When you connect to a VPN, your traffic is encrypted and routed through a secure tunnel to the VPN server. This makes it much harder for anyone on the same network as you (e.g. at your home or office) to snoop on your traffic and see what websites you’re visiting or what files you’re downloading.
However, the VPN server itself can still see your real IP address and knows which websites you’re visiting. So if the NSA or another government agency comes knocking at the door of your VPN provider with a court order, they will be able to hand over your logs and reveal your identity.
Similarly, many ISPs now keep track of which websites their customers are visiting and could hand over this information to law enforcement if required to do so by a court order. So even if you’re using a VPN, your ISP may still know what sites you’re visiting (although they won’t be able to see the contents of your traffic).
And finally, there’s always the possibility that someone might spy on your traffic while it’s in transit between your computer and the VPN server (this is known as an “active attacker” attack). This is why it’s important to use a reputableVPN provider that uses strong encryption methods such as AES-256-GCM .
All in all, while a VPN can be a great way to improve your privacy online, it’s not perfect and there are still ways that someone could conceivably find out what you’re doing online even if you’re using one.
Worth knowing
Worth knowing
Worth knowing
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