firewall.
Some countries block torrenting sites to prevent criminal activity, but
a VPN can help you access the torrent sites.
A VPN is also useful in school or colleges, where specific sites might be blocked.
Unblocking content is probably the most popular way people use VPNs nowadays.
- Hide Your IP
The same way a VPN can unblock content,
it can also hide your IP address. Your IP address is similar to your home address, only it’s for your device.
Your IP changes depending on which server you connect to.
When you connect to a VPN,
your IP address is hidden behind the VPN’s server, so governments, ISPs, and hackers cannot see your actual location.
- Save money
Did you know that websites change prices depending on your country?
It’s true. If you want to buy a plane or hotel ticket,
you can save a lot of money by changing your IP address
- Encrypt your data
We already talked about encryption above, but we didn’t mention the benefits of it.
VPNs are hard to hack,
but it’s not impossible. Encrypting
your information is incredibly useful so if anyone does somehow break
your connection, your information won’t be compromised.
This is especially useful if you happen to be hiding from the government or do not want your ISP to track your activity.
Encrypting your data also protects you from an unsecured network connection. So, if you ever use public WiFi, a VPN comes in handy
What should you look for in a VPN?
Now that you know all about VPNs, how do you choose the right one? We go into detail about choosing the right VPN here
, but we give you the gist below.
There are over 300 VPNs available on the market right now, but not all of them are the same.
Here’s what you should look for in a VPN:
- Speed
Especially if you want to stream shows and movies,
you need a VPN with high speed.
ExpressVPN
is definitely the fastest VPN available with
NordVPN
just behind it.
- Number of servers
The more servers there are the more locations there are. While you probably don’t need a VPN is Uzbekistan,
having servers situated in different locations is very important.
On top of that,
the more servers available means that fewer users are connected to them.
If you have a VPN with only 11 servers, every user will connect to one
of those servers. If you have 60 servers, however, most likely fewer
users will be connected to that server.
- Unlimited bandwidth and data
While there’s a lot you can do with 1GB of data, you’ll run out of it pretty quickly.
It’s best to find a VPN that offers unlimited data and bandwidth so you can stream, post, and download all the content you want. All of
our top VPNs offer unlimited bandwidth.
- Unblocking content
If you want to use a VPN to watch Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer, then
you need a VPN that can access these sites.
Many streaming services put up a VPN block to prevent others from streaming content (
Netflix is notorious for this). You need a VPN that has servers in the US that Netflix will not block.
These VPNs are the best ones to unblock Netflix and other streaming sites.
- Security
Security is the one feature that cannot be overlooked.
It is crucial your VPN has high encryption, strong protocols, and a no-logs policy. Unfortunately,
not all VPNs have this (especially the free ones).
Even more so,
there are other security features that can make a VPN stronger or weaker.
IPVanish
is one VPN that goes the extra mile for security. They own each of their servers to ensure a more secure network.
ProtonVPN
is another VPN that prioritizes security. (They even
won the award for Best VPN for Privacy.)
NICE
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