Imagine you want to visit a specific website, but someone or something is attempting to prevent you from accessing it. This could be done through the use of internet censorship techniques such as blocking or redirecting your DNS request for the website.
A VPN can help you get around that block and visit the website you want to visit. It creates a unique connection from your computer to another computer far away. When you use this special connection, you’re taking a detour around the block and coming in from a different direction.
To explain this, let’s continue with the metaphor of roads and streets. Imagine that some of the streets in the city are blocked or impassable. Despite this, your mom wants to get your coffee from Starbucks. She can take detours and longer routes to reach her destination. Similarly, the internet provides multiple routes to any given destination.
To utilize a virtual private network (VPN), you must connect to a server managed by a VPN provider in a location without internet censorship. This server functions as an middleman between your device and the internet. It receives your internet traffic and directs it through the server‘s IP address.
To access a VPN server, you may need to use a VPN client, which is a specialized software. If your device doesn’t allow you to install a VPN client or you don’t have one available, you can use a VPN router instead. A VPN router as your network gateway allows all devices on your network to connect to VPN server through the router, bypassing censorship and geographical restrictions on content.
Is VPN Safe?
One potential issue with traditional VPNs is that they only route your internet traffic through a single server. While this can help to protect your online activity and IP Address from being seen by third parties, it does not guarantee complete anonymity.
Even if you use a VPN provider that claims to have no logs of your activity or you build your own VPN on a private VPS, it is still possible for your online activity to be traced back to you. This is because ISPs (Internet Service Providers) may keep logs of their own, which could be used to identify you based on the time and date of your online activity.
For example, suppose you leave a negative comment on a government website while connected to a VPN. In that case, your actual IP address could be traced if the ISP is able to match the time of the incident to a specific user who was connected to the specific VPN at the same time.
This is why some experts believe that VPNs can provide a false sense of security.
It is crucial to be aware of the limitations of online privacy and security and to take steps to protect yourself. Some ways to do this include using multi-hop VPNs or the Tor network and to understand the distinction between internet censorship circumvention and anonymity.
