What is a VPN connection, what is it for and what advantages does it have?
VPN connections are by no means a new invention, but it is now that they are beginning to gain traction among the general public. While its use was traditionally more common in the business environment, the great versatility of this type of connections and its multiple uses make them increasingly popular .
But what is a VPN and what advantages does it give you ? Precisely that versatility we were talking about is the same that creates some other confusion about it, because it is increasingly related to VPN connections with " evil " (with large quotes), as some of its applications include the jump of the geographical blockages , greater anonymity on the Internet or even blocking advertising .
What is a VPN?
Let's start with the basics. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network , or virtual private network that, unlike other more cryptic computer words such as DNS or HTTP , does give us fairly precise clues as to what they consist of.
The keyword here is virtual , because it is this property that generates the need for the VPN itself, as well as the one that allows VPN connections to offer you the multiple uses that we will see later.
To connect to the Internet, your mobile, PC, television and other devices generally communicate with the router or modem that connects your home with your Internet provider, either by cable or wirelessly. The components are different if you are using the data connection of your mobile (which includes its own modem and speaks with the telephone antenna) but the essence is the same: your device connects to another, which connects to the Internet.
The most normal thing is that you do not have one, but several devices connected to the same router: mobiles, computers, consoles ... In this case, each one will be assigned a local IP address, which is not visible from the Internet. This is a local network , a set of devices connected in such a way that they can share files and printers without going through the Internet.
A VPN connection allows you to create a local network without the need for its members to be physically connected to each other , but through the Internet. It is the "virtual" component that we talked about before. You get the advantages of the local network (and some extra), with greater flexibility, because the connection is through the Internet and can for example be from one end of the world to the other.
However, it is another peculiarity of VPN connections that is making them so fashionable today: data tunnels . Normally, while using the Internet your device contacts your Internet provider, which is the one that connects to the different web services to offer you, for example, YouTube videos.
When you connect to a VPN connection, this changes. All your network traffic continues to go from your device to your Internet provider, but from there it goes directly to the VPN server , from where it will depart to the destination. Ideally, the connection is encrypted, so your Internet provider doesn't really know what you're accessing. For practical purposes, your IP address is that of the VPN server: in many ways it is as if you were physically there, connecting to the Internet.
What are VPN connections for?
Surely with the previous explanations you have already imagined a few situations in which VPN connections could be useful. It is an open secret that is especially important in the corporate environment, but its uses do not end there much less. These are the main uses of VPN connections.
1. Teleworking
The most obvious use of a VPN connection is interconnectivity in networks that are not physically connected, as is the case of workers who are currently out of the office or companies with branches in several cities that need access to a single private network.
From the point of view of security , allowing indiscriminate access to a company's own network from the Internet is little less than madness. Even if the access is protected with a password, it could be captured at a public WiFi hotspot or spotted by a malicious observer.
On the contrary, the risk decreases if the worker and the company connect through a VPN connection. The access is protected, the connection is predictably encrypted and the worker has the same access as if he were in person there .
2. Avoid censorship and geographical blocking of content
With the heyday of the Internet and the picaresque of both content providers and users, other more playful uses of VPN connections have become popular, many of them related to a very simple concept: falsify where you are .
When connecting to VPN, your device communicates with the VPN server, and this is the one that talks to the Internet . If you are in China and the VPN server is in the United States, web servers will generally believe that you are browsing from this country, allowing you to access the content available only there, such as Netflix.
Similarly, this same logic can be used to access content that was censored or blocked in your country , but not where the VPN server is located. This is how millions of Chinese citizens connect to Facebook and 3,000 other websites blocked in the country.
3. Extra layer of security
Although it is not strictly necessary, it is common for VPN connections to be accompanied by encryption of the packets that are transmitted with them, so it is normal to hear the recommendation that, if you need to connect to a public Wi-Fi access point , at least use you connect with a VPN.
Logging into your bank accounts while connected to a public WiFi network that you don't trust is probably not the best idea in the world, as it is relatively easy for a thief to capture unencrypted packets and get your user accounts. This is where the extra layer of security that you can get through a VPN connection comes in, as the packets would be sent encrypted, so that the one who is listening probably could not do anything with them.
However, there is a fine print on this, because while you are distrusting the public Wi-Fi network, you are putting all your faith in the VPN server, which can also capture all your traffic, keep records of what you do or even Sell your bandwidth to the highest bidder. A VPN is as safe and useful as your provider. If you do not trust your VPN, do not use it , because instead of having an additional layer of security, you will have the enemy at home and watching absolutely everything you do on the Internet.
4. P2P Downloads
Another common use of VPN connections is in P2P downloads, which in these times is generally synonymous with downloading from BitTorrent. Before you put an eye patch on me, a wooden leg and force me to go through the keel, VPN connections also have uses in the P2P download even if you download completely legal torrents .
Unfortunately it is increasingly common for Internet providers to decide to put their noses in how we send and receive zeroes and some on the Web, and although they love that we visit normal websites, that we download does not make them so funny: too much traffic , and also You are probably downloading something illegal.
Some providers completely block P2P downloads , while others simply boycott it to make it malfunction and give up on your own. Just as you can use a VPN connection to prevent censorship of your country, you can also sometimes prevent your Internet provider from boycotting your P2P downloads.
