{"id":160,"date":"2022-02-28T07:13:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T07:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panskeet.xyz\/blog\/?p=160"},"modified":"2022-09-15T08:36:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T08:36:54","slug":"how-does-vpn-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.ipandapro.com\/blog\/how-does-vpn-work","title":{"rendered":"How does VPN Work? Technical VPN Workflows for Phone, PC, Wifi Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

With more and more people paying attention to online privacy and security in recent years, VPN service has gradually become a basic application. Then how does a VPN work? How safe it is? Is there any difference between VPN apps? How to choose a reliable and secure VPN?….<\/em><\/p>\n

VPN<\/strong><\/a> is the abbreviated name for “Virtual Private Network”. As the full name implies, VPN is a tool to build and deliver users a private and virtual internet connection. And it actually works in this way, aiming to help people achieve more secure and anonymous web surfing and still circumvent geo-blocking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We are now living in a world full of censorship, monitoring, and restriction, be it in\u00a0the physical or cyber world.<\/p>\n

When we sit in front of a PC or pick up our phone for web browsing, chatting, emailing, commenting, file sharing, and streaming at our office or home, many pairs of eyes – from the internet service provider (commonly known as ISP), government\u00a0and corporation – are watching at\u00a0our behaviors and data silently.<\/p>\n

When we are out with a convenient\u00a0public Wi-Fi connection in the coffee shop, shopping mall, hotel, and so forth areas, besides common legal governmental censorship, WiFi provider and even nefarious hackers\u00a0are still here, probably tracing and selling your data to the advertiser, stealing your personal information to cause further privacy leakage and financial loss.<\/p>\n

When we live in or transitorily\u00a0move to a region with strict online censorship<\/a>, e.g China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia<\/a>, local IP addresses<\/a> are naturally forbidden to access certain social & political media, porn & torrent sites, and Netflix-alike streaming services.<\/p>\n

All of these limits make us feel unfree and risky, being eager to break up their self-directed suppressions and threats. And that\u2019s where VPN comes in.<\/p>\n

After you have a rough idea o what is VPN and why use a VPN, let\u2019s take a deep dive into the workflow of a VPN.<\/p>\n

How does VPN Work? It Depends on What VPN You\u2019re Using, or Tend to Use<\/h2>\n

To begin with, let\u2019s have an overall look at the two types of VPN in the market.<\/p>\n

1. Remote Access VPN<\/strong><\/p>\n

It describes such kind of VPN service that allows you to connect and access a remote private server with encryption. Many companies leverage such business remote access VPN<\/strong>\u00a0to build up a secure connection between their own network and the remote workers\u2019 device, being a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic in recent two years. General consumer-grade VPN<\/strong>\u00a0services actually belong to this remote access VPN, too, enabling the service user to use their protected network to do online acts with all data encrypted and hidden from other parts.<\/p>\n

\"How
How does Remote-Access VPN Work<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Site-to-Site VPN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Site-to-Site VPN, sometimes called Router-to-Router VPN, is a primary category referring to VPNs that establish a secure connection between multiple endpoints in different locations. Thus, these location-based users are capable of accessing each other\u2019s resources and doing file sharing in the same network. It\u2019s widely applied in companies that have many branch offices and need to cooperate often.<\/p>\n

\"How
How does Site-to-Site VPN Work <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Site-to-site VPN can\u00a0be furtherly subdivided\u00a0into intranet-based site-to-site VPN<\/strong>\u00a0and extranet-based site-to-site VPN<\/strong>, the former of which combines the different LANs into one network named WAN\/Wide Area Network<\/strong>\u00a0while the latter of which connects the LAN of company\u2019s public internet with other out-company parts to share information.<\/p>\n

Differences Between Remote Access VPN and Site-to-Site VPN<\/strong><\/p>\n

In brief, remote-access VPNs are commonly leveraged for both individuals and corporations and usually, the client setup is necessary for every customer user in demand, whereas site-to-site VPN is a company-level tool that has no client app to install and doesn\u2019t require every participant to conduct the client software setup.<\/p>\n

