As an Internet user, you have probably heard of VPNs, either in relation to anonymous browsing or your privacy protection questions. But what exactly is a VPN, and how does a VPN server work ? First, we must be aware that if there is a constant on the Internet, that is the change. Streaming movies and music has become a part of our daily lives, after years in which data transfer rates were too low to transmit sounds or images. Things that were considered impossible just a few years ago are now standard practice, and we couldn’t live without them.
However, one of the things that have been left behind in these years of the rapid growth of the Internet is privacy concerns. Recently, the general audience has become aware of the many threats they face, mainly due to news about major data leaks or reports of malware and ransomware invading and locking computers. They are only unlocked after their owners have paid for them. Ransoms requested by cybercriminals. The Internet, in short, is not an exceptionally safe place right now, if it ever was.
A recurring theme about Internet security problems is the use of VPNs. A VPN guarantees anonymous and safe browsing. But how does it work? And in what way is it used? Why is it safer than regular internet use in the first place, and how does a VPN make anonymous browsing possible? Each question is just as relevant as the last, so let’s get started.
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How do Internet connections work?
To fully understand the use of a VPN, it is important to understand the basics of using the Internet. When you go online, through your smartphone, tablet, or personal computer, your Internet provider connects your computer to the website or service you are looking for. For this, your provider uses your “IP address” , something that is equivalent to the address of your “home on the Internet”. An IP address identifies individual computers, making them identifiable and recognizable online.
For example, when you use a website, Ebay, your computer (or smartphone, etc.) connects to the server that hosts the Ebay website. This “server” is just another computer, but it is specially built for the specific purpose of allowing multiple connections at the same time without loss of information. The server receives a request from your computer to send you the website information, using your IP address to find your computer.
Tracking
This seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? But much more happens than just this while you surf the Internet. As you click and absorb the information you see on each page you visit, your computer’s IP address is stored in the server’s computer banks, along with your “behavior” on the website (what you look at, what you click on, etc.). This becomes “data” about the visitors. Ebay may use this data to update its service and track your behavior over time and across multiple visits to the same website. The page can even sell the information they have about you and other customers to other companies without knowing it since that information they collected about you is considered owned by the site you visited.
What is a VPN?
Unfortunately, this line of reasoning is fairly general nowadays, regardless of the details about the websites you visit. Now, this is where using a VPN comes in. The VPN, acronym for “Virtual Private Network“, ensures that your computer can no longer be traced and works as follows: the VPN, instead of connecting to your Internet provider, connects your computer to a VPN server using a secure and encrypted connection. The VPN server then contacts the website you are looking for. Here, details about your visit are stored as usual but based on the IP address of the VPN server rather than yours. Yes, Ebay can still collect details about your visit, but it will not be able to link this data to you!
Also Read: The 3 best VPNs to download torrents
The VPN metaphor
To better explain the difference, let’s look at old-fashioned postal services. Using the Internet in the usual way is like sending a letter. Without a VPN, your home address is available the moment you drop your letter in the mailbox, it is exposed, and anyone who reads it could use it for any purpose. But send the same letter through a VPN server, and suddenly you are using a fake home address and a fake messaging service. On top of that, your letter will be written in secret code, courtesy of a security layer of encryption enforced by most VPN servers, ensuring that ‘Tom the Peeping Tom’ cannot decipher what you wrote.
A VPN, in short, protects your browsing from the prying eyes of third parties. VPN servers are designed to have a large capacity, ensuring the simultaneous use of hundreds of users simultaneously. This only acts as a safeguard as to how will third parties decrypt information about you when hundreds of people are using the same IP address simultaneously?
Setting up a VPN Server
Setting up a VPN server is very simple. Most VPN providers offer applications to configure VPN services for both Android and iOS devices, and in most cases, these are easy-to-use and very popular applications. But also, personal computer and Mac users have multiple options to configure their VPNs, and most of these users can also choose applications: the application-based installation saves you the time you need to read other more complicated settings.
Most VPN apps offer a variety of server locations to connect to, for the simple reason that many websites change their offers based on the location of your IP address: this means that shopping sites like Ebay change their ads based on the location of your IP address. the place where your IP address is logged, or they block content that is specific to certain regions, such as movies or songs. This is where that annoying “this content is not available in your region” pop-ups appear, pop-ups that can easily be avoided if using a VPN server capable of using a location other than your actual geographic location. You can find more information on how to test your VPN connection in our article dedicated to this topic.
