Here are several key concepts related to VPN that will help you understand how a VPN works and the benefits it provides:

Proxying

The VPN server acts like a proxy, or stand-in, for your web activity: Instead of your real IP address and location, websites you visit will only see the IP address and location of the VPN server.

This makes you more anonymous on the internet.

Authentication

Establishing a secure connection is a tricky problem solved by clever mathematics in a process called authentication.

Once authenticated, the VPN client and VPN server can be sure they are talking to each other and no one else.

Tunneling

VPNs also protect the connection between client and server with tunneling and encryption.

Tunneling is a process by which each data packet is encapsulated inside another data packet. This makes it harder for third parties to read in transit.

Encryption

Data inside the tunnel is also encrypted in such a way that only the intended recipient can decrypt it. This keeps the contents of your internet traffic completely private. Even your internet service provider won’t see it.

Learn more about VPN encryption.