Installing a VPN on your device is one of the essential steps you need to take in order to have a safe and pleasant online experience. It good functioning is in your best interest and this is why you need to make sure that your VPN is working properly. Unfortunately, a lot of problems can occur if it turns out that your VPN is not up to the task and that it has some leaks.
Can a leak really occur?
To answer you most directly – Yes! Yes, it can! Unfortunately, no system is perfect and so it is possible that your VPN can have leaks. Now you may wonder how is it possible since one of VPN’s key features is saving your IP address and preventing traffic leaks. There are numerous records where people have reported that their IP addresses and DNS requests have leaked. We know this sounds terrifying especially if you are doing some very important job and you fear that some major information might fall in wrong hands.
However, it is necessary to draw your attention to this potential issue. We believe that if you are alerted on time, that you will be able to prevent some major issues that could be caused by VPN’s malfunctioning. This is why it is advisable to test if your VPN is working properly.
Test your VPN functionality
As we already mentioned, at times it is recommendable to do some check ups of your VPN system. Whether you are doing a project using Web Scraping, or simply surfing the internet looking for random stuff, maintaining a healthy internet flow of traffic is what needs to be your priority. After all, isn’t that what we are all striving for? This being said, let us inform you that there are two types of tests that you can run to make sure that VPN is still functioning well. You can be either running a basic test or an advanced test based on your personal skills.
Basic VPN test
The good thing about this basic VPN test is that everyone can do it by themselves. All it takes is connecting to VPN and entering some testing site. The downside of this test is that if it is a more serious problem, the test won’t identify it. And you may think that your VPN system is functioning perfectly. To prepare you more, we’ve come up with the list of leaks this test can identify. Those include: DNS leaks, WebRTC leaks and IP address leaks. The next step for you is to use some testing sites, and check whether your VPN has problems regarding the mentioned kinds of leaks. This site is quite easy to use and it will quickly identify the problems thus saving you your precious time.
DNS leaks
DNS leaks cause the exposing of your IP address in moments when the VPN server is bypassed or if the DNS request is sent unencrypted.
But if you ever wondered what exactly is DNS let us briefly explain it. Domain Name System stands behind the abbreviation and it enables easy web browsing. It is a mediator between humans and computers. DNS requires the IP address of the website that you wish to visit. You see this as a one-click action without much thinking of all the inner-workings.
WebRTC
WebRTC happens when the real IP address is exposed through WebRTC technology. This technology’s main characteristic is assisting with peer-to-peer functionality on the browser that you are currently using without any requirements of installing any other application or plugin. Testing WebRTC leak goes through several steps.
The first thing you need to do is disconnect from VPN and write down your IP address. Then log in to the VPN and choose the server. Step three is checking your IP address once more and if everything is right, you should be able to see that your IP address has been masked. The last part of the test is accessing a website that will allow you to run a WebRTC VPN test to determine if your VPN is actually leaking IP address or if everything is in good order.
IP leak
IP address is extremely important as it says your real location as well as the location of websites that you are using. The job of VPN is truly to hide your IP address and protect you from anyone who would try to steal it from you. But if the VPN system fails to defend your IP address then we’re talking about an IP leak. More often than not, it turns out that IPv4 and IPv6 are to be blamed for it. The problem arises because most VPN servers don’t support IPv6 so VPN tends to block it.
Advanced VPN test
As its name already suggests, these tests require more skills. A person needs to be technically equipped in order to handle the task. The good thing is that, no matter what kind of problem your device might have with VPN functioning, these tests will be able to identify them.
Your best option is creating a testing suite that matches your operating system. After that you will be able to conduct a series of tests and check all the leaked packets. But if you’re not really skilful at creating a test suite that will help you come to a conclusion, consider asking for assistance.
What to do if you identify leaks?
You’ve got several options in this case. One of the most logical ones is to look for another VPN provider. Make sure to choose carefully so that you can find the most reliable one. Even more so if you are doing serious IT business and you’ve got to choose a trustworthy web developer. You’ve got to have partners, in any sense of the word, that you can trust. On the other hand, before going all the way to change the prover, you could first contact the provider and see whether they can do something for you and identify the problem. For WebRTC leaks, change browser’s setting or disable it.
In the end, it is important to acknowledge that if the problem occurs, and the tests show that your VPN is not functioning properly, you should not hesitate to take every necessary step to solve it.
