Introduction to Virtual Private Network (VPN) - GeeksforGeeks (2024)

In today’s digital era, communication has become one of the most important aspects of every individual’s life. So the threats and cyber attacks have become more aggressive than ever before. The threat ratio has increased by 45% in the past 7 years & global cybercrime is estimated to be around USD 6 Trillion (by 2025).

That’s why it becomes important to protect data and its privacy for which a Virtual Private Network (full form of VPN) is used.

What is a VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It provides inline privacy and anonymity by building a private network from a public internet connection. VPN masks your internet protocol address so your online actions are virtually untraceable. VPN creates a virtual tunnel to transfer data. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel to protect your personal data and communications, hide your IP address, and let you safely use public Wi-Fi networks. Moreover, the privacy and security provided by VPNs are far better than Wi-Fi hotspots.

Types of Virtual Private Network: Generally, we can classify VPNs into the following types,

Features of VPN

• VPN provides a plentiful Server location.
• It also provides anonymous DNS servers.
• VPNs are generally cost-effective.
• VPN supports routers.
• The VPN is highly encrypted and secure.
• Along with VPN, we get secure VPN protocols.
• It provides safety against DNS leaks.
• The VPN providers also offer Cross-Platform Compatible Apps.

Applications of VPN

• VPN can easily bypass geographic restrictions on websites or streaming audio and video.
• We can protect ourselves from snooping from untrustworthy Wi-Fi hotspots.
• One can gain privacy online by hiding one’s true location.
• One can protect themselves from being logged while torrenting.

How Does a VPN Work?

Every device that has internet connectivity has its own IP address which can be tracked back to the dedicated device. Now, with the help of VPN, ot becomes easy to bypass without leaving any traces behind.

VPN offers users to create an effective pathway by which the user can hide their personal and sensitive information. To prevent from such incidents, you can easily use a VPN in no time.

What does a VPN hide?

A VPN can hide a lot of information:

• User’s Browsing History
• User’s IP address and location
• User’s location for streaming
• User’s device
• User’s web activity — to preserve internet freedom

How to Choose a VPN?

In order to choose the perfect VPN, one must ask the given questions from their VPN providers as follows.

• How much privacy the VPN is providing to you?
• Are you able to run all security protocols?
• Do they set any limits on your data?
• Where is the server of your VPN located?
• Are all your devices able to access VPN?
• What is the cost of a VPN?

Types of VPN

There are majorly 4 types of VPNs:

• Remote Access VPN
• Site-to-site VPN
• Mobile VPN
• OpenVPN

If you wish to learn more about the types of VPN, then you must refer to this article: Types of Virtual Private Network (VPN) and its Protocols

Best VPN Services

Below is the tabular format of all the best VPN services that are highly being used across devices:

Advantages of VPN

• It Provides you with Anonymity.
• It Avoid the Geo-Restrictions.
• It has security Protection from Cyberattacks.
• It will Prevent Bandwidth Throttling.
• It will help you to Improve your Gaming Experience.
• It has the capability to Bypass Firewalls.

Disadvantages of VPN

• It can Slow down the Internet Speed.
• It has Privacy Issues.
• It might be Connection droppings while you are connected over VPN.
• It might have Configuration difficulties.
• It has Legality Issues.