You may have heard the term VPN used more and more frequently in recent years. Short for Virtual Private Network, a VPN serves several purposes, including making online activities more secure. For that reason alone, we recommend that everyone use a VPN.
Aside from improved security, a VPN has other benefits, including enabling users to unblock geo-restricted content and circumvent government censorship. If you want to find out more about VPNs, you’ve come to the right place. We continuously review and test the best VPNs on the market (and some not-so-great ones, too), so we can tell you everything you need to know.
In this post, we’ll delve into more detail about what VPNs are, how they work and what you can do with one. We’ll also provide some pointers for choosing the right VPN service, and tell you about some of the top-rated VPN providers. Let’s jump in!
What is a VPN connection and how does it work?
A typical VPN consists of a network of servers, typically dotted all over the globe, run by a VPN provider. When a user signs up for and connects a device to a VPN service, two major things happen.
The key elements of a VPN connection are:
- All traffic going to and from the connected device becomes encrypted.
- The encrypted traffic goes through an intermediary server, the location of which is chosen by the user.
Let’s look at both of these features separately and explain the benefits.
