What Is a VPN?
*Content includes branded mentions of our sponsor, Norton Secure VPN.
Understanding how to use the internet safely is more crucial than ever in today’s increasingly digital world. One popular tool that can help protect us online is a VPN, or virtual private network, which allows you to more securely browse the web by ensuring your identity and sensitive information remain private from third parties.
But what exactly is a VPN, and why should you consider using one? Read on to learn what a VPN connection is, how it works and how to add one to your mobile device, computer or other internet-enabled device (and make the most of it).
What is a VPN connection?
A VPN connection is a type of technology that encrypts your internet traffic and reroutes it through a remote server before sending it to another device, website, or online service. This process creates a secure tunnel between your device and the VPN’s servers or your target network, ensuring that your online activity is kept private and secure from outside interference.
By concealing your IP address, which is a unique numerical label for your device on the internet, a VPN makes it look like you’re browsing the web from the location of the VPN server rather than your own (say, from Miami rather than New York City, or from Lagos rather than London). This helps prevent your information and real IP address from leaking to others snooping in the same network, such as cybercriminals trying to commit identity theft.
A VPN can also allow you to access geo-blocked content by connecting to a server in a different country. While this can be useful for bypassing regional restrictions, it’s important to note that doing so may breach your streaming service’s user agreement.
Do I Need a VPN?
VPNs have several different use cases and offer a secure, encrypted connection that keeps your online activities hidden from prying eyes whether you're using a public Wi-Fi network, accessing sensitive data or simply trying to maintain your privacy.
You may need a VPN with a secure connection like Norton Secure VPN if you want to:
- Improve your security online, especially on public or shared Wi-Fi
- Avoid being logged and tracked online
- Bypass censorship and access geo-blocked content
- Access prices reserved for certain nationalities and regions
If you’re considering getting a VPN, take a look at our list of the best VPN services of 2024.
Types of VPNs
Below we discuss the four major types of VPN: personal VPNs, mobile VPNs, remote access VPNs and site-to-site VPNs.
- Personal VPNs: Designed for individual users, personal VPNs let you connect to virtual servers created and maintained by VPN companies. These services usually require that you install software on your device. When using one, it masks your IP address and encrypts your data, making it look as if your traffic is coming from the VPN’s server.
- Mobile VPNs: These VPNs enable you to switch between internet connections while maintaining the same session. In other words, a mobile VPN keeps you connected on the same IP address, allowing you to keep using your apps via the VPN even if you change from one Wi-Fi or cellular network to another.
- Remote access VPNs: These allow organizations and companies to grant access to their private network to users from different locations, such as remote workers. Whenever a user sends an access request, a remote access VPN will authenticate the user and establish an encrypted tunnel with the server.
- Site-to-site VPNs: With site-to-site VPNs, multiple networks on different sites can connect and communicate securely. For example, you can use a site-to-site VPN to link various departments and offices within an organization.
How to add a VPN connection
Adding a VPN connection to your device is a simple and straightforward process that you can complete in four steps.
1. Find a reputable VPN service and choose a plan
Choose a VPN company with services that match your needs. Some of the key factors to look at when picking a VPN service provider include:
- Device compatibility: Before you pick any VPN service, make sure its software is compatible with the devices you wish to use it on. Some VPNs work across multiple operating systems, including MacOS, iOS, Windows and Android, while others only support a limited number of them.
- Encryption: Choose a VPN provider that uses a reliable encryption algorithm. While there are many encryption standards, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256 is the best one, as it has minimal impact on performance and remains virtually impossible to break to this day, being used by the U.S. government for its classified documents.
- Protocols: A VPN protocol is a set of rules responsible for moving data between your device and a server. Choose a VPN company that offers secure and stable protocols, such as OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2. VPN services may have multiple protocols and allow you to switch between them at will.
- Coverage: A good VPN provider will have multiple servers in many different locations. Having a high number of servers reduces the overall strain of web traffic on the network, enabling faster connections. A greater variety of locations may also allow you to route your internet traffic through a specific country of your choice.
- Privacy policy: Find a no-logs VPN provider, which is one that doesn’t collect internet traffic that passes through its servers. This also means they can’t share your online data and browsing history with third parties. Read through each company’s privacy policy to see the kind of data it logs, if any.
Once you've selected a reputable VPN provider, proceed to create an account. Many VPN companies offer free trials and have money-back guarantees. Some even offer free versions of their software, but because these are more likely to have poor privacy standards and security protocols, we can’t guarantee that all free VPNs are safe.
2. Download and install the VPN app or software
Visit the App Store or Google Play Store and search for the name of your chosen VPN to download it on your mobile device. For other types of devices or platforms, visit the VPN provider’s website to download and install the correct VPN client for your operating system.
