Is your VPN working? We’re sure that it is causing you some trouble and that is why you are reading this article. We live in the age where VPN has become a necessity. Sometimes, there can be issues in the working of your VPN. You might have it on but it just won’t work and surprisingly, you wouldn’t know if your VPN is working or not. So, in this article we will guide you on how to check if your VPN is working or not.
Due to geographical problems at times, some sites are inaccessible. VPN helps you in this cause. It obscures your profile so that you can browse wherever you want, whatever you want while being unnoticed actually stands for Virtually Private Network. A VPN is a software that hides your identity on the internet. It is very beneficial as a VPN ensures the security, privacy and safety of your IP address so you can browse the internet anonymously. Browsing the internet without a VPN in this era is very risky. Hackers are present around the corners and being on the web without a VPN is basically inviting them to hack our profiles and get access to your personal information. It puts your personal data on a grave risk to be exposed to hackers and third parties.
Is Your VPN Working Or Not? How To Know
Is your VPN working fine or is it causing you trouble? A properly working VPN camouflages your identity over the internet and hides your IP address. At times, VPNs are not as perfect as the manufacturers claim them to be. A faulty VPN will rather leak your information over the internet which you were trying to hide. Other than that, a faulty may also restrict you from visiting your favorite websites that it once used to open. To know if you have a faulty VPN, you should know about VPN leaks.
Vpn Leak
A VPN Leak is a flaw in your VPN software that causes the leakage of your actual identity, which was supposed to be protected by the VPN. Although this issue is rarely to occur if you are using some of the best VPN services. Anyhow, if you face such a problem or have doubts that your VPN is working not fine, you should try a VPN test. A VPN test will let you know if your VPN is working or not.
Vpn Leak Tests
There are 3 different type of VPN leak tests to know if your VPN is working fine or not. These are mentioned below
- IP Address Leak Test
- DNS Leak Test
- WebRTC Leak Test
Ip Address Leak Test
Every device browsing on the internet has a unique IP address that is only meant for that device. IP addresses are allocated to devices based on geographical locations. IP addresses can be used to track down devices on the internet. One of the main concerns of using a VPN is to be able to hide your IP address and if the VPN is not able to do so then what’s the point of having one installed in the first place, right?
Is your VPN working actually or is it leaking your device’s IP address? The only way to know is by running an IP Address Leak test. When you connect your device to a VPN, your device’s actual IP address is changed to an IP address that assigned by the VPN. To check if there is an IP address leak
- Disconnect the VPN of your device (phone/laptop)
- Go to the search engine and type whatismyipaddress
- You will get to see the actual IP address of your device. Note it down somewhere for the next step
- Now, connect your device to the VPN you are using and repeat the second step
- Compare both the IP addresses
- If they are the same, your VPN has a leak
DNS Leak Test
DNS stands for Domain Name System. IP addresses are used by computers to interact with each other. These numbers are translated into human understandable names by the DNS. DNS basically names the IP addresses so that we can understand them.
While IP addresses can tell a person about your location, DNS tells a person about the websites they visit or the webpages they desire to open. Imagine someone being able to know all the websites you have been to? A knowhow about your personal matters even after using a VPN is a breach in privacy and no one would want it. So, here are the tips on how to check if your VPN is being leaking your DNS information.
- Connect your device to VPN
- Change the location to the United States
- Type on your preferred search engine DNSLeakTest.com
- Your IP address will be detected and you will have to choose from two options, Standard test and Extended test
- Go for the Standard Test
- There is a DNS Leak if the results are shown of your original Internet Service Provider
Webrtc Leak Test
WebRTC stands for Web Real-Time Communication. A WebRTC is basically a means of communication between browsers. WebRTC allows you to stream media (both audio and video) in HD quality. It also aids in transfer of files.
Is your VPN working fine or is it facing a WebRTC leak? In order to know if your VPN is working, take a WebRTC Leak Test. In case of a WebRTC Leak, your original IP address is exposed to the site that utilizes the technology of WebRTC. In order to detect a WebRTC leak test, follow the steps.
- Disconnect your device from the VPN
- Go to your browser and take a WebRTC leak test on ExpressVPN
- You need to write down any public IP address that you see there
- Close the tab and connect your device to the VPN you use
- Now, repeat the second step by opening the ExpressVPN again
- If the same public IP address is present there then your VPN is faulty.
Conclusion
VPN has now become the necessity of our daily routine in order to keep our life activities private. Moreover, it has us saved us in many ways such as not disclosing our locations to hackers. You should always be using a good reliable VPN that keeps your data secured. Hope this article remained helpful to you. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments.