Advantages of VPN connections
Now that we know what a VPN connection is and what it is for, it is time to summarize a list of the advantages and disadvantages of using this technology. First, the positive part:
- It works in all applications , because it routes all Internet traffic, unlike proxy servers, which you can only use in the web browser and a handful of applications that let you configure advanced connection options.
- It connects and disconnects easily . Once configured, you can enable and disable the connection at your leisure.
- Additional security in WiFi access points, as long as the connection is encrypted, of course
- False your location , as we have seen in the previous section, a VPN connection is an effective way to avoid censorship or access content limited to a certain region.
- Your Internet provider cannot know what you do on the Internet. Don't you fancy letting your Internet provider know that you spend hours watching kitty videos on YouTube? With a VPN they won't know what you do for a living, but be careful, the company that manages the VPN will know.
Things you should keep in mind
So far, everything is very nice, using VPN connections seems to be full of advantages: more security, improved privacy, skipping geographical blocks ... Before you start buying a VPN service or registering for a free one, there are a few sections What you should keep in mind:
- The price . Although there are free VPN services, you obviously cannot expect much from them, as they will often be very limited, will be very slow or not very reliable. There are some exceptions, however.
- The speed suffers . The difference between connecting to the Internet directly or having your data trace a route that crosses half the world can be overwhelming. If your VPN server is too far away, you will experience a lot of latency when surfing the web. In addition to latency, it is normal for maximum download and upload speed to be limited.
- Your safety is not infallible . We have already said this several times , but it never hurts to repeat it. Just because the connection icon has a lock does not mean that the connection is secure, especially if we are talking about VPN connections based on the PPTP protocol .
- They can't always fake your location . Especially in the mobile, there are more and more technologies by which you can triangulate and approximate your location beyond your IP address.
- They do not provide you anonymity . Using a VPN does not mean that browsing is anonymous. The winning combination for greater anonymity, if we pay attention to Edward Snowden , is to use both a VPN and Tor connection.
Use third-party VPN ... or create your own server
The most normal and quick way to start savoring the advantages of VPN connections is to register with one of the many companies that offer VPN services. You pay a monthly fee that can range from a couple of euros to more than 10 euros and you get the credentials to log in to your service and often an own official VPN client that makes things much easier for you.
However, if you want total and absolute control of your connection or do not trust anyone, you can follow the philosophy of "if you want something well done, you must do it yourself." The problem with this is that it is rare that you have access to a PC in another country with which you can enjoy some of the advantages that we mentioned before (avoid censorship, geographical blockages).
There are some exceptions, such as the trotting worlds that travel frequently and installing a VPN on their PC at home they can continue to access their files wherever they are, also enjoying the services that were only available in their country, such as Netflix or Spotify.
If you want to create your own VPN server, whether it is on a PC of yours with Windows or on a remote server under your control, OpenVPN is probably your best option. You can download it from here , although you are advised in advance that installing a VPN server is not as simple as clicking Next - Next - Next.
How to connect to a VPN server and where it is configured
Nowadays every operating system in its more or less current version allows you to connect to a VPN connection without installing anything additional. All you need is the access data of the VPN provider (or your company, if applicable), such as the server address, the type of VPN and your user credentials.
On windows
In Windows it is possible to connect to a VPN network without installing anything additional from there by Windows XP, but support for different types of encryption is more basic the older your version of Windows.
To connect to a VPN network in Windows 7, follow these steps:
- Open the Network and Sharing Center
- Press Create a new connection .
- Choose Connect to a work network
- Fill in the server information, type of VPN and your user credentials
In Windows 10 you can also use the following mode with the Modern Interface:
- Open the PC options
- Go to Network and Internet
- Open the VPN section
- Press Add a VPN connection
- Fill in the server information, VPN type and user credentials
On Mac
Support for VPN connections could not be missing on Mac OSX. To connect to a VPN connection on your Mac, follow these steps:
- Open System Preferences and click Network
- Press Add (+) at the bottom of the list of network services
- Select VPN from the Interface drop-down menu
- Fill in all other settings such as connection type and authentication settings
On Linux
To connect to a VPN server from Linux you will need to have the network-manager-vpnc package installed , which does not come for example installed by default in Ubuntu. To install it you can use the software manager specific to your distribution or the command line:
$ sudo apt-get install network-manager-vpnc
Then, follow these steps:
- In Ubuntu, click on the network icon (the two arrows) in the top bar
- Choose VPN Connections - Configure VPN from the drop-down menu
- Press add (or import, if you have a configuration file)
- Follow the on-screen instructions to fill in the rest of the information such as the type of encryption and your user credentials.
On Android
Android also has its own VPN client, although the way to access it may vary slightly depending on the version of Android you have installed and the changes in the menus made by your manufacturer. You will usually find it here:
- Go to Settings
- Open the Wireless networks, Network connections or similar section
- Generally, VPN connections are found in the Other or More Networks section.
- Tap the VPN section and press the Plus (+) button to create the connection
- Fill in the name, VPN type, server address and encryption
On iOS
On iOS, the process is somewhat simpler. To connect to a VPN server from your iPhone or iPad, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings
- Go to the General section
- Scroll until you reach the VPN section
- Touch Add VPN settings
- Choose the tab of the type of VPN of your server, and fill in the data of the server and username.