What is a VPN network. Why do you need a VPN? Description of connection and correct configuration

Previously, the state had a rather mediocre understanding of the Internet, so it did not legally interfere with users. Today, while walking on the World Wide Web, you can increasingly come across the phrase: “This site is included in the register of prohibited sites” or “Your ISP has blocked access.”

So, if you want to regain complete freedom of action on the Internet and acquire another level of protection, then you definitely need to familiarize yourself with the technology of virtual private networks - VPN.

VPN: term and principle of operation

Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the name of a technology that allows the creation and overlay of one or more networks on top of any other user network.

Now, how exactly does a VPN work? Your computer has a specific IP address that blocks access to certain sites. You enable VPN technology through some program or extension. VPN changes your address to an address from a server in another country (for example, Holland or Germany).

Next, a security connection is created, which cannot be blocked by the provider. As a result, you get a secure protocol through which you can freely visit any Internet site, and completely anonymously.

Structure and types of technology

The whole technology works in two layers. The first is an internal network, the second is an external one. When you connect to the technology, the system identifies your network and then sends an authentication request. This technology is very similar to authorization in some social network, only here everything is carried out through secure protocols and without the participation of the provider.

Virtual networks themselves are also divided into several categories. The main classification is based on the degree of protection, that is, the user can use both paid and free VPNs.

The difference between them is the secure connection. For example, subscription systems will give you secure protocols such as PPTP, IPSec and others. While free VPNs often provide only “trusted” channels. That is, your network itself must be highly protected, and a VPN will only enhance the level of protection.

To be honest, the biggest disadvantage of free VPN services is not even security, but stability and connection speed. Through a free VPN, the Internet will most likely work very slowly, and not always stable.

A subscription to paid VPNs does not exceed $10 per month, but not every user needs it. For ordinary tasks, there is no point in purchasing Premium accounts; standard capabilities are sufficient.

Reasons to use a VPN

Every user needs to use VPN technology, and here's why:

• Data protection. Especially suitable for those users who like to connect to a neighbor’s “free” Wi-Fi connection, and then discover that their card data has been stolen. Such situations include gatherings in cafes and generally in any places with free Wi-Fi.
• Complete anonymity. When you open a new tab with a website, this action will be displayed on the provider’s server, so your journey on the Internet can be tracked by any employee of the company. By turning on a VPN, you will hide your browsing history because you are using a different IP address.
• The ability to surf the Internet without obstacles. Bookmakers, online casinos, torrents, forums, sites for adults - all the “underground” of the Internet is again available to you, everything is like in the old days.
• Use of foreign resources. It is, of course, unlikely that you will use English-language services such as hulu.com, but still, you are provided with full access to all popular sites around the world.

How to use a VPN on a computer?

Let's consider a situation where we use a regular browser and want to visit blocked sites. In this situation, you can go two ways:

1. install the VPN client (program) on your PC;
2. add a browser extension via Webstore.

Either the first or the second option - they are easily implemented, but for the full picture, let’s consider both.

You can also use the free one.

To install a VPN client, you need to download a program on the Internet, for example, “Betternet”. Run the installation file and install the client. We launch it, click: “Connect” and that’s it. The problem is that the program automatically gives us a random IP address, and we cannot select a country, but by pressing just one button we are already using a VPN. And one more disadvantage is the need to constantly launch the program, however, some clients have the ability to launch it simultaneously with the OS.

The second way is to add an extension. The downside here is that, most often, registration is required to use it, plus the extensions have the ability to crash. But the extension is much easier to use - click on the icon in the browser, select the country and profit. At the moment, there are thousands of similar programs, you can choose any of them, for example, “Hotspot Shield”. Add the extension to your browser, register and there will be no more technical issues.

For example, this is how the ZenMate VPN extension works in the browser:

We wrote about VPN extensions for different browsers in the article: .

How to use VPN on mobile devices?

We will look at those devices that have popular operating systems on board, for example, iOS or Android.

