What Is a Virtual Private Network? How Does VPN Work? Best Free Guide 2021

Hello, friends hope you all are well, we all use the internet and surf so many websites on the internet and sometimes faces so many issues related to our privacy and security, hackers attacks, and restriction of websites by the government, and so on, So the solution is VPN which is called Virtual Private Network. Here we will learn what is a virtual private network? how they protect our privacy and all about it.

What is a virtual private network – VPN stands for a virtual private network, which provides an encrypted and secure connection over the internet, and restrict tracking of IP address and online activity from hackers, ISPs, and government, to provide a more private and secure internet connection. VPNs are widely used in the corporate sector to provide secure connections to their remote workers.

If you are here and reading this post, that means you also have faced issues related to your privacy and security on the internet or you are curious about it. You may also have some questions in your mind like what is a virtual private network, how does it work, and how do they protect our privacy, and so on, so stay with us till the end, and you will get all these answers and much more information about it.

What Is a Virtual Private Network

Introduction

You have probably heard of a VPN before, it is even possible you have used a VPN before, but do you know what it does a VPN stands for the virtual private network, which basically means it gives you privacy online.

Originally VPNs were used in business settings by big business organizations or governments, who want to secure their data since people work remotely and need to connect online, business needs to create a secure connection otherwise, they will be addressed for hacking or loss of their data.

Nowadays VPN is used by everyone especially because it ensures that your location stays private, your data is encrypted and you can surf the internet anonymously.

What is a VPN

VPN stands for a virtual private network, which provides an encrypted and secure connection over the internet, and restrict tracking of IP address and online activity from hackers, ISPs, and government, to provide a more private and secure internet connection. VPNs are widely used in the corporate sector to provide secure connections to their remote workers.

Definition Of Virtual Private Network(VPN)

“A VPN (a virtual private network) is a private data network that uses public telecommunicating infrastructure (internet), maintaining privacy using encryption and, tunneling protocol and security procedures to connect users securely.”

“virtual” implies that there is no physical connection between the two networks; instead, connections routed through the internet

“private” implies that the transmitted data is kept confidential ( encryption and secured tunneling)

“network” implies communication medium using private, public, wired, wireless, internet or any resource available

VPN stands for the virtual private network, and that exactly what it is, it helps you create a secure private connection between your computer or device and another network over the internet. It uses encryption and other technologies, it helps you to ensure that your internet activity is safer from hackers, cybercriminals, or snoops who may be lurking around when you use public wifi.

How Does Internet Work

When you visit a website like Facebook or Twitter, you type their domain name, this domain is basically a nickname for the websites IP address, and IP address is just like your home address only, it consists of numbers and names since it is much easier to remember names instead of string numbers, we give websites domain names and a server translates them.

Your computer has an IP address too and so does every device browsing the internet, when you type website names in the browser, whether you are using google chrome, Firefox, or even internet explorer you send your data into the internet until it reaches the server, that server translate that data and transfers the websites that you have requested.

Risk On Using Internet

When you surf the internet and request for any website, you send that data to the server, you are sending them your IP address and a lot of information too, this is where hackers can intercept your information.

Imagine you are sitting in the coffee shop using their public wifi on your phone, and you wanna check your bank account, someone with the laptop can easily log in to the network and get whole of your passwords, emails, and other pieces of information you might have, but if you use a VPN the won’t be able to access that information

How Does VPN Work

When you surf the internet using a VPN connection and request for any website so first, that request goes to the VPN server and from there it goes to that website, then that website responds to the VPN server, and from the VPN server, it shows in our browser, so it creates an extra server between us and the website server, VPN encrypts our connection to make it more private and secure.

The easiest way to understand it is that by using encryption, a VPN builds a private “tunnel” around your internet connection, a tunnel that no one else can hack into, see into, or penetrate.

Importance Of VPN

Restrict Websites From Gathering Your Data

The websites you visit can also gather your information, but they tend to do to study their demographic, usually, it is not a problem but sometimes you want to protect your identity and privacy, so how does a VPN protect your privacy

When you send information online, a VPN creates a tunnel that encrypts your information, this way if someone gives the whole of your data, they won’t be able to read it, the tunnel also makes it harder to hack but don’t be fooled, it is still possible just much harder to do.

VPN Add an extra server

A VPN also adds in an extra server, we told about how you send your data from your computer to a server, and the internet server pings you back with the websites, but with a VPN your data goes to their server first, and then it sent out to the websites,

This extra step helps in a lot of ways, first, they can change your location, a lot of video streaming websites like Netflix, and Hulu has strict content depending on your geolocation.

