A Virtual Private Network, or VPN in short, is an online service that creates a secure connection to another network over the internet. It hides your IP address and encrypts your traffic, effectively shielding you from your Internet Service ...
VPN Basics
Virtual Private Networks can be just as useful as they are harmful. It’s not easy to know the good from the bad because complex topics like cryptography, Information Technology, and data privacy can seem like a dark forest for novices. A strong VPN guide can help find the way!
What is a VPN port?
A VPN port is a networking port that is commonly used in the VPN infrastructure. They are logical ports named using sequenced numbers and making it possible for VPN traffic to pass inside and outside of the server device or VPN client. The type ...
What is a phishing email?
Phishing is one of the curses of the internet age. If you’ve ever received an email which outwardly seems legitimate, only to find that it seeks to take you to a completely irrelevant web page, you’ve been phished. These days, if you ...
What is the WPA2 protocol?
Wireless internet is a crucial part of our everyday lives. In the past 15 years, wifi has spread everywhere, from company offices to homes, cafes, museums, and airport lounges. As we’ll see, the WPA2 protocol has played a key role in this ...
What is NAT and how does it work?
With more than 350 million internet users and in excess of 100 million hosts, it’s safe to say that the internet has grown exponentially ever since its inception. This certainly doesn’t show any signs of changing any time soon with these figures ...
What is bandwidth and how to control it?
A bandwidth definition can change depending on the industry it is being used in. However, you are most likely to hear it talking about the internet connection. Here, bandwidth refers to the volume of information per unit of time that an internet ...
What is a VPN gateway and why should I have one?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) gateway is a device that securely connects two or more computers, computer systems, or other VPNs together over long distances. This allows a private connection to be secured and encrypted against hackers. The ...
Do VPNs infringe copyright?
Many online users protect their identity and privacy on the internet by using a Virtual Private Network. The VPN provides anonymity by cloaking the user’s IP address and re-routing their data through one of the thousands of servers located ...
The most secure VPN protocols
One of the most important parts of any VPN service is the VPN protocol. That, however, is a misnomer – there are lots of protocols, with completely different applications, which make the workings of VPNs possible. When we say “VPN protocol,” ...
What is a proxy
If you aren’t new to the online security business, you’ve likely heard about proxies. What is a proxy, exactly? Well, put simply, a proxy is a web filter tool that makes your connection appear to be coming from a different location. This is ...
What is malware and how to protect against it?
At first, we called all malware “computer viruses.” Yet just as it is in the real world, not all ailments are viruses. People suffer from bacterial infections and chemical imbalances, autoimmune diseases, trauma, and genetic disorders, whereas ...
What is an ISP?
ISP, short for Internet Service Provider, refers to a company that provides households and organizations with internet access through copper, fiber, or satellite communications. Put simply, your ISP is the company you pay a subscription fee to ...
What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?
IPv4 and IPv6 are two commonly used terms when it comes to working with VPNs. But, this then might leave you wondering just what exactly are these rather technical sounding terms and what do they mean? Well, it just so happens that the following ...
Are VPNs legal in my country? 197 countries checked
Hundreds of millions of people use Virtual Private Networks in every country on earth. But if you chat to people about VPNs on or off-line, the question of legality still comes up. People have the idea that using VPNs to hide your identity and ...
What is AES encryption?
When it comes to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), there are so many technical terms regular users may not know. AES encryption, otherwise known as Advanced Encryption Standard, is probably one of them. Used by a whole host of VPNs out there on ...
Most common VPN errors
VPNs are a great way to stay anonymous and protected when surfing the web. To do this, a VPN creates secure tunnels from the client through to the server, all via the Internet. There are many different VPN providers that you can use that offer ...
An overview of the L2F protocol
L2F is a Cisco channeling protocol that uses features such as virtual dial-up networks for well-secured data packet transport. L2F is similar in its functionality to the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) that was designed by Microsoft. ...
An overview of VPN passthrough
There is an increasing need to protect internet-enabled devices due to the rising demand in telecommunication. Individuals and companies are turning to VPNs for online safety. Luckily, the majority of employees in tech-savvy businesses have ...
VPN vs SSH tunnel
Internet security has become crucial for both businesses and people who care about who might intercept their web traffic data. Hence, the discussion: “VPN vs SSH tunnel – which one is better?” is bound to grow as people seek to establish secure ...
Does a VPN use data?
If four letters could sum up the modern world, “data” would be pretty close to the mark. We’re constantly told that this is the age of Big Data and that our “data selves” are as important as our bodies and minds. ...
Having heard about Virtual Private Networks (VPN) you might feel inclined to try one of them. You are on the right path, but don’t assume all VPNs are the same – if you’re not careful, they’ll rob you blind! The main problem new VPN users deal with is navigating the marketing efforts of VPN service providers. Companies love nothing more than to throw some huge number-laden phrase on their homepage. We can’t blame them, but we can teach people about VPN, so they can get at the truth!
The first objective of this page is to have VPN explained to the regular user. In doing so we will answer questions ranging from what the title means to how VPNs work on a really basic level. This is where you can learn about some of the things that have been bothering you – what is the difference between a VPN and a proxy; how does a VPN work; what are the differences between various security protocols; etc. The section will not tell you which VPN provider does a better job, but hopefully, it will give you a more holistic understanding of what VPN is.
Our second mission with this page is to look at the features offered by VPN services. Most of the better providers have created software suites with many different gadgets. Understanding them is crucial both to help you decide which VPN service is right for you and in order to make the best of what you’ve bought. This is where we will discuss cryptographic ciphers, kill switches, attributes of a secure VPN, various VPN-related devices, benefits, and blind spots.
The road that leads to a secure VPN service is full of perils. This is a good place to begin researching if you’re someone who wants to make up your own mind, or if you’re interested in the technical side of the story!
