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How does a VPN tunnel work? Types of VPN tunnels

• Publicado por Barbara Chase 24 de setembro de 2020 - Arquivado em Tecnologia - #vpn  - 42 visualizações

  

  Hackers, snoopers, ISPs and governments can make a user's digital life hell. It doesn't take much to get hacked online, censored, or constantly face various obstacles trying to access certain services. A VPN tunnel will help protect against all of these annoyances.

   

  How does a VPN tunnel work?
  A VPN tunnel is an encrypted connection between your device and the network. Let's say you want to send an email to your friend. Even though your ISP will not be able to read its contents, they will be able to see where it was sent from and where it came from. ISPs can also track which sites you visit, how much data you download, and which device you use. They only have one good reason to dig into your personal life, and that is to sell your viewer data to the highest bidder. ISPs can also reduce your data bandwidth if you download large files frequently.

  Hackers have their own motives. They use malware, phishing, ransomware, DDoS attacks, and other methods to intercept data and hack your bank accounts.

  When you connect to the Internet with a VPN, your traffic goes through an encrypted tunnel, protecting your data and redirecting it to one of the VPN provider's servers. You can sit in front of your computer in Russia and pretend that you are from Canada. Neither ISPs nor hackers will be able to identify you, retrieve your data or track your real location.

   

  VPN Tunnel Types
  There are many different VPN tunneling protocols that differ in speed, security, and more. The most common ones are worth considering.

  • OpenVPN is a popular open source protocol that works with all major operating systems. You can download the source code, view it and modify it however you like. OpenVPN can work over the internet protocols TCP or UDP. It is also considered the most secure VPN protocol.
  • IKEv2 / IPSec boasts the security benefits of IPSec and the high speed of IKEv2, making it a formidable competitor in the VPN tunneling industry. When your VPN connection drops or you switch between networks, the IKEv2 / IPSec auto-connect feature restores everything to normal.
  • WireGuard is the newest and fastest of all protocols. It is still in its early stages of development and therefore has some security flaws.
  • SSTP is a VPN protocol that was created by Microsoft, but it is also available on many other systems. Many VPN providers are skeptical about SSTP because Microsoft is known to work with the NSA. However, there is no evidence that the protocol was misused.

  What is split tunneling?
  The VPN tunnel encrypts all of your traffic, but sometimes there are certain situations where you don't need to. This is where split tunneling is all about - you can create exceptions for specific apps or sites and access them without using a VPN.

  This way, you can stream Netflix videos from Canada while still having access to local resources from your hometown in Russia.

   

  What is the best VPN protocol to use?
  It all depends on personal needs, but OpenVPN is considered the best choice among most VPN providers. Each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses, which will be preferred by different users.