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VPN Leaking: IP, Data, DNS Leaks, What to Do About it?

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Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have become a popular online tool for everyday users who want to browse the Internet safely and without restrictions. They use it for all sorts of purposes, but sometimes the service can fail for various reasons. 

In that case, we are talking about VPN leakages that make it impossible to hide your online activities and bypass content restrictions. These incidents come in many forms and you can recognize them as IP or data leaks and so on. 

If you are used to relying on VPN services on a daily basis, possible data leakage will probably become a big burden for you and your online habits. This is exactly why you need to learn everything there is to know about VPN leaking and how to deal with it. Let’s take a look!

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What Is a VPN and Why Do You Need It?

In order to understand the main reasons for VPN leaking, we must remind you once again of the purpose of this service. It’s not the most complex technology you can face, but it does require a few paragraphs of explanation.

By definition, a VPN is an encrypted connection over the Internet from a device to a network established with the purpose to safely transmit sensitive data. When you don’t use a VPN, every website you visit can instantly recognize your real IP and find out the location from which you are surfing the Web. 

Jake Gardner, a cybersecurity expert at bestcustomessay.org, explains that the service cannot make you fully anonymous online: “Nothing can make you 100% anonymous, but a VPN does maximize cybersecurity and help you browse the Internet without intrusion or restrictions.”

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A typical user may ask us now: Ok, but why do I need a VPN in the first place? We will name the most popular options only, but you are still going to be surprised by the sheer usability of VPNs. Here are your options:

  • Protect your freedom of speech: The first benefit of using a VPN is essential since you can do it to protect your freedom of speech from oppressive regimes. This is exactly what the people of Belarus are doing these days. 
  • Access restricted content: A lot of websites restrict content based on geo-location targeting, but VPN providers can bypass the barrier and grant you access to such posts. 
  • Use public Wi-Fi securely: Frequent travelers will definitely appreciate the benefit of using public Wi-Fi securely. 
  • Online shopping: Another option is to use a VPN for online shopping from a country that is not on the website’s green list.
  • Increase online security: Users with a reliable VPN provider can solidify their digital security and prevent a fair share of malware attacks.

How to Identify a VPN Leakage? 

What is a VPN leakage? As you might have guessed already, a VPN leakage occurs when the real IP address is still traceable despite the fact that your platform is activated. In other words, websites can identify your IP address as if you’re not using a VPN.

But how can you tell?

The first answer is obvious – you won’t be able to do the things you used to do online. A much better option is to follow a predefined path and take a few simple VPN checks:

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  1. Turn off your VPN and check your real IP

First of all, you should turn off the VPN service and go online to check your real IP. For instance, you can find platforms that will instantly show you the actual IP address at the top of the page right below the website domain name. This is your real IP address without a VPN.

  1. Activate your VPN platform

Now that you know the real IP address, it is time to activate your VPN platform. Make sure to do it properly and double-check that the VPN connection is really established. 

  1. Check your IP address once again

The VPN is now active, but it doesn’t mean that it functions perfectly. You should check your IP address once again just like you did in the first step of this process. If everything is alright, then your new IP address should be different than the actual IP address. This means it will comply with the VPN provider and the region you signed up for, says Tom Gabel, the security manager at assignment writing from Australian Writings.

But if you notice that the IP address is the same, it’s a signal that you are experiencing a VPN leakage. 

How Can You Fix a VPN Leakage Issue? 

It’s not uncommon to face some VPN difficulties from time to time, so it’s good to know how to fix the bug and move on without interruptions. 

Before we show you how to do it, you should know that the solution depends on the origin of the VPN leakage. Our goal is to present you with the simplest solution for each problem and we won’t bother you with technical details.

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  • Failed VPN connection IP leak

The most common IP leakage comes from a failed VPN connection. It usually happens because your VPN disconnects suddenly and transfers your web traffic to the regular connection. The solution comes in the form of a kill-switch that immediately halts your connection and keeps it like that until you turn on the VPN again. 

  • A DNS leak

Sometimes a VPN will send DNS requests to the DNS server that is not safe and secure, thus revealing your IP address. Although it’s a frequent case in the VPN world, there is a simple solution – prevent the problem by finding a reliable VPN provider with automatic DNS leak prevention.

  • An IPv6 leak

When we talk about IP addresses, we usually refer to the IPv4 version. It’s the older version, but there is also the IPv6 address introduced when the number of devices with the Internet connection grew bigger. Some VPN providers were built before IPv6, which is why they only transfer IPv4 safely. To overcome this problem, you should just deactivate IPv6 on your operating system, advises the network manager from professional lab report help.

The Bottom Line

Can you imagine your life without a VPN? We bet you can, but it is still a very important tool for all of you digital nomads out there. This is exactly why we consider the issue of VPN leaking to be extremely annoying and worth our attention.

In this post, we discussed the purpose of VPNs, what to do with it, how to check it for possible leakages, and how to fix your platform. There are many possible issues and solutions to be considered here, so the best thing you can do is to prevent the problem by purchasing a reliable VPN platform.

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Tiffany Harper is a professional freelance writer, who sometimes works as a subject matter expert with the blogs and social media posts for an assignment help online at Essay Help. She is currently authoring a book on the role of AI and VR in writing and plans to release it in Feb next year. Please do not hesitate to contact her on twitter.

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