How does a VPN prevent IP-address leaks?

In today's Internet, maintaining privacy is a whole quest. One of the main security problems remains IP-address leaks. If your IP is not hidden, hackers can find out where you are, what you do online and what sites you visit. And VPN services promise to protect you from this. Let's figure out how effective this technology really is in preventing IP address leaks and what nuances there are.

How does a VPN help protect your IP?

An IP address is It's like a digital passport for your device that shows your location on the internet. When an IP address is leaked, that information becomes available to anyone who wants to track you. This puts your anonymity at risk and makes it possible to monitor your online activities.

Let's list the main problems that can arise with an IP leak:

• Location disclosure: anyone can find out where exactly you are sitting at your PC or phone, your geographic coordinates.
• Activity monitoring: you can find out what sites you visit, where you work remotely, what bank you use, what queries you enter into a search engine, what you are interested in, etc.
• Hacker attacks: knowing your IP and related information, attackers can try to hack you in a variety of ways ways.

How does a VPN help protect your IP? A VPN is your shield on the Internet. It encrypts all traffic coming from your device and hides your real IP by substituting the IP address of one of its servers for it. As a result, your real IP remains in the shadows, which protects you from surveillance.

What does using a VPN give you:

• High-quality encryption. A VPN turns your data into a set of codes that no one can decipher, even if intercepted.
• IP masking. VPN replaces your IP-address with the IP-address of its server, making you invisible to the outside world.
• Protection against DNS leaks and WebRTC. VPN closes the holes through which your real IP can leak.

How to prevent leaks

How to prevent your network address from leaking when using WebRTC (this is the feature that allows the browser to communicate directly with other devices, for example, for video calls):

• Disable WebRTC: go to your browser settings and remove this feature.
• Install extensions: there are a lot of browser plugins that block WebRTC leaks.
• VPN with WebRTC protection: use a VPN that is responsible for this.

When you visit websites, your ISP can receive data about your actions through DNS requests. If this process is not protected, a leak occurs, and your IP becomes visible. To protect yourself from DNS leaks, choose:

• VPN with DNS protection: choose services that guarantee that your DNS requests are encrypted too.
• Custom DNS: you can set up your own DNS server or use secure third-party services.
• Leak tests: regularly check if information is going where it shouldn’t, using online tools.

To check if your VPN is working as it should, you can use online tests. These services analyze your connection and see if information about your real IP is going where it shouldn’t. To do this, follow these steps:

• Connect VPN and choose a server.
• Go to sites like DNSLeakTest or IPLeak and run a test.
• If you see your real IP — then there is a leak, and something needs to be changed.

VPN is a powerful tool for protecting your anonymity on the Internet. It hides your IP, encrypts data, and protects against hackers. But even VPN is not a panacea if it is configured incorrectly. Be sure to use DNS and WebRTC leak protection, and don't forget to scan your network for vulnerabilities.

Private VPN server: another layer of protection

If you want complete control over your security, a private VPN server is a top-notch solution. Unlike regular public VPN services, you can configure all security features yourself, which significantly reduces the risk of IP leaks.

Private VPN server has collected interesting and useful information about why buying a private VPN server is a good idea. The resource offers detailed reviews of the service's functionality, discloses the terms of the public offer, indicates payment methods and rules for using the services, and also answers frequently asked questions. With this information, making the right choice is easy.

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