Small apps called proxies do much the same. VPNs aren't the only tool that can reroute an address.
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READ NEXT: How to use a VPN Securing your connection
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So, if you’re there on holiday, you can access the free internet in another country using a VPN and access Facebook that way. The People’s Republic blocks Facebook, for example. This also works if you’re in a country with a restricted internet, like China or Russia.
By using a VPN, you can connect to a server in the US and trick Netflix into showing you its US library.
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For example, if you’re in the UK, you get a specific library of films and TV shows on Netflix, but other countries have a different library. This is great for a number of reasons: different sites display differently depending on the country you access them from. The result is that the site now thinks you have the new IP address. This gives you the IP address of that server, and only then sends you to the site you wanted. Things change when you use a VPN, though: in this case, you connect to the ISP’s server as normal, but then reroute your connection to a server operated by the VPN. Your ISP also knows what you’re doing, though unless you’re in the United States that data is protected. This information, along with other data points gleaned from your browsing behavior, can be quite profitable for marketers. However, the connection works both ways: the sites you access know your IP address and thus have a rough idea of your geographic location. Their name is still a legacy of this: the “private network” refers to the employer’s systems, while “virtual” means that you are, for all intents and purposes, faking being part of it. The technology was first developed to let people working from home log into their employer’s intranet even if their IP address (the set of numbers that identifies you on a network) was different from their office’s. VPN stands for “virtual private network”. READ NEXT: Our pick of the best VPNs for streaming and security What are VPNs and what can they do? The added security means that you’re harder to track by marketers and your internet service provider (ISP), while being able to fake (or “spoof”) your location means you can circumvent regional blocks like those put up by Netflix, to name just one example.īelow, we go over in more detail how a VPN works, the best times to use them and also some shortcomings that most advertising won’t tell you about. In short, a VPN is a tool that does two things: it helps secure your connection and can make it seem like you’re somewhere other than where you really are. But what is a VPN, and what can it do for you? Many bloggers, vloggers and plenty more besides have an opinion on what the best VPN is. Almost everywhere you look you’ll see VPNs advertised: on TV, in magazines and, of course, all over the internet.