Leaks and other problems
Nowadays most VPN providers deliver their service in minimalistic and useful clients for both computers and mobile devices, and typically these are very simple to use. Usually the software changes color when the VPN is active, either from red to green, grey to blue and other such variations. This is often accompanied by a brief notification stating that a connection was established to the country of choice, highlighting that country’s flag and most importantly the IP address that the tool has attributed to you.
If all this has occurred with your VPN then it is working as it should and there’s nothing else to check within the client itself, but before rushing to the internet it’s important to spend a minute or two checking for leaks.
As the term indicates, VPN leaks are tiny bits of your system’s information that are still visible even with the VPN turned on. The internet works by sending and receiving packets of data from your real location to a server, and from there to the rest of the online world. As part of this complex journey things can sometimes not work properly and, for a couple seconds, it may be that your packets can be seen by your ISP without the VPN protection. Some of the most common leaks include IP and DNS addresses, and some top-notch VPN providers such as IPVanish have tools that allow you to check for these glitches.
To properly test for leaks you will first need to turn the VPN on and then head to IPVanish’s IP checking site, or any other IP checking tool for that matter. While there, check that the location showing is the same as in the VPN client. If it is, then everything is fine and your real IP address is fully disguised with the server you’re connected to, but if your real location is seen then that means you have a leak.
The same principle applies to DNS leak tests: visit DNSLeak.com or DNSLeakTest.com with the VPN turned on and find out if the two locations match one another. Additionally, if you use the Chrome or Firefox browsers on Windows there is another problem you could encounter: a WebRTC leak. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to check BrowserLeaks.com to confirm if the IP address and location are the same as what is displayed in the VPN client.
Why checking for leaks is important
Fortunately, nowadays most VPN services have built-in DNS leak preventers and kill switches that work remarkably well to address this particular issue, and are therefore two features you should always look for to safeguard your online activities.
Leo S.
Adam B.
