When using a VPN or a VPN service, you might encounter some technical terms and wonder how they are related to your privacy and security. Well, in this article, we are going to explain some few very basic technical terms that encompass a VPN and its services.
VPN
A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and passes it through a secure tunnel to the VPN servers. This is how a VPN achieves security. With the encryptions, you keep prying eyes (ISP, government, cybercriminals, etc.,) at bay since they won’t be able to see your internet traffic.
Also, a VPN provides you with privacy. When connecting to the VPN service, you must first select a server. This is the server where your internet traffic will be tunneled through. This server assigns you a virtual IP address that replaces your actual IP address on the internet. This means your actual IP address won’t be visible to prying eyes. Also, your geolocation will be hidden too.
Encryption
Using various encryption standards such as the AES 256 bit, a VPN distorts and scrambles your data in a gibberish form that can’t be understood by prying eyes. Encryption uses keys and a cipher to turn your data into the unreadable chunk. Decryption is turning the data back into a readable form using a decryption key. VPNs usually implement end-to-end encryptions, that’s, a VPN service encrypts your entire communication to and fro.
AES
AES or Advanced Encryption Standard is one of the best specifications that VPNs use to encrypt your internet traffic. The most preferred one is the AES 256 bit. This specification has a longer key length that even supercomputers might take years to crack it. The longer the key, the stronger the encryption.
Cipher
A cipher is an algorithm that facilitates the encryption and decryption of VPN data. A cipher can be likened to a set of keys used to lock and unlock the secure VPN tunnel. There are various ciphers, but most secure VPNs use the AES 256-bit cipher. This cipher is found in the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) which is regarded as one of the strongest encryption techniques.
Tunneling
Tunneling involves establishing a secure encrypted channel between your device (VPN client) and the VPN server. Several VPN protocols govern tunneling. The most common ones include; OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and IKEv2.
VPN protocols
Protocols are standards that govern and tell a VPN how to perform encryptions and communications over the network. Additionally, they are also responsible for how fast a VPN can be.
Kill Switch
This is a security feature that’s is essential when the VPN connection drops. When enabled, the kill switch will stop your device from sending or receiving data from the internet. This ensures that your internet traffic doesn’t get to the internet via your ISP and hence cause an IP leak which will sabotage your privacy and security.
IP leak/DNS leak
This is when your IP address is still visible to the open internet after connecting your VPN. Mostly it can occur when your VPN connection drops and the kill switch is disabled or due to WebRTC leaks.
Dedicated IP vs. Shared IP
Most VPNs offer this type of IP addresses to their customers. Dedicate IP is only assigned to one person while shared IP addresses contain a pool of IP addresses which are shared among the users. Shared IP addresses are privacy-focused while dedicated one is task oriented.
VPN log
This is a collection of any activity that you do on the internet once you are connected to a VPN service. Best VPN services don’t keep nor collect these logs. They can be used to sabotage an individual’s privacy and anonymity. The government also uses these logs to know what a certain individual was doing with the VPN.
Privacy Policy
This is an essential policy you should look at when signing up for any VPN service. This policy dictates on what kind of logs they collect or do not collect, and how they hand various data regarding your privacy and security. Some also state how the location they are situated affects them and lots of privacy stuff.
IPBurger VPN
Our VPN service provides an excellent service of keeping you secure and private while surfing the internet. IPBurger VPN uses strong encryption standards, AES 256-bit, has various protocols to choose from and there’s also a kill switch. Additionally, IPBurger VPN protects you against DNS leaks, doesn’t log your connections and has various subscriptions for dedicated and shared IP addresses. You also get access to unlimited bandwidth, lightning speeds, and worldwide servers.