Skipping region-specific settings
In this sense, a VPN sets you up for an excellent geo-content hopping game. Services like Netflix link content and language settings to specific regions, so by using a VPN, US users can check, for example, Netflix offers in the UK and vice versa. Others use a VPN to gain access to specific services based on a region, such as Pandora (currently only available in the US) or BBC iPlayer (only available in the UK).
With a VPN, the servers of these services will only recognize the location of the VPN server, not that of the users behind it. Are you traveling abroad? A VPN makes it possible to watch your favorite TV show from anywhere in the world through your computer, even when the show is geo-blocked in some parts of the world. This is the main reason many experts use a VPN: it allows them to stay up-to-date with what is happening in their home country, even when content is blocked in their country of residence.
Of course, most streaming services are not happy with this and will try to block IP addresses linked to a VPN. Over the years, their efforts have resulted in something of a cat and mouse game, a constant dilemma between VPN service providers and streaming companies. Every time a group of IP addresses connected to VPN servers gets blocked, new VPN servers spring up, spilling out new IP addresses for use by your clients.
Browsing Anonymously
Online anonymity becomes more critical every day. Stories of big data breaches and identity fraud are coming to light more often than before, underscoring the importance of protecting personal data. With regular use of the Internet, you will never know who is spying on you. It could be companies trying to detect your habits, and it could even be your government trying to police citizens for shady purposes. It is not necessary to emphasize the fears that many people have about (too) government control. Even worse, how do you estimate the value that can be attributed to the raw data that a government has on you?
Downloading BitTorrent through a VPN
Do you enjoy downloading movies? Programs such as Popcorn Time use Bittorrent, a content download protocol (often illegal) that allows content to be saved while it is being played, which makes viewers even unconsciously participate in criminal activities. Run these protocols through a VPN server, and law enforcement officials will have a hard time tracking you so that you can enjoy your favorite movies without any worries.
Also Read: Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2021
Online Security
An obvious advantage of using a VPN is greater security. Most people go about their daily business online, from shopping to banking. Without using a VPN, information such as passwords, bank details, and confidential emails will travel over the Internet through relatively insecure connections. By using a VPN server, you will be much more secure, even when using something as insecure as an open WiFi network: hackers will not be able to link the information to you because they will not “see” who is behind the data.
Each VP (Virtual Protection) vendor offers a slightly different form of protection. To help you find the correct information on security protocols and terminology related to online security, we have written a specific blog post related to this topic.
Search for Offers
Using a VPN can facilitate some discounts for your online purchases, especially when you use websites notorious for their tracking behavior. Airline ticket sites are famous for this: their tracking software constantly adjusts ticket prices based on details related to your IP address, data collected from previous visits, and cross-references of your profile with those of others. People with similar habits and backgrounds. This leads to a price geared towards individual visitors – your neighbor can look at the same flight ticket simultaneously, but he might find a different price on his screen.
These tracking systems are highly advanced and work to squeeze every last penny they can get from unsuspecting customers. But clients who rely on VPN servers have one big advantage: by jumping from IP to IP, they can trick websites into thinking they are new customers, and without access to online identity verification (often based on the location of the server being used), it will be possible to obtain lower prices for the ticket or any other product, that you want. The same goes for other shopping activities: if a foreign store offers discounts to local customers, just set your IP in that location and enjoy the lowest prices. The only thing left to do is find a way to deliver the items to your geographic address!
Kodi
Kodi is a popular method for streaming TV and movies. The Kodi app installs directly on your TV or tablet and uses standard IP addresses by default. Fortunately, it is also possible to route your TV and tablet through a VPN setup, ensuring that malicious people will not be able to use the broadcast of your favorite TV show to track you down. At the same time, your TV and tablet now bypass any built-in geoblocks in TV apps.
Finding the best VPN service providers
We hope this information helps decide whether or not you need to install a VPN server for your Internet use. VPN providers and services come in different forms and use other methods to improve the network’s safe use and charge different prices. One option is to use free VPN services. But what does “free” mean, specifically, and what advantages and disadvantages are associated with such a service? And what exactly is it that makes relatively expensive services so expensive?
To help you decide on these details, we have reviewed various VPN providers for you, looking at things like quality, range of services, and prices.