Data governs the online world we live in today. It is true that “data drives the world.” And as time goes on, our reliance on data-driven tools and technologies grows.
With data acquiring such prominence, individuals are more conscious than ever of the worth of their data. This awareness instills a sense of safety and privacy. People want to keep their online data and behavior private from others. VPNs take care of this for them.
A VPN, in its most basic form, converts your actual IP address into a wannabe address, thereby concealing your identity and location. However, are VPNs completely secure?
Are VPNs anonymous? Or, is it possible to deduce some data even after utilizing a VPN? Can online activity protected by a VPN be tracked? If so, who can keep track of it? How can you judge if the individual is using a VPN?
If one or more of these questions bother you, it’s time to clarify them. Hello, and welcome to our article! In this article, we will discuss VPNs. We will briefly discuss what a VPN is and how, if at all, you can detect VPNs. Continue reading to learn more.
How Do VPNs Function?
Let us first clarify what a VPN is and how it works.
When you employ a VPN to access the internet, your connection is routed to a remote host before connecting to the webpage you want to visit. The VPN server’s IP address masks your actual IP address. As a result, your web traffic appears to originate from the VPN server rather than your device.
That isn’t all. In addition, the VPN establishes an encrypted ‘tunnel’ between you and the VPN server. All data that passes through this tunnel becomes indecipherable gibberish, illegible to anyone who looks at it.
The user’s individuality is well-secured if the VPN is reliable. But does that mean a VPN user can go completely undetected and undetectable? Do VPNs have any restrictions? They do, as it turns out, and this is what the following sections are about.
Can You Spot Someone Using a VPN?
Yes and no, depending on who asks the question. If you’re a habitual user, there isn’t anything you can do to determine if anyone is using a VPN connection. You can browse an IP address to see if it is from a VPN server, but the results will not be 100% accurate.
However, if you control a server or network, you may be able to detect the usage of a VPN. But remember that this is a complicated task that not every person can correctly assess.
Certain entities such as governments, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and many websites can detect VPN traffic. As a result, the Chinese government has the ability to prohibit most advertising VPNs, making it highly challenging to utilize VPNs in the country.
Similarly, ISPs can diagnose VPN traffic and determine that encrypted data is passing through their network. Websites can detect when they are accessed via a VPN connection.
You may be curious how a VPN is detected at this point. That is covered in the following section.
How Are VPNs Detected?
We’ve discussed how, while VPNs hide their users’ true identities, they don’t always go unnoticed. Many factors may aid in distinguishing a VPN-enabled connection from a regular one.
1) Internet Protocol Address
When a VPN is used, the user’s actual IP address is concealed behind the IP address of a Vpn connection. This server is shared by hundreds or thousands of VPN users worldwide.
As a result, if someone is watching an IP address, they can tell if it belongs to a VPN. They will notice a tremendous amount of encrypted information flowing to and from the address in that case.
2) Geo-location Errors
When you use a VPN, your IP address changes, which changes your location, websites with detection tools can detect such abrupt changes and the presence of a VPN.
This method works if the VPN is activated after navigating to the website. If the user connects to a website while using a VPN, the webpage has no way of determining that the IP address or location has changed.
Last Words
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