Technology

What is a VPN and how does it work?

Published

1 month ago

May 21, 2024

You may have heard the term ‘VPN’ on the internet, but what does it stand for and why? is a VPN right? Here we answer all your questions about why you need a VPN.

What does VPN stand for?

VPN is an abbreviation for Virtual Private Network. Since that doesn’t explain anything at all, let’s move on.

What is a VPN?

It is software, usually in the form of an app that you install on your phone, laptop, PC or even smart TV. When you use the app to connect to a VPN server, it creates an encrypted connection between the device you’re using and a server on the internet. This server acts as an “intermediary” between your device and the website or online service you are using.

What does a VPN do?

Although we’ve just said – in general terms – what a VPN does, it’s useful to understand why this encrypted connection is necessary in the first place.

First and foremost a VPN gives you privacy. Without a VPN, your internet provider (ISP) can see exactly which websites you visit. It can’t see the content you’re viewing, but it does know that you’ve visited Google.com, Amazon.com and Twitter.com, for example.

For many people this is a violation of privacy.

By encrypting the connection, a VPN prevents your ISP from seeing what you’re up to, capturing that information, and selling it to third parties.

If you ever use Wi-Fi in a hotel, cafe, airport, on the train, or other public place, you should use a VPN. That’s because, unlike home Wi-Fi, most public networks are ‘open’ and not password protected. This is bad for security because it means that the connection between your device and the Wi-Fi hotspot is not encrypted. (Password protected WiFi is encrypted by the way.)

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

By using a VPN on open Wi-Fi, you benefit from encryption, which protects the data and – by extension – protects you. This is how a VPN provides extra securitybut also why it is not a replacement for antivirus software.

It’s worth understanding that much of the data moving to and from your phone, laptop, and other device is encrypted, even without a VPN or password-protected Wi-Fi connection. That’s because certain apps use their own encryption (such as banking apps and WhatsApp) and many websites use HTTPS, which is also encrypted.

This means you don’t need to use a VPN when banking online, and some banking apps won’t work properly – or at all – if you try to use a VPN. But it’s worth using a VPN for general internet browsing, as it adds a second layer of protection and covers and ‘holes’ where websites don’t use HTTPS.

Additionally, a VPN encrypts all other data sent over your connection, or should do so. That includes the DNS lookups that occur when you type a website’s address into your web browser. It converts that human-readable address to an IP address so that your browser can load the web page from the server at that address.

Without a VPN’s own DNS servers, there’s a good chance it’s using your ISP’s DNS servers, which is how it knows which websites you visit.

One of the most important uses of a VPN is natural to circumvent regional restrictions. Some websites and video streaming services only allow access to users from certain regions. For example, try to watch BBC iPlayer in a country other than Britain and you’ll see a message saying you need to be in Britain to watch programs.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

But you can watch iPlayer from abroad by connecting to a VPN server in Britain, making it seem like you’re in the country even if you’re in the US, Spain, France, Australia or elsewhere.

The same goes if you want to watch shows that are only available in Netflix’s US library, but you live in another country.

Not all VPN services can unblock iPlayer, Netflix and other video streaming services. That’s why it’s important to read VPN reviews before choosing which VPN service to use.

Check out our recommendations for the best VPNs for streaming if this is your main reason for using a VPN.

Another thing a VPN does is bypass any restrictions your ISP may impose, such as throttling (slowing down your connection speed) when downloading files using peer-to-peer (P2P). By using a good quality VPN service, your ISP will not know what you are doing and no throttling will occur.

Finally, using a VPN can improve your ping time in some online games, making it more responsive.

How does a VPN work?

You may think that your internet connection is already secure, but while that is true for many websites, such as your bank, this is not true for everything. Furthermore, even if a website uses HTTPS (which is encrypted), your ISP can still see which sites you visit.

Even if you don’t mind this invasion of privacy, it may be worth using a VPN as an extra layer of security to minimize the risk of personally identifiable information being sent unencrypted over your Internet connection. In other words, let’s say you send someone an email and include your address. Often – and especially when emails are sent from one provider (e.g. Gmail) to another (e.g. Outlook or Hotmail) the content of the email is not encrypted.

Someone may be able to intercept that email and read what you wrote.

But if you use a VPN, the data is encrypted so the email is unreadable.

To be clear, it’s a bad idea to share sensitive information via email, even with a VPN. Instead, use a more secure service like WhatsApp, which is end-to-end encrypted.

With a VPN, the data is not encrypted throughout the entire journey. It is decrypted when it reaches the VPN server.

This isn’t the place to explain the technical details of how a VPN encrypts your connection, how a kill switch works, and other features. What we recommend is to read our VPN reviews to find out whether a specific VPN service is good or not.

Does a VPN make you anonymous?

Many VPN services also talk about how they make you anonymous online. That’s true, as long as you don’t log into a website where your account contains personal information, because obviously logging in with your username and password tells the website exactly who you are.

When VPN services talk about providing anonymity, what they really mean is preventing your ISP and other third parties (such as governments) from identifying and tracking you across the internet. Read about VPNs and anonymity.

Is a VPN worth it?

If you want extra privacy, security or watch videos that are blocked in your region, a VPN is definitely worth it.

However, not all VPNs are identical. Some will really slow down your internet connection. That’s why it’s important to read reviews before choosing one.

There are also free VPN services, meaning you don’t have to pay anything to use them. However, almost every free VPN has serious limitations compared to paid VPNs.

Typically, subscribing to a VPN will cost you less than the price of a pint of beer per month, so it’s not a major expense.

There are always big discounts on VPNs available as long as you subscribe for a year or more. Avoid rolling monthly contracts as they are expensive at over £10/$10 per month.

We’ve tested dozens of VPN services and our top picks are as well NordVPN And Surf sharkbut you can find alternatives in our overview of the best VPN services.

Using a VPN is very simple, but we’ve put together a step-by-step guide explaining how to use a VPN.

VPN vs proxy

If you’re wondering whether you need a VPN or a proxy, here’s the difference: A proxy doesn’t encrypt your Internet connection, at all, or only in specific circumstances, such as when using a web browser.

The main job of a proxy is to hide your real IP address (the unique string of numbers that identifies you on the Internet) and give you an IP address that cannot be traced back to you.

Most consumers use a proxy to bypass regional blocks and watch videos or visit websites that are otherwise inaccessible.

That’s because IP addresses relate to specific locations, so like VPN services, you can choose where in the world you want to be – virtually – when you use a proxy service.

To see how your IP address reveals your location, visit ipleak.net. It may only show the general area (such as your city or town), but it is usually quite close to your actual location.

For more information, read our separate guide to proxies.

Can’t I just use ‘private mode’ in my web browser instead of a VPN?

If you are concerned about your privacy, you may be tempted to use your web browser’s private or incognito mode. But these modes don’t really do what you think they do. When you use them, your ISP still knows and records all the websites you visit.

Private mode usually means that the sites you visit do not appear in your browsing history. But this is not a replacement for a VPN if you want to prevent your ISP, your government, or anyone else from monitoring your activities on the Internet.

If you don’t like that, you should use a VPN when using the internet.

In the US, ISPs can sell or share their users’ browsing data with advertisers or other third parties without asking them first.