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Private Internet Access: What is a VPN?

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network – or VPN – allows you to send and receive data via the internet using a public network as if you were connected to a private network. In other words, it is a system that allow you to connect to a public network (a hotspot, for example) but acts as if you were connected to your company’s host computer. This makes it difficult to be located and greatly improves the security of your connection. But let’s not get too technical. Below you’ll find the principal uses of a VPN:

  • Access to services that are only available in some countries, principally audiovisual content (such as television shows, series or podcasts). For example, if you want to watch your favorite programs on Netflix or Hulu, but you are not in the United States, you can’t. Unless you use a VPN to access those website from a US server!
  • To send sensitive data (such as banking information) via an encrypted connection. Many people use these systems to protect their banking and personal information from being robbed by third parties when connected to public networks, and/or to maintain anonymity.
  • To create your own VPN and allow your employees to access your company’s private network, including if they are not physically connected to it.

To achieve the aforementioned, a VPN does primarily two things:

  • Hides your actual IP address: The webpages you visit (or those who intercept your connection) are not going to know where you are actually connecting from (IP address) but will think that you are connecting from the location of the server of your VPN provider.
  • Encryption of your connection: If someone intercepts your connection they won’t know which pages you are visiting, and more importantly which data you’re providing on the web during those visits. This is due to the fact that your connection up to the VPN server will be encrypted and therefore the only thing that whoever is spying on your connection will see is coded information, which is to say unintelligible.

Private internet access: the difference between security and anonymity

This is the point that generally causes the most confusion, it’s one thing to navigate anonymously and another to do it safely. In other words, it’s one thing to make it difficult to identify you while you navigate (anonymity) and another to make your internet use inaccessible to third or unauthorized parties.

  • Anonymity: Total anonymity on the internet does not exist. While there are systems to improve internet anonymity, such as VPNs, there are always ways to detect the origin of the connection. VPN providers, while normally lawful businesses, are required to have a certain basic registry of users and therefore the potential for those users to be identified.
  • Security: There are many people that think that other systems like proxy servers or Tor improve navigation security. Nevertheless, only VPNs with profoundly encrypted protocols are capable of improving your internet security.

Risk of using a VPN

Not all companies offer the same guarantees, so be very careful when you choose a VPN. My recommendation is to avoid free VPNs or those that offer really low prices.

Finally, take into account that VPNs are created to improve your security on the internet but not to help you commit crimes or participate in illegal activity. At the end of the day, these businesses are subject to the laws where the servers are located and the government in question can solicit them to share their data.

In choosing a VPN you should consider the following:

  • Offering a VPN service is not free: To offer a VPN service it is necessary to have servers working in various countries. The elevated costs being maintenance or rent, which can be thousands of dollars per server depending on the volume of traffic they are capable of supporting.
  • Some businesses sell bandwidth to their users: some businesses have found a way to lower the costs, using their users as servers (converting them into a botnet) something similar to what Tor does, it has even been reported that there are VPN providers that sell your bandwidth to other companies. With that, your host computer and internet connection will work much slower and it’s possible that they will hold you responsible for what users do while connected to the host, which is to say that if the users connected to the host are using your IP address and commit a crime, the government in questions may think that you are the one responsible.
  • Some businesses collect and sell your internet use: What you do on the internet is valuable information that can be used, sold to other companies or simply used for personal gain.
  • Some providers modify web code to show ads: this is another one of the ways to take advantage of VPNs. It’s similar to what happens when you download free software that fills the navigator with advertisements, and the only way to get rid of them is a complete system cleaning. While VPNs are a little more sophisticated, there are companies that use similar tactics.
  • Many VPNs don’t truly offer secure connections: a good VPN is going to have their own servers encryption protocols designed by them, in such a way that the information crosses paths with the least amount of people possible, minimizing the possibility of security breaches. Free or low-cost VPNs don’t own their servers and their encryption protocols have been developed by others making for a combination of the previous points which do not ensure a secure connection.

    Furthermore, think about using a VPN as meaning redirecting all of your internet traffic through a server controlled by the service provider, consequently that provider has access to everything you do. Basically a paradise for a swindler who is able to copy your bank information, access your user accounts, etc. Even though up to now I haven’t heard of large scale scams via a VPN, one should still be cautious with pages of doubtful legality.

Is it illegal to use a VPN?

Using a VPN is not illegal, what you do with it may be, for example sharing archives which amount to intellectual property. Regarding the use to avoid geographic restrictions, there is some controversy and it is a heavily discussed topic online now that it is practically a habit in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to use a VPN to access Netflix and Hulu. However, the general idea is that it is – more than illegality – an infringement of the provider contract, whether it be Netflix, Hulu or something else, for which the company has the right to close your account.

Conclusion

My recommendation is that before installing a VPN, always take a look at the privacy policy, to see if it is a serious company and to know that you comply should you use their services. If they do not have a privacy policy or something similar, simply close the page because they are probably scammers.

2 comments

  1. Liam C. says:

    Will using a vpn from a provider like arcvpn keep me safe on hotspots? I’m worried that I will get hacked when traveling.

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