Using a VPN on smartphones or tablets is also quite simple, namely through mobile applications. The problem is that some programs require root rights, and these are additional hassles, plus the possibility of turning the phone into a “brick”. So look for programs that do not require you to have root rights. On Android, for example, it is OpenVPN, and on iOS it is Cloak. You can also use the free and proven one on iPhone and iPad. I use it myself sometimes, it works great.

The download technology is very simple: download the application from the Play Market or AppStore and install it on your device. Next, we activate the VPN, select a profile (from where we will get the IP address), then make a connection and that’s all. Now you are surfing the Internet through a VPN, which the application you are using will tell you about.

Now you understand how VPN connection technology is implemented, and now your online experience will become more secure, anonymous, and most importantly - accessible and unlimited.

The technology that creates a logical network on another network is given the abbreviation “VPN,” which literally stands for “Virtual Private Network” in English. In simple terms, VPN includes different methods of communication between devices within another network and provides the ability to use various methods of protection, which significantly increases the safety of information exchanged between computers.

And this is very important in the modern world, for example, for networks of large commercial corporations and, of course, banks. Below are detailed guides on how to create a VPN, instructions on the procedure for making a VPN connection, and how to properly configure the created VPN connection.

Definition

To make it easier to understand what a VPN is, you just need to know what it can do. A VPN connection allocates a specific sector in an existing network and all computers and digital equipment located in it have a constant connection with each other. But the most important thing is that this sector is completely closed and protected for all other devices in the large network.

How to connect a VPN

Despite the initial apparent complexity of defining a VPN, creating it on Windows computers and even setting up the VPN itself will not be particularly difficult if you have a detailed guide. The main requirement is to strictly follow the strict sequence of the steps below:

Next, the VPN setup is carried out, taking into account the various associated nuances.

How to set up a VPN?

It is necessary to configure it taking into account the individual characteristics of not only the operating system, but also the operator providing communication services.

Windows XP

For VPN to work successfully in the Windows XP operating system, the following sequential steps must be taken:

Then, when functioning in the created environment, you can use some convenient functions. To do this you need to do the following:

Note: entering parameters is always carried out differently, since they depend not only on the server, but also on the communication service provider.

Windows 8

In this OS, the question of how to set up a VPN should not cause much difficulty, because here it is almost automated.

The sequence of actions consists of the following steps:

Next you need to specify network options. To this end, perform the following actions:

Note: Settings entered may vary significantly depending on your network configuration.

Windows 7

The process of making settings in Windows 7 is simple and accessible even to inexperienced computer users.

To make them, a Windows 7 user needs to take the following sequential steps:

Note: for correct operation, careful individual selection of all parameters is necessary.

Android

To set up the normal functioning of a gadget running Android OS in a VPN environment, you need to do several steps:

Connection characteristics

This technology includes different types of delays in data transmission procedures. Delays occur due to the following factors:

1. It takes some time to establish a connection;
2. There is a constant process of encoding the transmitted information;
3. blocks of transmitted information.

The most significant differences are found in the technology itself; for example, VPN does not require routers or separate lines. To function effectively, all you need is access to the World Wide Web and applications that provide information encoding.

If you are alive, accessed the Internet in 2017 and do not live on a desert island, then you have probably heard the term “VPN” more than once or twice. If you still don’t know what it is, why it’s needed and how it improves life (and the quality of work on the Internet in particular), then we, the vpnMentor website team, will be happy to conduct an educational program for you. Well, let's go?

What is a VPN?

VPN (from the English Virtual Private Network - virtual private network) is a special technology for creating a secure network connection on a public (the same Internet) or private network. Everyone and everything, from large companies to government agencies, uses this technology to provide secure connections to their infrastructure for remote users.

There are literally dozens of VPN services on the Internet that can help you connect online safely and securely for $5-$10 a month. This will allow you to securely encrypt your personal data and everything you do on the Internet. Additionally, most operating systems have long supported VPN connections, and there are also (and/or free) versions of paid VPNs.

Why do you need a VPN service?

