Security and anonymity are two highly desirable features in our connections.. For this reason, The VPN or virtual private network is a service that is accessed more and more.
Is It is a network that masks our IP address while giving us great security through encryption of information, becoming a direct access tunnel to our destination.
Of course, in this post we are going to tell you in detail what does it consist of and how it works, as well as letting you know, of course, what are its advantages and disadvantages, the types that exist, the uses that we can give them, we teach you how to configure your own network and, of course, we give you our recommendations so that you can try some of these free services and get to know better, and in practice, what a virtual private network consists of.
What is a VPN network and how does it work?
VPN are the acronyms, in English, of the concept “virtual private network“. This refers to a computer network technology whose main characteristic is to serve as a secure extension to a LAN that is located on another uncontrolled network.
In this way, a computer that is connected to this network will be able to send and receive information over other networks, whether public or shared, in the same way as if it were part of a private networkincluding its management policies, its security and its functionality.
For this to happen, you must make a virtual point-to-point connection using encryption and/or dedicated connections.
Of course we can get multiple devices connect to each other within the same network without the need for cables, which makes communication and information exchange possible with security and privacy.
In order to create, configure and use a VPN, at least the following are required:
- User verification possible. In this way, access to unauthorized persons is prevented. Thus, a clueless user will not be able to enter a company virtual private network, someone who has not paid a fee will not be able to access a paid one, etc.
- Access control. Likewise, specific access must be given to one or the other places and data.
- Activity Register. The network provider will have a record of the use of the network by time, users and use of it.
- Data encryption method. There must be a way in which the information is encrypted to be transmitted with the certainty that it cannot be interpreted if it is intercepted. For this, certain encryption algorithms such as 3DES or AES are used. With them it is achieved that the data is only read by the end sender and receiver.
- Data integration. We must ensure that these are not modified throughout your trip.
- Introduction of the SEAL security algorithm.
- Key update. Encryption must be continually updated, with an effective and gentle key management system in place.
- undeniable signature. The messages are signed and this fact cannot be denied.
The operation of this resource is quite simple. Conventionally, to access any page you contact your IPS, that is, with the internet provider with which you have the contracted connection. It is this one that, through its servers, attends to your demands and launches them where they correspond. This supposes that, obviously, you are seen by him.
When you use a virtual private network, what happens is that ryou make a call to a VPN server, whose connection is encrypted. Thus, it is achieved that your ISP does not see the data that is sent by you; in their eyes, it is the VPN server that is asking for access to the sites, not you. It’s something like a mask that we put on so that he stands up for us.
Obviously, it must not be forgotten that the masks are held up by thin rubber bands and, therefore, it is not that we are invisible or anonymouswe simply have one more layer to cover ourselves with.
Why use a VPN server and what are the advantages?
A IP adress It is a number that is assigned to devices that connect to a network in order to identify them. This characteristic makes them very dangerous, because anyone with access to that information could find out personal information about any of us.
Therefore, using a VPN should become a priority for any Internet user today, since the benefits that they do not provide are obvious:
- you can outwit geographic internet censorshipsince we can choose a server hosted in the country we want.
- They hide your IP address in such a way that no one can decipher it to obtain information from it without your authorization.
- protects you from risks of using public Wi-Fi networks since all the traffic that passes through your device will be secured.
- It will be easy for you to avoid bandwidth limitations that the telephone companies use to insist you buy more expensive plans.
- You avoid the firewall blocks or firewalls since when you are encrypted IP these will not apply as easily.
- Tea protects from the risks of downloading content via P2Pespecially when it comes to pirated content since no one will be able to know your Internet Protocol address.
- Using a VPN can also improve your experience playing online since by circumventing geographic blocks you will be able to access exclusive content from certain countries.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a Virtual Private Network when browsing the Internet and changing your IP?
