The main reason as to why most people will not appreciate the importance of a VPN is because they do not know how to use a VPN. It is important to ask yourself, “What is VPN used for?” VPNs are a key to today’s contemporary computer’s environment. To know how to use a VPN, you need to know that it is a hardware and software solution for internet users.
What does VPN stand for: definition
A virtual private network or a VPN – is a technology to securely connect users and servers at different locations to one private network over the Internet. Basically it’s the computer network inside the Internet, or a secured private network created across a public Internet network via tunneling protocols and secure shell tunneling.
Tunneling protocols are used to connect distant computers and servers into one network. These make figurative “tunnels” to transfer information between a remote server and a terminal through different types of networks, as if they are in one local private network.
Encrypted tunneling – is basically the same, except the “vpn tunnels” are encrypted. Information transferring inside the tunnel becomes hidden and secured from other users. Various encryption protocols are used to hide data. Hence, no one could see what is inside, or log it, or throttle it, or restrict it, or snoop it, or sniff it, or intercept it.
It’s well known that public network – is the network with public access. And data package traveling through it could be intercepted with special software called a sniffer. Sniffers could be package analyzers that decode data to discover what’s inside.
What is a VPN?
A VPN is a means of creating secure communications over a public network setup. VPNs, such as Lime VPN use encryption and authentication to make sure information is kept private and confidential. Therefore, you can share data as well as resources among various locations anonymously without your data being compromised. Most people wonder what VPN connection is. A VPN connection is a virtual point-to-point link, which is determined by traffic encryption, virtual tunneling protocols or dedicated connections. This description can also be used to define what is a VPN.
This simple picture shows How VPN works
What, your personal data could be exposed?
Your data travelling on the Internet is exposed and could easily be stolen, monitored, modified, or recorded while going through over public networks.However, using a VPN protects it.
A Websites you have visited
Videos you’ve watched
Addresses you’ve e-mailed
Who are you messaging with
Files from your downloads and uploads
Type of content you go through: video, audio, web, photo, social, torrent, etc.
Why ISP inspects user data traffic?
Data monitoring and logging is most widely used by Internet providers or ISP to ensure network stability. However, they also inspect user data and could see and log all the above in order to:
Cut down access to some sites and web zones as it may be required by state censorship like it is in China
Restrict some kinds of content such as torrent files or block access to some social networking sites, audio/video content, messengers, etc.
Throttle speeds down for some kinds of heavy multimedia content like online HD-video or torrents
To provide your IP address and location information to sites you are visiting or to web services you use
Monitor all your unencrypted and exposed Internet activity in purpose of government surveillance program and making logs for all your online actions
Hand these logs over on receipt of a court order from a law enforcement agency
Why use a VPN?
Unlike the public networks, private networks are secured, even virtual ones. Information transferring through it is protected by encryption. Let us say it’s like in the post office: encrypted data is akin to a sealed parcel traveling through spaces and distances protected from any unauthorized intervention except for the addressee. Simply put, common tunneling protocols make transparent hose and data transferring inside them could be observed. Unlike the encrypted tunneling protocols, which creates opaque hose.
VPN connection protects your data from any intruders with strong 256-bit encryption with 2048-bit key inside secured tunnel. If someone tries to inspect your traffic or spy on it or, continuing the analogy, remove the seal, then all they would see is ones and zeros. All valuable data would be scrambled. To scramble them back with a brute force attack, one will need all the computing power on Earth and billions of ages.
What could hackers get out of an unprotected connection?
Internet provider’s or ISP’s monitoring in most cases is not what common users should worry about. People with malicious intent although could use their own sniffer software to do network snooping. This tool is frequently used by hackers to eavesdrop confidential and valuable data such as:
Authentication data
Passwords
Confidential files
Social security numbers
Financial information
Your location
Who is in a risk zone for a sniffer hack?
You are a businessman, working with confidential financial or market data on the go.
You travel lot and use a variety of different open networks to get online.
You use a free Wi-Fi connection in slightly trusted networks.
You frequently use a banking apps on your mobile devices.
Benefits of VPN technology
You need to know how to use a VPN properly in order to block hackers attempting to access your network to steal sensitive data or government surveillance. VPN security is not the only advantage you can get from it. A secure tunnel connection that is in addition unreadable and untraceable can provide you a couple of nutty benefits:
Anonymity, all that your ISP can see out of your traffic is some unidentified encrypted data. This also applies to the websites you visit, which will only know the IP address of the VPN server and the location you choose for them to see.
True privacy, Our VPN keeps no logs. Your ISP logs will also be as clean as a whistle; no one will know sites you visited, videos and photos you viewed, people you messaged, or files you downloaded.
Freedom, since your actions cannot be inspected they could not be separated by permitted ones and banned ones. And once you gain Internet access you can bypass any censorship and content restrictions.
Access to geo-content, for instance access to streaming websites or low cost multimedia content provided even if they are blocked at your location or access them when travelling to other countries.
How to Connect VPN?
Now that you know what is a VPN Network? It is time you learn how to connect to VPN. Connecting to a VPN is easy, in this case LimeVPN. To connect to LimeVPN do the following: download VPN software and run the program and follow the instructions carefully. In case you are confused, just see step-by-step instructions. Remember that your VPN client has to have internet connection in order to act as the VPN server.
How to setup a VPN?
The easiest way to setup a VPN is to get a subscription from LimeVPN. With it you will get easy to use software and access to our support team. All you need is to pass through three simple steps:
You need to select a plan that works for you. You can select from LimeVPN Basic and LimeVPN Pro. The billing cycle available is monthly and annual
Once the account is setup, you will get an email with the VPN login details and the setup instructions.
Go through the instructions depending on the OS you are using and set it up either using a software or the in build VPN option.