More and more users are using VPN services in their day to day. As we know, they offer a wide range of possibilities, such as improving our privacy, encrypting connections, hiding the IP address, being able to access geographically restricted content … We have at our disposal different options for all types of operating systems. We are talking, for example, of using them on mobile devices or computers. There are free and paid ones. Now, the truth is that they do not always work correctly. In this article we are going to talk about how to verify that a VPN works well.
The importance of using a VPN that works
As we say, there are many options that we have at our disposal. Many services that offer us the possibility of hiding our IP or accessing a computer remotely with security, among other things. However, it does not always work as we would like. We do not always have the ability to encrypt our privacy correctly.
The fact of using a VPN that does not fulfill its purpose properly will put our data at risk and will cause our devices to suffer problems. This is something that can happen especially when we use a free tool or one that does not have the appropriate standards.
Therefore we must always make sure that the VPN works well . You have to take into account the importance of it and not make mistakes. Let’s see what basic and simple questions we can take into account to see if it works as it should.
How to see if the VPN works well
We can take into account several options to see if the VPN service we are using fulfills its role properly. We can do this easily and completely free of charge.
Check the IP address
One of the easiest and fastest ways to know if a VPN we are using is working correctly is to check the IP address . Precisely to hide it is one of the main uses of this type of tool. If it doesn’t work properly, if you can’t mask it, something is wrong.
For this we can use any of the services to check the IP address. There we will easily see which is the address that it shows us, the location, ISP, etc. Do you put our real address? In that case we would have problems with the VPN and it is not working properly.
If we see that the IP address is hidden, if it puts another one that is not our real one, then it means that in that case the VPN service we are using works properly.
To know this previously, we must know what our real IP address is, write it down and check once we have started the VPN. It is easy and fast.
Check for possible DNS leaks
Something similar happens with possible DNS leaks . We can also check for DNS leaks. This could show our actual location, for example. Even if our IP is hidden, this could happen.
Once again we have at our disposal free tools on the Internet that we can use to check for DNS leaks. We can start a test and see if our real location appears or, on the contrary, it shows us the one that should appear with the VPN we are using.
See if the WebRTC filters the IP
A third simple test is to check if our WebRTC is filtering the IP address. This is a communication system that is integrated into most modern browsers. It is something useful and necessary for certain services, but it has certain vulnerabilities that could leak the IP address.
We can see the IP address and if there are problems through free tools that offer us this information.
In short, checking if our VPN is working properly is very simple. Our advice is to make use of services that are reliable, avoid those free that do not offer guarantees and periodically check if our data is really safe or if we can have problems when browsing the network.