How does a VPN work? (2024)

More and more people are using virtual private networks (VPNs) to improve their online security and privacy – which isn't surprising when you consider how many opportunistic cybercriminals are out there. VPNs encrypt your personal data, secure the Wi-Fi networks you use, and even protect against hackers.

That's not all, though – the best VPNs also allow you to unblock geo-restricted online content, stop bandwidth and data throttling, find the cheapest deals on the internet, and so much more. However, you might still be wondering how a VPN does all of this – and you're not alone.

VPNs use a lot of crucial tech, like encryption and protocols, that you might not be familiar with (unless you’re an undercover tech expert). Here, I'll explore how VPNs work and suggest a few of my personal favorites.

Top 3 VPNs in 2024

What does a VPN do?

There are a lot of VPNs available on the market, but they all work in pretty much the same way. As I mentioned earlier, VPNs are software-based tools that provide an end-to-end encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server. This routes your traffic away from your internet service provider's (ISP) servers and through its own.

In this tunnel, any web traffic sent to and from your computer is encrypted, all the time. A VPN will also hide your internet protocol (IP) address. This means that cybercriminals, government agencies, your ISP, and other nosy third parties won’t be able to intercept your personal data, track what you're doing online, or determine your location.

It's also worth noting that VPNs know how to have fun, too. Most services have a global network of servers – connect to one, and you can spoof your location to bypass geo-restrictions and unblock online content that would normally only be available in a specific country. I'll cover this topic in more detail a little later – but, basically, VPNs are a streamer's best friend.

What is VPN encryption?

One of the most important functions of VPNs is their ability to encrypt personal data and web traffic. Using encryption technologies, VPNs ensure that credit card numbers, passwords, messages, transaction history, browsing data, and other sensitive information travels through an encrypted tunnel in undecipherable code.

How does this work in practical terms? Well, if you log into your email account, the request will be communicated to the VPN service. After establishing a connection between your device and the VPN server, the VPN then sends your login request to the VPN server through an encrypted tunnel.

Once your request lands on the VPN server, it sends the data to your email provider's server, still encrypted. The email grants the request and returns the data back to the VPN server. At this point, the VPN server also re-encrypts the data and sends it to the VPN service, where the data is deciphered and passed on, finally, to your device. It's sort of like a digital relay race – and your data is the baton.

This might seem like a long and complicated ordeal, especially as your data is encrypted and decrypted at every step of the process, but Surfshark points out that every step "happens in a second" – and sometimes "in a fraction of a second" if you have a fast internet connection. Plus, the majority of VPNs use one of the most robust encryption methods available: AES-256.

What are VPN protocols?

Another important piece of the VPN puzzle are the protocols. Essentially, they're commands and processes that decide how web traffic travels from one server to another within an encrypted tunnel.

There are lots of VPN protocols out there, but the most common are:

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
• Transport Layer Security (TLS)
• Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)
• IP Security (IPSec)
• Internet Key Exchange (IKEv1 or IKEv2)
• Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)
• WireGuard
• OpenVPN

VPN services are constantly evolving, though, and protocols become outdated as quickly as new ones enter the picture. NordVPN believes every protocol is imperfect, explaining that "each may have potential vulnerabilities, documented or yet to be discovered, that may or may not compromise your security".

Most of today's top VPN providers use OpenVPN and WireGuard as their protocols of choice seeing as they’re highly secure and generally pretty fast. VPNs allow users to switch protocols too – so, if you prefer one over the other, it's not a problem. All you'll need to do is head into the settings menu of your VPN app and make your choice.

Being aware of these different protocols is important because they often determine the overall speed, security, and privacy of your VPN service. Using an outdated VPN protocol could put your data at risk.

Basically, OpenVPN, WireGuard, and proprietary protocols like ExpressVPN's LightWay and Hotspot Shield's Catapult Hydra are widely regarded as safe, with IKEv2 also being useful for mobile VPN apps. Other protocols have their uses, sure, but if you're using a modern VPN (and you want the best balance of speed and security), you'll want to stick with these tried and tested options.

How do VPNs unblock streaming sites?

VPNs can do way more than just encrypt your data, however. You'll also be able to access all sorts of streaming platforms, and their region-locked libraries, without being hampered by pesky geo-restrictions.

The how is pretty straightforward. Most premium VPNs have thousands of servers dotted across the globe. Take your pick of these servers, connect to one, and you'll be given a new IP address based in that same location. This is what fools sites into thinking you're there, too, and means you’ll be able to access country-specific services.

For example, if you're in the UK and want to check out what’s on US Netflix, you'll need to connect to a VPN server in the US. Then, reload Netflix, and the site will see that you're connecting from a US IP address and think you're in the States, too. You'll be served up all the best American Netflix content on a platter – simple.

How VPNs work – in a nutshell

A VPN redirects your traffic away from your ISP's servers, sending it through its own servers, instead. At the same time, the VPN encrypts the traffic, ensuring that nobody can read it even if it's intercepted.

VPNs use several protocols to transfer your data, with OpenVPN and WireGuard considered today's gold standards.

While VPNs primarily protect your sensitive data, plenty of people use them to unblock streaming content from around the world, too. This is possible thanks to global networks of servers, owned by a particular VPN provider. You can join a server overseas, be assigned an IP address in the same location, and trick sites into thinking you're physically, there, too.

Tom's Guide VPN rankings

There are a lot of VPNs on the market – and putting them all to the test would take more time than anyone realistically has. Luckily, that's exactly what we do here at Tom's Guide. Me and the rest of the team have ranked the industry's top providers (and some honorable mentions) in the table below.

FAQs