VPN – What, how and why
The majority of people think internet is completely anonymous i.e. if they change their name no one would be able to identify them or know their location. This is incorrect.
Now a days internet is used almost for everything. People use it for learning, doing research, running business, for communication (emails, text messages, telephone calls, using social media), for electronic commerce and for entertainment. The majority of people think internet is completely anonymous i.e. if they change their name no one would be able to identify them or know their location.
This is incorrect.
The Internet identifies us as a number which is called our IP address. It is generally an 11 digits number such as 12.234.345.456. Our IP address is unique for us. It identifies which country we are in, which city we are in, which area we are in and approx. which location we are at. With the IP address and matching that with data at Internet Service Provider (ISP), one can know who we are and where we are.
Additionally, any information that we store online as well as that we send over the internet through emails, messages, chats, forms, voice messages, video messages etc. is at risk of being picked up/hacked by some bad guys and then can be used for unlawful purposes. It has become difficult to provide complete assurance that our online activities are secure and private.
Though it is almost impossible to secure something online with 100% certainty, Virtual Private Network or VPN is one such tool which can help us keep our information secure and private to a great extent.
In this article, we will explain VPN i.e., what is it, how does it work, why is it used and how it can be used to keep our online information and activities secure and private, to a great extent.
What is a VPN?
It is a software technology that:
- Hides one’s identity on the internet.
- Secures the internet line/connection between information sending and receiving points.
- Transmits information in a coded (encrypted) form.
- Helps us access information/websites that are available only in certain countries.
How Do VPNs work?
Data is sent through an encrypted tunnel when you use a VPN to connect to the internet.
- Hides one’s identity on the internet.
The first thing VPN does is it hides user’s identity. Since our identity on the internet is our IP Address, it changes our IP address by replacing our original IP address with a different IP address. So, our original IP address i.e. location will be hidden from everyone and they will, in fact, see the IP Address (location) selected by us through VPN which is fake.
The concept is very old. It works on the principle of a Post Office Box. If we do not want to disclose our home address to others, we can buy a post office box number. So, anyone sending us anything will only know our P O Box number and not our actual address. We will provide the PO Box Number as our address so our actual address will be hidden from the world.
Similarly, people would only know our IP Address assigned to us by the VPN and not the actual IP address, hence our actual identity and location will be successfully hidden.
- Secures the internet line/connection between information sending and receiving points.
Using the latest internet security processes (protocols) VPN ensures that when we connect to another IP address (website, computer, or social media channels) the connection is secure and our information cannot be hacked (picked up) while in transit.
- Transmits information in a coded (encrypted) form.
Before sending information from one place to another on the internet, VPN converts this information into a coded information (this process is called encryption) so even if someone hacks (pickups) the information while in transit, it is meaningless for them as it is in a coded language means encrypted. When the information reaches its destination VPN decodes this info (this process is called decryption) back to the regular language.
For example, if I am sending my city name (Karachi) to someone using internet, before sending the word “Karachi” to its destination VPN converts the word Karachi into some coded word (say xx5t6sd), then the coded word is transmitted over internet. Once the information reaches its destination VPN converts the coded word “xx5t6sd” back to its regular language i.e. “Karachi”. So, even if someone can hack the information while in transit they will get “xx5t6sd” which will be meaningless for them, and our personal information will be saved.
- Helps access information/websites that are available only in certain countries.
Another good thing about VPN is that we can select which country’s location (IP Address) we want to use on the internet. So, using a VPN one can select a US IP address which would mean that everyone else, including other websites, would think I am in the US, whereas I might be actually sitting in Pakistan.
The benefit of selecting an IP address of another country of our choice is then we can access any website contents that are allowed only in that country.
Let me use an example. Let’s say my friend in the US sends me a YouTube
link to a great educational video, but I cannot open the video as it tells me it is available only in US geographic location. Now if I am using a VPN, I can select VPN to assign me a US IP Address, and then if I try to access the same video, I will be able to access the same, as now YouTube thinks I am in the US and will allow me to access the video.
Similarly, if some social media channels cannot be accessed in Pakistan temporarily, using VPN and using another country’s IP address we can access those social media channels while physically being in Pakistan.
Why is a VPN used?
Online privacy: if someone wants some online privacy and wants to hide his/her IP address and location, the use of a VPN provides all these things to preserve online privacy. They also prevent other websites and ISPs from tracking and recording people’s online behavior.
Bypassing Geo-Restrictions: With the help of a VPN, people may get beyond the geographical limitations that some websites and online services have, can access regionally specialized content and services that might otherwise be unavailable to them by connecting to a VPN server in a different area.
Data protection: When people use the public Wi-Fi network, which is also associated with many security vulnerabilities, the route provided by a VPN ensures the safety of data from potential hackers.
Secure Remote Access: VPNs enable secure remote access to private networks, enabling users to access their place of employment or academic resources from any location in the world. The remote working environment of today makes use of this characteristic very well.
Anonymous Torrenting: People who engage in peer-to-peer file sharing (torrenting) usually use VPNs. VPNs offer anonymity and shield users from potential legal repercussions related to copyright infringement by hiding their IP addresses.
Avoiding Censorship: VPNs give people in areas with tight internet censorship the ability to get around these limitations.
Users can access unlimited information and exercise their right to free expression by encrypting their internet traffic and connecting to VPN servers located in more tolerant jurisdictions.
Benefits:
Access to Regional markets: VPNs give you access to regional online markets and platforms. Your market potential may improve because of being able to reach a wider audience and investigate new markets.
Affiliate marketing and SEO: Search engine results from various regions can be analyzed and compared using VPNs. For affiliate marketers or SEO experts looking to improve their tactics and boost website traffic, which could result in increased earnings, this can be helpful.
Ad testing and localization: VPNs let you watch regionally specific adverts. This can be helpful for marketers and companies wishing to test advertising campaigns, examine rival techniques, or more effectively target markets, which could lead to better ad performance and higher sales.
Conclusion:
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have become an essential tool for preserving online security and privacy. VPNs help people feel meticulous by establishing safe connections, encrypting data, and hiding identities.
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Babar Saeed
May 21, 2023

The writer is a professional marketer and engineer with good work exposure to governments, and businesses and industries in the private sector in several countries. Idea is to take the first step in adding value to anything that one gets exposed to instead of just complaining about the same.