Your guide to choosing a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

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Do you wish to protect the data you transmit online using a VPN? Here’s what you need to know before you start comparing your options.

What is a VPN?

When you use a Virtual Private Network, also known as a VPN, you’re essentially relying on a network technology to establish a secure connection to the Internet. A VPN comes with the functionality and security of a private wide area network (WAN), but at a noticeably lower cost, which is why it finds favor with businesses, organizations, and individuals alike.

To achieve this level of security, encryption protocols are used. Below are some protocols that VPN providers commonly use.

• IP security (IPSec). This protocol relies on transport mode or tunneling to provide secure communication. Many in the industry refer to it as ‘security overlay’ because it commonly provides an additional layer of security for other protocols.
• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS). Both these protocols make use of a ‘handshake’ authentication method. The client end and server end store certificates and cryptographic keys.
• Point-To-Point Tunnelling Protocol (PPTP). This protocol’s easy configuration and low maintenance have made it a popular choice with As a remote client, you can use this protocol to connect to a private server via the Internet.
• Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol (L2TP). You might end up using this protocol if you wish to tunnel communications data between two sites over the Internet. The use of L2TP along with IPSec is common, in which case you can expect the involvement of shared keys or certificates.

Explaining VPN software

The online world comes with its share of hackers, viruses, and eavesdroppers so protecting transmission of online data is of utmost importance, especially if you’re dealing with any kind of sensitive information. Common online activities that require you to handle personal and sensitive information include shopping, banking, social networking, and running your business. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) offers high levels of security while performing these kinds of activiities. Just what you should look for in a VPN provider, though, depends on your specific needs.

Is using a VPN to access geoblocked content legal or illegal in the US?

In a Northern District of California Court case (Craigslist Inc. v. 3Taps Inc.), the court held that using a VPN to get past an IP blocking mechanism is in violation of the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFFA), but keep in mind that this does not constitute copyright legislation. Besides, when you sign up with a VPN provider there is a possibility that the terms and conditions of the contract would absolve the provider of all responsibility if you end up accessing geoblocked content.

If you wish to access American websites when outside the country, laws of the country you’re in would apply. When it comes to accessing US Netflix outside the country, while it is possible using a VPN, Netflix’s official line is that doing so is in violation of its policies.

Will a VPN mask my identity while torrenting?

The simple answer to this is yes, a VPN does mask your IP address when you use torrents, but there’s more to it than that. For instance, some VPN service providers give their customers access to torrents in various countries, but not in the US or UK. Not all VPNs offer peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing capabilities and some service providers would reduce your speed if they detect you uploading or downloading a torrent.

The main reason behind the crackdown on torrent websites surrounds the legality of content, where while much of the content is perfectly legal to download and upload, there is much that falls under the purview of copyright infringement.

Frequently asked questions