Let’s say you wanna watch your favorite show on Netflix, but it is not available in your country, so you sent your information to one of the VPN servers in America, and then that server sent it to the website, Netflix now thinks that you are in America and you can stream your show without any problem

Changes Our Location

VPN tricks them to think that you are from a different location because signals are coming from different server claver right changing your location can also help book a hotel or flight, researches showed that hotels and flight prices changes, depending on your locations, so VPN can potentially save your lots of money

VPN Secure Our Information From Government

Let’s get back to our privacy remember how we mansion, how websites sometimes collect our data well many times, the government can request this information and use the listed IP addresses to track our location, but with the VPN your location only reaches the VPN server, and they can’t track us back to our original IP address.

Many VPNs also have a no-log policy, which means they don’t record what websites you visit, so if the government requests VPN providers for tracking log information it won’t be there.

VPNs are really handy when it comes to keeping your privacy safe on the web by changing your geolocation, encrypting your data, and ensuring your privacy, that’s why so many people are using VPN these days.

What Can a VPN Help Me Do

VPN Creates a Safe And Secure Connection

VPN stands for the virtual private network and that exactly what it is, it helps you create a secure private connection between your computer or device and another network over the internet. It uses encryption and other technologies, it helps you to ensure that your internet activity is safer from hackers, cybercriminals, or snoops, who may be lurking around when you use public wifi.

Think of it like a “cloak” that can help you to use the internet a little more safely, and anonymously and while all that may sound a little bit shady, actually there are a lot of more legitimate reasons why you’d want that extra layer of safety.

VPN Creates User Friendly Secure Environment

Companies of all shapes and sizes use VPN to help remote workers, and extended branches stay connected more securely, when you use a VPN to connect to your company’s network, it basically looks to the rest of the internet, like you are working right in the network from a hotel room or cafe or anywhere in the world, you can access files and even devices like printers easily and securely right from your laptop or any other device.

VPN Hides Activities From ISPs

VPNs are useful for other types of security as well, many consumers use VPN to hide their browsing activity from their ISP (internet service provider), either because they are concerned about their privacy or they don’t want that their ISP selling their information to advertisers.

Keep in mind that your VPN may be logging that activity instead, so make sure your VPN company is trustworthy, other use VPN to access geo-blocked websites when you use a VPN to connect to a network it looks to the internet like you are connecting from that network

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Access To Other Geolocations Apps And Services Like Netflix

If you are in Europe or Asia and you want to use a service of Netflix like other US-based accounts, Netflix sees that you are connecting from another country, it won’t let you get logged in, but by connecting via VPN to a US-based network you can watch the US-based Netflix library from another country.

Download Big Files

Some people use VPN to download big files or for streaming, if your ISP slows down these types of activities, using a VPN to stream via a different ISP then yours, could help you get faster speed. Some people, especially in countries with strict internet censorship, use VPNs to get around firewalls to access information on the entire internet,

How To Choose a VPN Service

VPNs are so much useful and beneficial to improve our security and privacy on the internet, but if your VPN is not trustworthy or not able to provide enough security and privacy, then there is no sense in using such type of VPN, so here are some important points which you should remember at the time of choosing a VPN service

1. Figure out your requirements – Before choosing a VPN service, you should understand your VPN needs, for what purpose you want a VPN service, you may want to stream videos, browse the internet safely, and so other parameters, your chosen VPN must be as per your needs.
2. Compare VPNs qualities – Before choosing anyone, you must compare the qualities of each VPN, by doing this you will get better services at a similar price.
3. compatibility – When you purchase a VPN service, you must check the compatibility of your VPN that is compatible with different devices or not.
4. Interface – The interface of the VPN must be user friendly, it will be difficult to use a VPN with a complicated interface.
5. Covered locations – You should check the covered locations in your VPN services, it should cover all your desired locations.
6. Payment plans and features – Features of VPN services vary as per their plans, so you must check all plans and their features.
7. Customer service – Customer service is also an important part of any service, so you must check their customer services.

Best Free VPNs

Here is a list of some best free VPN service providers which you can consider if you want to use a free VPN service =>

• Surfshark
• TunnelBear
• Windscribe
• Hotspot shield
• Proton VPN

If you can afford, then you should always choose a paid VPN service because free VPN providers can’t provide services like paid VPNs, there may be always better security, services, and features in paid services, and free VPNs are also not so much trustworthy about privacy and log policies.

The Best VPN service (Paid)

Here is a list of some the best VPN service providers which you can consider if you want to use a paid VPN service =>

• Express VPN
• Nord VPN
• Cyber Ghost
• IIPVanish
• Private Internet Access

Conclusion

Here we have discussed all what is a virtual private network (VPN), how do they work, and helps us in improving our security and privacy on the internet, but we should always choose a trustworthy VPN service that can provide us better safety and privacy.

VPNs make our internet activity secure and private, but we should always remember that there are so many advanced technologies in the world, so if someone wants to hack or steal your information, then he can do that even, you are using a VPN, it just becomes harder to do that but not impossible.