As to the security method to encrypt VPN tunnels, remote-access VPN accepts SSL and IPsec while site-to-site only supports IPsec (another MPLC protocol doesn\u2019t feature data encryption). Furthermore, the site-to-site VPN permits multiple user’s traffic to flow through any VPN tunnel.<\/p>\n

Some Other VPN Types You Are Bound to Encounter<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the VPN\u2019s actual user scenario, protocol, feature, and cost, you may come across many other VPN names during the information-digging process, such as VPN for business<\/strong>, enterprise VPN<\/strong>, customer-grade VPN<\/strong>, VPN app\/desktop software\/extension<\/strong>, cloud VPN<\/strong>, router VPN<\/strong>, multi-protocol VPN<\/strong>, SSL\/IPsec VPN<\/strong>, no-log VPN<\/a><\/strong>, and free\/pro VPN<\/strong>. In all probability,\u00a0they are remote-access VPNs.<\/p>\n

Is VPN Application Safe and Do I Really Need It?<\/h2>\n

For general customers, even after making how does VPN work clearly can\u2019t they reach a decision on whether it\u2019s reliable and why they need it.<\/p>\n

At first, VPN is mainly used by those who want be anonymous online for better online privacy, access geo-locked sites and also download torrents. If you happen to be the one, especially who are banned for visiting certain websites, running a VPN is undoubtedly the best way out. <\/p>\n

\"unblock<\/p>\n

As of VPN\u2019s security concern, everybody should know that it\u2019s different between applications. To judge whether a VPN is safe not not, you are suggested to confirm the VPN protocols it supports, the encryption algorithm and the log policy. A solid VPN must leverage or develop at least one trustworthy protocol, apply a high-grade encryption, strictly perform zero-log policy to lock and protect user data. <\/p>\n

8 Mainstream VPN Security Protocols You Must Know<\/h2>\n

The protocol is crucial for a VPN because this in-VPN tech determines the encryption standard<\/strong>\u00a0for the whole data transmission. However, since the priority thing varies from one protocol to another, no matter when you are selecting any single-protocol VPN service or picking the one within a multi-protocol VPN, you\u2019d better figure these items out in advance so that you can achieve the desired VPN performance easily.<\/p>\n

Below several common VPN protocols are displayed, with their pros and cons listed respectively.<\/p>\n

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PPTP is a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)\u2013 based VPN tunneling tech from Microsoft. Being added into Windows systems since Windows 95, this old VPN protocol is\u00a0really long in the tooth. However, the encryption<\/strong>\u00a0of this veteran is too basic<\/strong>\u00a0that anyone who requires VPN routing with the strong ability to lock data is not suggested to choose it. Instead, if you care more about (faster) connection speed<\/strong>\u00a0rather than data encryption, PPTP is a good bet to standby.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: Wide compatibility, user-friendly, truly cheap, fast speed, unblock (VOD\/TV) content
Cons<\/strong>: 128-bit encryption support only (it means poor security), less reliable, firewall unfriendly<\/p>\n

2. L2TP\/IPSec – Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol<\/strong><\/p>\n

L2TP is a dedicated tunneling protocol made for virtual private networks and ISP service delivery. As the successor of PPTP, it\u2019s more secure than PPTP<\/strong>\u00a0but more complex to use and set up. But you have to know that by reason this protocol doesn\u2019t support encryption from the very beginning, it\u2019s usually paired with another security protocol called IPsec to deliver users both good speed and data protection.<\/p>\n

P<\/strong>ros<\/strong>: Excellent security with AES 256-bit key encryption, wide compatibility, easy to configure, stable connection
C<\/strong>ons<\/strong>: Not ideal for China\/Iran\u00a0etc. countries with severe online restriction due to fixed ports, slow speed unless being paired with OpenVPN,<\/p>\n

\"VPN
VPN Protocols<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

1. PPTP – Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. SSTP – Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol<\/strong><\/p>\n

