How VPN Works?

The use of VPN (Virtual Private Network) has increased massively as more people are working remotely due to the global pandemic. As of reports, more than 100 million adults in the US use VPN while browsing the web. But have you ever wonder, How VPN Works? In this article, we will be discussing the functioning of a VPN and will also know whether using VPN is secure or not. But before that, have a look at what a VPN is and why is it required?

Table of Contents

What is a VPN?

As the name suggests, a VPN is a private virtual network to which a user can get connected. And after being connected to this network, you can securely browse the web. For instance, it can be stated as software that creates a secured tunnel between the user’s device and the internet. And no one, including your ISP (Internet Service Provider), is able to track your activities.

Why VPN is required?

There are a lot of reasons for which one should use a VPN. Some of these reasons are:

Security and Encryption: The main and foremost reason for using a VPN is security. The use of the internet has increased and many sensitive data like banking details and OTPs are now shared over the internet. A VPN like Surfshark secures all of these data by encrypting them while being shared through the internet so that no one can access them.
Access country specific Content: There are many websites or streaming apps like Netflix, which are banned in a particular country. But with the help of a VPN, you can access all of these sites. And for this, you have to just switch your IP to the server of other regions.
Secured Wi-Fi: A VPN hides your IP while being connected to the public Wi-Fi. By doing this, hackers are not able to track your activities as your IP is not visible to them.
Work Remotely: There are a lot of files that you can only access if you are connected to the intranet of your office. These files require a private connection if you want to access them from outside the office. So if you are working from home or from a remote location, you can use VPN for accessing these files.
Free VPN availability and Low Prices availability: You will get lot of free VPN available in the market. Which are very useful, But they will give you limited time access, So you will can choose low prices VPN normally there are lot of VPN under $1 available in the market, which are very low in price.

These are the major reason for which a person might need a VPN.

How does a VPN work?

The functioning of a VPN is a very complex process and includes several steps. We have broken down the functioning of a VPN in some simple steps for easily understanding it and these are:

Whenever a user searches any query while being connected to a VPN, the VPN will encrypt this data. This means that data is converted into Gibberish so that nobody including hackers, ISP, or the Government understands it. After encryption, this data will be securely sent to the VPN Server.
Then VPN server will decrypt that data with the help of a decryption key for making it understandable. After that VPN server will search it on the internet for getting answers to that query.
After receiving the answers, the VPN server will encrypt these answers. Then these answers will be sent to the user.
Now, the VPN software present in the user’s device will decrypt these answers and will present them in an understandable form.

So, this is how a VPN works and provides anonymity to a user.

Also Read: What Is a VPN, and Why Would I Need One?

VPN Protocols used for encryption

There are a lot of protocols that are used by a VPN for providing encryption. Some of these protocols are OpenVPN, PPTP (Point to Point Tunneling Protocol), IKEv2/IPsec, IPsec/L2TP, etc. All of these protocols are very advanced and are used by many trustworthy VPNs.

Is using a VPN safe?

While using a VPN, all your data is routed through the VPN Server. This means that your VPN service provider can keep track of your activities. In many cases, it is also found that many free VPN providers sell the data of users for making money. So, it is recommended to use a trustworthy VPN platform like debestevpn , diadiktiokaiasfalia, etc ..,. that works with a No-Log policy.