Public networks have become too dangerous for the average user - hackers, attacks and sniffers are everywhere trying to steal your data. So why eat a cactus and cry (read, continue to use public networks and hope for the best) when you can do the smart thing and use a VPN service?

Initially, VPN technologies were developed so that corporate employees could connect to local company networks while at home. Now VPN connections are used mainly in cases where people want to hide their Internet activity from the prying eyes of strangers, thereby ensuring their online privacy and bypassing blocking access to content (both local and national). Other purposes for using VPN services include protecting against hackers when working on public WiFi networks and bypassing geo-blocking sites (to access content only available in certain regions).

How does a VPN work?

A firewall protects the data on your computer, while a VPN protects your data online. Technically speaking, a VPN is a WAN (Wide Area Network) that offers the same level of security and functionality as a private network. There are two types of VPN connections: remote access (the computer connects to the network) and network-to-network.

When surfing the web without a VPN, you connect to your ISP's server, which in turn connects you to the desired site. This means that all your Internet traffic passes through the provider's servers, and the provider, accordingly, can monitor your traffic.

When you connect through a VPN server, your traffic passes through an encrypted “tunnel” there. This means that only you and the VPN server have access to your traffic. However, it is worth noting that there is a certain difference between privacy and anonymity. Using a VPN service does not make you anonymous, as your VPN service knows exactly who you are and can view data about your online activity. But a VPN service provides you with privacy when working online - in other words, your ISP, teachers, principal, or even your government will no longer be able to spy on you. To make sure that a VPN service can truly protect you, it is extremely important to choose. And this is logical, because if a VPN service keeps logs of user actions, then the authorities can always demand that this data be transferred to them, and in this case, your data will no longer be just yours.

However, even if the service you choose doesn't keep logs, it can still (if necessary) monitor your online activities in real time - for example, to fix technical problems. And while most “no-log” VPNs also promise not to track your activity in real time, in most countries the law allows authorities to order a VPN service to start logging a specific user's activity without notifying them. However, there is no reason to worry about this... well, only if you are not hiding from law enforcement agencies looking for you.

When choosing a VPN service, it is equally important to choose a service that provides its users with the ability to use shared IP addresses (in other words, when many users use the same one at the same time). In this case, it will be infinitely more difficult for any third parties to determine that it was you who performed this or that action online, and not someone else.

How to use VPN on mobile devices?

VPN is fully supported on both iOS and Android. A VPN can also protect you when torrenting. Unfortunately, the mobile apps you install on your phone not only have access to your IP address, through which they can access the history of all your online activities, but also your GPS coordinates, contact list, App Store ID and more. These applications send the collected data to the servers of their companies, which reduces the benefit of using a VPN connection to zero.

And therefore, in order to fully take advantage of all the benefits of connecting to a VPN from a mobile device, you need to access sites only through open source browsers that support private modes (for example, through Firefox), and not through special “native” applications.

If you want to learn more about using a VPN on your mobile device, check out our lists and.

Pros and cons

To help you understand the pros and cons of using a VPN, I have prepared a table in which I have listed the main pros and cons of using this technology (*spoiler alert*: according to the author, the pros outweigh the cons, but the decision is yours).

Legal aspects

Using VPN services is rarely illegal in itself (but the content you try to access using a VPN may well be illegal). This is true even in countries that block access to VPN services (China, Syria, Iran). However, this does not prevent some sites from blocking VPN services.

However, in July 2016, the use of a VPN service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was considered illegal. Violators faced imprisonment and fines ranging from 500,000 to 2,000,000 dirhams ($136,130 to $544,521). In other words, if you are planning to visit the UAE, then it makes sense to exercise common sense and visit only whitelisted sites.

As for blocking access via VPN in place at your school or work, here’s what you should consider: if you get caught (in private WiFi networks and with a LAN-type connection there is always a small chance), they can be punished accordingly. How exactly? For example, subject to disciplinary measures (fine, suspension, dismissal). The case may even be referred to the police! In general, it’s worth thinking in advance whether the game is worth the candle.

Getting started

The good news is that there are just a ton of VPN services out there that would love to have you as their client.