3. Sign in to the app or software and adjust your settings and permissions
Launch the VPN client and sign in using the provided credentials. Check the default setting and permissions and adjust them as necessary. The extent to which you can customize your VPN connection varies from one provider to another.
4. Choose a server location and wait for a connection to be established
Set your preferred server location and wait for the VPN to connect to it. Once a connection is established, you should be able to browse the internet and use your apps as you normally would.
How to speed up a VPN connection
If your VPN connection is slower than expected or you notice it starts to lag, there are several things you can try to speed it up.
- Change the VPN server: Connecting to a VPN server that’s too far away from you may result in lower speeds due to increased latency, which is the delay or time it takes for data to travel from your device to its destination and back. Try switching to a server location (country or city) that’s geographically closer to you.
- Change the VPN port and protocol: Different VPN protocols offer varying levels of speed and security. For example, WireGuard or IKEv2 are known for their faster performance compared to others like OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec. Try several protocols until you find one that is faster while still meeting your cybersecurity needs.
- Switch to a wired connection: Try using a wired connection like ethernet instead of Wi-Fi. Wireless connections are usually slower because they use a shared channel to transfer data between devices, increasing latency.
- Restart your device: Devices accumulate removable files over time. These files eat into the system’s available memory, slowing down your connection. Try rebooting your device to clear its memory and free up resources. A reboot can also feed the device new programming instructions that can make the VPN connection faster.
- Restart the router or modem: Your router or modem may slow down as it accumulates junk files and experiences memory leaks over time. Restarting it can clear unnecessary data, reset the connection and increase VPN speed.
- Install device updates: Check if there are new software updates for your device. New firmware updates may come with fixes for quality issues like lower connection speeds.
- Turn off your local security software temporarily: Your local antivirus or firewall can slow down your VPN connection as it scans and filters packets of data. Disable it temporarily and test the VPN connection to see if your local security software is responsible for the slower connection.
- Change your physical location or ISP: Your VPN may be slow because of throttling, which is when an internet service provider (ISP) intentionally slows down your internet speed. Try connecting to the internet using a different ISP, or take your device to a new location like a restaurant or coffee shop and use its network to test your connection.
- Use a different device: Some devices like routers and Android devices use heavy encryption, which can slow down a VPN connection. Try connecting to the VPN with a different device and see if the connection is any better.
Troubleshooting VPN connection issues and failures
VPNs aren’t completely flawless. Common issues with VPNs include low speeds, failure to connect, inability to hide your IP address and dropped connections. If you’re experiencing one or more of these problems, try troubleshooting the VPN connection by taking the following steps:
- Restart the VPN.
- Use only one VPN software at a time to avoid conflict between different VPN clients.
- Switch to a new VPN server to see if the problem stems from the server you’re currently connected to.
- Change your VPN port and protocol to check if the VPN server is restricting your current port and protocol combination.
- Check that your firewall isn’t blocking essential data packets necessary for the VPN to function correctly.
- Look through the VPN’s help and support section for fixes to common connectivity issues, or call the VPN company for personalized assistance.
Best practices for maintaining a secure VPN connection
Maintaining a secure VPN tunnel involves configuring it to avoid data leaks and combat potential digital attacks. Here are some best practices to follow:
Regularly update your VPN software or app
VPN software updates are designed to protect your connection and device from emerging threats. Because of this, VPN companies regularly update their software and features. Many VPNs will send you update alerts, but if yours doesn’t, you can check its website for new software updates.
Use VPN protocols that offer strong encryption
Some VPN protocols — notably, PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) — are easier to breach than others. To maintain a secure connection, use a protocol that provides strong VPN encryption. OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 are among the best in the industry.
Monitor your VPN connection logs for suspicious activity
VPN monitoring refers to tracking your activity while using a VPN connection. There are several VPN monitoring tools that can pull your VPN’s logs, including OpManager, Juniper and SentinelTrails. If you know how to read the logs, you can easily identify suspicious activity. Many of these monitoring tools also come with predefined rules that automatically detect and report suspicious VPN activity.
Enable multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your regular VPN authentication. For example, you can set a username and password as a primary authentication method and add text message alerts as your secondary authentication method.
Even if a hacker gets your VPN username and password, they won’t be able to access your account without the information from the text alert.
Summary of What is a VPN?
Adding a VPN connection to your network can help protect your online privacy, secure your personal data and give you access to content from different locations. However, VPNs aren’t a perfect security tool for every context, and they still have problems like slowing your connection speed and outright dropping your connection.
If you’re experiencing issues with your VPN, you can try changing servers, restarting your device, updating the VPN client’s software or using a more up-to-date VPN protocol. You should also take steps to ensure your VPN connection is always secure. These include installing the latest software updates, monitoring your VPN logs for suspicious activity and using MFA.