The first is by simply looking at your browser’s extension panel. If you see an icon for a VPN service or anything related to one, then it’s likely that you have one installed. Another way to tell is by checking your IP address. If your IP address appears to be from another country or region than where you currently are, then it’s likely that you’re connected to a VPN server in that location.
Of course, the best way to definitively check if you’re using a VPN is by contacting your VPN provider and asking them directly.
Another way to check is to use a web-based proxy service. This will route your traffic through the proxy server and show you the headers of the websites you’re visiting. If you see any headers that say “Via: 1.1 [name of VPN provider]” then that means the site you’re visiting is being routed through a VPN.
Finally, you can also use a tool like Wireshark to sniff your traffic and look for any evidence of VPN usage. If you see any SSL-encrypted traffic going to port 443 (the standard port for HTTPS traffic) then that’s a good indication that someone on your network is using a VPN.
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Another way to check if a VPN tunnel is working properly is to try and access some resources on the remote network. For example, you could try and access a file share or printer on the network. If you are able to do so without any issues, then again, this is usually an indication that the VPN tunnel is indeed up and running as it should be.
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However, if your internet connection is slow or unreliable, or if you can’t seem to access certain websites or online services, then it’s possible that you are on a VPN. Another way to check is to look at your IP address. If your IP address appears to be from another country or region than where you’re actually located, then it’s likely that you’re on a VPN.
Worth knowing
Thank your for reading!