How a VPN Works

I'm Jake O'Neal, creator of Animagraffs. And this is how a VPN or virtual private network

works

. This video was made possible by NordVPN, who kindly accepted my request for full control over the research and visuals, and I stand by my work. To start, let's look at what typically happens when you request content from your device. Your device and all connected devices in your home have their own unique address on your local network. It is a special number called the IP (Internet Protocol) address. When you request content on your device, that request is sent to your Wi-Fi router as a small data packet with identifying information about which device made the request, what content they are requesting, and more.

Your WiFi router hides local device IPs under its own address, but remembers which device sent the request. It sends this newly wrapped packet to your modem, which is your connection to the outside world. The packet goes from the modem to the nearest connection point of your ISP or Internet service provider. Your ISP updates the packet again and assigns it an IP address on their network. This address is visible to the entire Internet and places you in a general Internet service area where you live. Sometimes within a block or two. The content you are looking for is a file or files on a specific server somewhere in the world.

This server also has an IP address and it is your ISP's job to find it, connect to it, and route the requested content to it. But companies don't have just one server. They can have thousands of servers around the world, mirroring and balancing content for all of them at once. Dynamic name servers take the simple website or app names we use and match them to tons of potential server IP addresses to find the one closest to you. This is called DNS lookup. Your ISP sees and records this entire process, keeping detailed records of the requests you make, the IPs you were assigned, and the sites you connected to.

So what can't your ISP typically see? Once your request reaches the correct server,   and if that server uses https (as indicated by the little padlock in your address bar),   the packets exchanged between you and that server are encrypted. Encrypted, that is, encoded so that no one can read it. You and the site have exchanged secret keys and can decrypt or decrypt this data as you send packets back and forth. Enter the VPN or virtual private network. You signed up for a VPN and set up its software on your device. Let's see how that changes things for you.

There are endless ways to set up and use a VPN, but let's go with a setup where you've asked your VPN to handle all your data. VPN software encrypts your data before it leaves your device. It is already encrypted when it reaches your Wifi router. Your ISP still transports this encrypted data from your home to its servers, but the next connection point is your VPN's server network. From here on, the VPN takes care of the rest of the DNS lookup process, as before. But with some crucial differences. Your VPN does not keep logs about the local IP address assigned to you.

It is hidden from the server you eventually connect to. Instead, that website or app simply sees a random IP address from one of your VPN's servers. Your VPN doesn't keep logs of what sites you connect to or what you do there. The entire route from your device to your destination is encrypted and your activity is not recorded. Useful Scenarios Let's see how using a VPN can be really useful for you. Secure connection. All your data is encrypted before leaving your device. Wi-Fi hotspots can be insecure, for example when traveling or in a cafe. A Honey Pot attack occurs when someone sets up a convenient Wi-Fi connection with the intention of secretly intercepting all data passing through it.

Sure, https encryption on specific sites can still keep some of your data safe, but there's no way to know for sure how much information someone could get about you this way. Privacy Your ISP can see encrypted data going to some IP address and may know that it is a VPN server. Your ISP can see how many times you connect to your VPN and how much total data flows through that connection. They don't know anything else about your activity. ISPs have a terrible record on privacy. Even with https connections, general routing information from packets, called metadata, can be collected and used against you.

For example,   to send DMCA notices about the transfer of data from servers with content suspected of being copyrighted. ISPs are known to limit connection speeds based on your activity. Or they may sell your metadata and any other data they can collect about you to marketers. A VPN can help prevent these unwanted intrusions. Bypass Blocks Some countries have aggressive firewalls to block or censor content, not only for accessing websites, but also for sending sensitive files from your device to another location. VPN encrypted data can help bypass these blocks. Some content is location-restricted, meaning the server does not allow connections outside of a specific geographic location.

The big VPN providers have servers all over the world and let you choose where you want to appear from to avoid these location restrictions. Limitations Now let's look at what a VPN  may not be able to do for you. Logs First, if a VPN keeps logs of your data and activity, that information can be obtained by force. A poor quality VPN service is not much better than your ISP. It's a question of who you trust most to handle your information. VPN Legality and Blocking In some countries, even using a VPN is illegal and they may go to great lengths to block entire ranges of VPN IP addresses.

Opting for a VPN that has many servers available that are updated regularly can help you stay ahead. Some VPNs offer obfuscated servers that further strip identifying information from packets, making data less likely to be identified as VPN traffic, but at a potential performance cost. Privacy vs. Anonymity A useful generalization is that VPNs are good for privacy, but they may not give you anonymity. If you log into your accounts while using a VPN, they may not know where you are, but they do know who you are. Even if you're not logged in, a site can perform what's called browser fingerprinting, which involves accessing unique details about your device, such as installed fonts, browser or operating system version, device type, etc., and use those unique features to pair a device. to your identity.

Deep Packet Inspection Some net

works

may be subject to deep packet inspection, where automated software looks for specific information in packets. Even with encryption, it is speculated that deep packet inspection can still see what the data looks like; This is comparable to a gift wrapped in a revealing way. OpSec To combat these limitations, you can adopt new behaviors to keep public and private activity separate. Some VPNs allow "split tunneling," meaning you can choose which traffic goes through the VPN and which doesn't. Conclusion  Overall, if a few dollars a month can get you access to your favorite British TV shows, be more confident in using the free wifi in that seedy hostel, downloading The Office, or stop giving away your valuable data to unscrupulous ISPs and marketers. a VPN is a great option.

On the other hand, if you're going down the international espionage route and need extreme identity sterilization to combat a hostile nation-state, a VPN probably isn't your only solution.