The bad news: it's easy to get confused by all the options on offer.

When making any decision, you need to carefully study the issue.

Visit our article about , read reviews online, read recommendations, explore your options and only then make a decision.

Then ask yourself these 10 questions:

1. How much will I pay for this? Different services have different prices, but usually everything falls within the range of $5 to $10 per month. There are also free options, which are described in more detail in the article about.
2. What is this servicePrivacy Policy? We touched on this point earlier: you need to make sure that the VPN service will protect you and your data.
3. How good are the service's technical and security measures? Will it be able to effectively counter hackers and third parties who decide to gain access to my data?
4. How long is the distance between VPN servers? and the server I want to log into? This is an important point, because the speed of your work on the network is decided here. Other factors that affect connection speed include the power of the server itself, the bandwidth of the channel, and the number of people accessing the server at the same time.
5. How many servers does the service have, and where are they located? If you need to visit different sites located on servers from different countries, you need to find a VPN service with a large number of available server locations and servers - this will greatly increase your chances of a successful connection.
6. How many devices can I use at the same time? VPN services support almost all types of computers, including desktops, laptops, laptops, smartphones and tablets. Some services will only allow you to connect one device to their servers at a time, while others will allow you to connect several at once.
7. How good is the user support for this service? After reading

In this article, we will answer the most frequently asked questions about what a VPN server is, tell you whether a VPN can increase your security, whether you need to use Double VPN and how to check whether a VPN service keeps logs, as well as what modern technologies exist to protect personal information.

VPN is a virtual private network that provides encryption between the client and the VPN server.

The main purpose of a VPN is to encrypt traffic and change the IP address.

Let's figure out why and when this is needed.

Why do you need a VPN?

All Internet providers log the activities of their clients on the Internet. That is, the Internet provider knows which sites you visited. This is necessary in order to provide all information about the violator in case of requests from the police, and also to relieve oneself of all legal responsibility for the user’s actions.

There are many situations when a user needs to protect his personal data on the Internet and gain freedom of communication.

Example 1. There is a business and it is necessary to transmit confidential data over the Internet so that no one can intercept it. Most companies use VPN technology to transfer information between company branches.

Example 2. Many services on the Internet operate on a geo-referenced basis and prohibit access to users from other countries.

For example, the Yandex Music service only works for IP addresses from Russia and the former CIS countries. Accordingly, the entire Russian-speaking population living in other countries does not have access to this service.

Example 3. Blocking certain sites in the office and in the country. Offices often block access to social networks so that employees do not waste working time communicating.

For example, many Google services are blocked in China. If a Chinese resident works with a company from Europe, then there is a need to use services such as Google Disk.

Example 4: Hide visited sites from your ISP. There are times when you need to hide the list of visited sites from your Internet provider. All traffic will be encrypted.

By encrypting your traffic, your ISP won't know what sites you've visited on the Internet. In this case, your IP address on the Internet will belong to the country of the VPN server.

When you connect to a VPN, a secure channel is created between your computer and the VPN server. All data in this channel is encrypted.

With a VPN, you will have freedom of communication and protect your personal data.

The ISP logs will contain a set of different characters. The picture below shows an analysis of the data obtained by a special program.

The HTTP header immediately shows which site you are connecting to. This data is recorded by Internet service providers.

The following picture shows the HTTP header when using a VPN. The data is encrypted and it is impossible to find out which sites you visited.

How to connect to a VPN

There are several ways to connect to a VPN network.

• PPTP is an obsolete protocol. Most modern operating systems have excluded it from the list of supported ones. Disadvantages of PPTP - low connection stability. The connection may fail and unprotected data may leak onto the Internet.
• L2TP (IPSec) connection is more reliable. Also built into most operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone and others). It has better reliability compared to PPTP connections.
• SSTP connection was developed relatively recently. It is only supported on Windows, so it is not widely used.
• IKEv2 is a modern protocol based on IPSec. This protocol has replaced the PPTP protocol and is supported by all popular operating systems.
• OpenVPN connection is considered the most reliable. This technology can be flexibly configured and when the connection drops, OpenVPN blocks sending unprotected data to the Internet.