SSTP is another well-known VPN tunnel form developed by Microsoft. Better than both PPTP and L2TP, it transfers PPP traffic through the SSL\/TLS<\/strong>\u00a0channel (over TCP port 443 that\u2019s used by HTTPS) to obtain a higher level of security and bypass (NAT) firewalls, proxy servers, etc.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: Much secure, easy to configure, the great speed with sufficient bandwidth, get rid of the firewall
Cons<\/strong>: Closed-source protocol, limited compatible device, TCP meltdown, possible connection dropping once the header is changed, easier POODLE attack<\/p>\n

4. IKEv2\/IPsec – Internet Key Exchange, version 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

IKEv2, developed by Microsoft and Cisco jointly, is the newest version of IKEv series protocols. This widely-used VPN encryption protocol builds Security Association (SA) attribute within the authentication suite IPSec to ensure security, privacy, and speed.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: High and stable performance, multiple high-end ciphers support for a decent level of security, MOBIKE supported to resist network change, simple to setup
Cons<\/strong>: Fewer platforms supported, possibly be blocked by firewall<\/p>\n

5. OpenVPN<\/strong><\/p>\n

OpenVPN<\/a>, licensed under GNU GPL, written\u00a0by James Yonan and released in 2001, is a notably popular open-sourced and cross-platform VPN product. It not only features creating safe point-to-point or site-to-site connections but also been added into many top VPN\u2019s protocol options to let users enjoy its stunning encryption mechanism and functionality. It specifically gains benefit from OpenSSL library on both encryption and authentication work.<\/p>\n

The transports of OpenVPN can be either TCP or UDP. TCP promises reliability while UDP guarantees fast speed (for streaming and online gaming.)<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: Strong encryption (with\u00a0<\/strong>AES-256 bit key and similar), high security, circumvent firewalls, stable connection
Cons<\/strong>: Slower speed with latency<\/p>\n

6. WireGuard<\/strong><\/p>\n

WireGuard<\/a> has a dual identity of the communication protocol and open-source VPN software. As\u00a0a free VPN, it outperforms both IPsec and OpenVPN for proven cryptography (ChaCha20, Poly1305, Curve25519, etc.), speed and power-saving. It passes traffic through UDP (not HTTPS\u2019s 443 port) only.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: Superior cryptography, easy to set up and use, strong security, fast speed, cross-platform
Cons<\/strong>: Still in development, not so stable, more suitable for Linux, all logs kept with privacy problem, possibly be blocked for only supporting non-443-port UDP, the separate infrastructure needed<\/p>\n

7. SoftEther<\/strong><\/p>\n

SoftEther is a relatively new open-source VPN protocol and server software that\u2019s released in 2014. With this client-to-server and site-to-site helper, users can do fast internet connections safely with dynamic IP addresses and all data shielded by first-tier AES-256 and RSA-4096 encryption tech.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: Cross-platform, lightweight, powerful encryption, SSL-VPN Tunneling to\u00a0steer by firewall, high-speed
Cons<\/strong>: Less stable, many VPNs don\u2019t add support for it<\/p>\n

8. Shadowsocks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shadowsocks is a\u00a0piece of encryption protocol specifically created and also frequently used by\u00a0programmers in China<\/strong>\u00a0to blast through the Great Firewall.<\/strong>\u00a0This open-source tool came out early in 2012 and works as an\u00a0intermediary to help connect to SOCKS5 proxy<\/a>. It\u2019s able to disguise your online behavior by using HTTPS but isn\u2019t embedded with any encryption manner to safeguard the traffic and sensitive information. Moreover, various TCP connection support contributes to the ultra-fast speed.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>: Cross-platform, easy to install and use, hard to recognize and block, highly customizable, faster speed
Cons<\/strong>: Less functional (especially on privacy and encryption), only friendly with censorship-heavy countries like China<\/p>\n

>> Learn more on VPN Protocols<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Difference Between VPNs?<\/h2>\n

Enterprise VPN is easy to judge and opt for by the internal tech team with expertise. However, for the general public with less knowledge on computing and VPN-related things, it can be tough to sift\u00a0through the scattered VPN programs.<\/p>\n

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VPN differences<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here some key differences between VPN services are shared to the newcomers:<\/p>\n