A priori, we see that this resource is very interesting. And indeed, it is so. However, before continuing, it would be better to know, point by point, its good and bad things, so that everything is very clear to us and we can consider its contracting and use without having any doubts about what we are going to obtain and what we expose ourselves Let’s see it.
Benefits and advantages
Of course, enjoying this service has many good things:
- Compatible with any application. All internet traffic is routed, which means that the VPN connection can occur in any application.
- simple connection. You only need to set up the connection once, and after that, you can connect and disconnect at will without any difficulty. Also, you can do it from different devices and from different places.
- More security. Security increases, allowing us to send information privately, hide our identification data (IP, location), not be so exposed when we connect to public networks, etc.
- location spoof. This allows us, in addition to not being associated with a specific place, to access places that are banned in the place where we are or, simply, to resources available in other locations.
- Activity Concealment. With a VPN, the internet provider will no longer know what you do with their service. However, we must not forget that the VPN manager does.
- economic. Virtual private networks are cheaper than other resources that are used to satisfy some of the same needs that we are working on in this case.
Risks and disadvantages
On the other hand, we also find some negative aspects that must be considered:
- user tracking. There are services that track the user to obtain information to design their usage and browsing statistics; These are generally the free ones. Keep an eye on this aspect if you do not want your activity to be used to reveal your consumption habits on the network, although nobody is going to point it out to you directly, of course.
- Connection slowdown. It is a direct consequence of the encryption of information.
- Falsification of inappropriate information. The location can’t always get faked. This is much more difficult if you connect from your mobile phone, since it is on the move and connects to various networks, storing that information without you even knowing it.
- transferable security. We find one more layer of security, but it is not impenetrable.
What is a VPN network for and what utilities does it really have?
We have already seen what it is for, at a general level. However, its operation can be useful in very different tasks, which makes this a resource used by users with very different needs. Let’s see the clearer utilities that it is given.
Restricted content consumption
The VPN will help you consume all kinds of content that, in one way or another, you have been restricted. We talk about what is not available, for various reasons, in your countryas Netflix was in Spain years ago or as is the case with Facebook in China today.
In this way, if in the place where you are you cannot enjoy them, you falsify your address to make believe that you are in another place where there is access to these.
would also enter here I dodge the restrictions that are placed on us due to special circumstanceseither the ISP itself or lower levels (for example, library computers that do not allow access to video viewing websites so as not to consume all the bandwidth). With the VPN the data is encrypted, so it is not known what sites you are accessing.
Use of P2P networks
The P2P downloads They are not always easy, and that is due, in large part, to the boycott by Internet providers, who block or, at the very least, make it difficult for you to download content.
Why? Well, first of all, you are generating a lot of traffic, and although its limits are practically incalculable, the truth is that they multiply the bandwidth of thousands and thousands of clients, meaning that, in the end, this can be reduced.
On the other hand, there is, of course, the fact that any of your downloads is illegal. Nothing happens to anyone, it’s supposed to, but if you were investigated for it, your provider would be subsequently hassled by the authorities.
For both reasons, what is done is block navigation on certain sites, downloading torrents, their management software, etc. or slow down browsing and use so much that we ourselves give up and stop downloading from the .
Tasks with sensitive information
This is not always the case, but what is common and what is increasingly being offered to be competitive is encryption of data packets. with this you can make use of sensitive informationsuch as your bank access information, from an unsecured network without them being exposed.
Telecommuting
teleworking with unencrypted connections it is highly insecure; you would be connecting to the company network from an open or, at most, home network, easily hackable.
with this resource figures the connection and, at the same time, enjoy the same information that you have at your workplacein the labor network.
Types of VPN networks that exist and how they differ
As you can imagine there are many , this resource can be offered in multiple ways, although the essence is always the same. Thus, we can make different classifications of it depending on its base, its architecture or the connection that is used.
According to architecture
The VPN architectures that we can find in which a private connection is offered are the following:
remote access
The users are authenticated for…
Facebook Comments
Disqus