There are 2 data transfer protocols for OpenVPN technology:

• UDP protocol – is fast (recommended for VoiP telephony, Skype, online games)
• TCP protocol – characterized by the reliability of transmitted data (requires confirmation of receipt of the packet). Slightly slower than UDP.

How to set up a VPN

Setting up a VPN connection takes a few minutes and differs in the VPN connection method.

On our service we use PPTP and OpenVPN connections.

Security of working with a VPN program

We will always talk about an integrated approach to security. User security consists of more than just the VPN connection itself. It is important what program you use to connect to the VPN server.

Currently, services offer convenient VPN clients - these are programs that make it easier to set up a VPN connection. We ourselves offer a convenient VPN client. Thanks to such programs, setting up a VPN connection takes no more than 1 minute.

When we first started providing VPN services in 2006, all of our users set up the official OpenVPN application. It is open source. Of course, setting up an official OpenVPN client takes longer. But let's figure out what is better to use in terms of anonymity.

VPN client anonymity

We see the danger in using such programs. The thing is that the source code of such programs is the property of the company and in order to preserve the uniqueness of its program, no one publishes it.

Users cannot find out what data the program collects about you in the absence of open source code.

A VPN program can identify you as a specific user even if the logs on the server are turned off.

Any program can have the functionality to record the sites you have visited and your real IP address. And since you enter your login into the program yourself, it is impossible to talk about any anonymity in using the program at all.

If your activity requires a high level of anonymity, we recommend that you abandon such VPN programs and use the official open source OpenVPN release.

At first you will find this inconvenient. But over time, you will get used to it if the factor of security and anonymity comes first for you.

We guarantee that Secure Kit does not store any data about you. But we must warn you that such programs can spy on you.

Another idea on how to increase your security came from the point of view of the geographical location of servers. On the Internet it is called an offshore VPN.

What is an offshore VPN

Different countries have different levels of legislation. There are strong states with strong laws. And there are small countries whose level of development does not allow for information security of data in their country.

Initially, the concept of offshore was used to designate a country in which tax policy was relaxed. Such countries have very low business taxes. Global companies have become interested in legal tax avoidance in their country, and offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands have become very popular.

Currently, many countries around the world already have bans on the use of bank accounts in offshore countries.

Most offshore countries are small states located in remote corners of the planet. Servers in such countries are more difficult to find and are more expensive due to the lack of developed Internet infrastructure. VPN servers in such countries began to be called offshore.

It turns out that the word offshore VPN does not mean anonymous VPN, but only speaks of territorial affiliation with an offshore state.

Should you use an offshore VPN?

An offshore VPN offers additional benefits in terms of anonymity.

Do you think it’s much easier to write an official request:

• to a police department in Germany
• or to the Islands Police Department in Antigua Barbuda

Offshore VPN is an additional layer of protection. An offshore server is good to use as part of a Double VPN chain.

There is no need to use only 1 offshore VPN server and think that this is complete security. You need to approach your security and anonymity on the Internet from different angles.

Use an offshore VPN as a link to your anonymity.

And it's time to answer the most frequently asked question. Can an anonymous VPN service keep logs? And how to determine whether the service keeps logs?

Anonymous VPN service and logs. What should I do?

An anonymous VPN service should not keep logs. Otherwise it can no longer be called anonymous.

We have compiled a list of questions, thanks to which you can accurately determine whether the service keeps logs.

Now you have complete information about VPN connections. This knowledge is enough to make yourself anonymous on the Internet and make the transmission of personal data secure.

New VPN technologies

Are there any new trends in the VPN space?

We have already talked about the pros and cons of sequential cascading VPN servers (Double, Triple, Quad VPN).

To avoid the disadvantages of Double VPN technology, you can make a parallel cascade of chains. We called it Parallel VPN.

What is Parallel VPN

The essence of Parallel VPN is to direct traffic to a parallel data channel.

The disadvantage of sequential cascading technology (Double, Triple, Quad VPN) is that on each server the channel is decrypted and encrypted into the next channel. Data is consistently encrypted.

There is no such problem with Parallel VPN technology, since all data undergoes double parallel encryption. That is, imagine an onion that has several peels. In the same way, data passes through a channel that is double encrypted.

In our vast country, they like to block everything. If previously blocking was limited only to websites, now it’s the turn of instant messengers. And while instant messengers are already being blocked, and VPNs are still being planned to be banned, I will tell you why these three letters are needed. In addition, you will learn how to set up a VPN on any device for free or for a fee. How to choose the right VPN and why you need to do it now.

What is a VPN?

Why do I need a VPN if I don’t go to prohibited resources?

For most of us, I have compiled a list of which prove that everyone needs a VPN:

1. Access to resources blocked in the country;
2. Security in public networks;
3. Home network security;
4. Secure connection with friends;
5. Anonymity.

The most important points are the first and fifth. While people who are concerned about anonymity will understand perfectly well what and how. The rest of you will have to read articles like this one.

Blocking access to certain sites or applications on the Internet is not always a bad thing. Also, blocking does not always come from the state. Some services, like Spotify, simply do not work in Russia and themselves limit access for us. The Internet provider itself can block access to resources for its own reasons. And, of course, the state can block access to resources prohibited in the country.

I will not discuss here whether this is correct or not. And does such a blocking even make sense? It is important to understand that when one resource is blocked, access to several other absolutely legal sites may be accidentally limited. Often such errors are not noticed by the average network visitor. But sometimes such large resources as Google fall under the distribution by mistake.

From here it is easy to conclude that you should always have a VPN at hand. At least until VPNs were banned too.

How to choose a VPN?

Choosing a VPN service is very difficult. An inexperienced user does not see the difference between hundreds of different programs (and there is one). Advanced users compare services based on parameters such as anonymity, access speed, log storage and much, much more. This table will help simplify the task a little:

The developers guarantee complete security and anonymity (if used correctly). At the same time, the speed is not limited, but torrent lovers are not welcome here. Security is guaranteed by the fact that IVPN are members of the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), and the company itself is registered in Gibraltar and is ready to leave at the slightest pressure. The servers do not store any personal information that could reveal users. Therefore, when requested by the state, they simply will have nothing to provide. There is also support for OpenVPN, which means VPN can be configured on any device.

But for such pleasure you will have to pay $8.33 per month, which is significantly more expensive than competitors.

Among the advantages of the program:

• reasonable prices for a license (5 devices);
• Russian language;
• cross-platform;
• no restrictions on speed and traffic, even for torrents;
• there is a free version.

In the free version, you will find advertising and “wiretapping” of traffic to display this advertising. But most people don't care about it, deal with it. In the mobile version it is a promotional video when the connection is turned on, and in the browser it is banners from partners. Other than that, you can only connect to a server in the US.

The program can also turn on the VPN connection itself (when working with certain applications). This way, you can work through a VPN with a list of programs, while the rest will use a regular connection.

The paid version costs €6.99 per month or €139.99 for a lifetime license. You can still buy a lifetime license for 10 devices for $69.99.

Somewhere between the two options above. Here in the free version you get several servers to choose from: Germany, Hong Kong, Romania and the USA. Freedom of choice is compensated by limitations on connection speed, but not traffic.

A paid subscription costs 2,100 rubles per year.

Cargo VPN

Many people do not want to install a VPN because they are afraid of losing connection speed. Yes, such a problem can exist. Speed ​​may be limited on free VPN plans. But large VPN providers guarantee a connection without loss of speed, but in this case you will have to pay a subscription. On the other hand, I recommend buying a VPN subscription in any case. Because free services one way or another try to “make money” from their users. In this case, the security of the connection, your personal data, or even the information on the device suffers.

When you connect to the right VPN service, you won't experience any noticeable slowdowns or increased data consumption.

What now?

Mostly nothing. Install the client you need on all devices and enjoy life without restrictions, wiretapping and surveillance. Use any programs, go to any sites and be yourself!