Caught Using a VPN? Here’s How They Know!
Since governments and companies around the world seem to be on a censorship on the Internet, many people turn to VPN (virtual private networks) to bypass these restrictions – only to be caught!
So how, if VPNs are supposed to hide your identity and your location, do these systems seem to know that you use one? It turns out that the way VPNs work may not be everything clandestine. Although VPNs are generally good to hide your identity and your location, they are not good to hide the fact that you use a VPN in the first place.
Your IP address gives it
Wait, isn’t it a VPN hide Your IP address? Well, yes, but the VPN server you use has an IP address. You cannot access the Internet without IP address, and although your real IP address is obscured from the web when working via a VPN, the own VPN IP can say a lot to a server.
On the one hand, VPNs tend to use shared pools of IP addresses. The server that transmits your traffic to the net is used by several people at the same time. This means that a long list of people accesses the web using the same IP address, which is suspect.
Over time, web servers and security companies that sell servers’ security services build known IP VPN address lists. That is to say that if you access a site from one of these prohibited IPs, you will receive a “detected VPN” message. Of course, VPN companies do not use the same IP addresses forever, and the innocent people find themselves in this trap when their dynamic IP takes place in an old prohibited.
That said, it’s a fairly effective way to block most VPN traffic if you don’t want it. The only effective counter-measure here is to use a VPN with a single IP address. Some VPN services offer a more expensive option where you get a dedicated IP address for your VPN account only. In this case, no one can make the difference between someone who is really in the target location and a VPN. The only drawback here is that the subscription is more expensive, but if you want to hide that you are using a VPN, this is the most important and most important step.
Your browser is not as private as you think
The other big confidentiality problem is not something with which the VPN service can help you. Your own browser may offer you, as there is certain information that a web server can get from your browser and the information can conflict with the location from which you are supposed to access a site. This makes you relatively simple to block yourself if the point is to circumvent a geographic restriction.
If you are, for example, access a site from the United States according to the location of the VPN server, but the regional parameters of your computer contradict this, it is a potential sign that you use a VPN. Sites can also check your cookies for information that shows where your real place is likely. This is more effective if you use a service where you need to connect, because if you have connected without VPN during a previous session, it is almost a index that you use a VPN if the two locations do not correspond and have occurred in a short period of time.
There is also the biggest problem of fingerprints in the browser. This is where a site can link a unique ID to a specific browser due to the specific mixture of system specifications, extensions and other aspects of this browser and this computer. To get around this, you need to use a confidentiality browser like Tor or Brave Browser. You can also use extensions such as confidentiality badger.
Leaks and configuration errors show you
To be honest, a VPN is a fairly thin shield regarding the protection of privacy, and a single small confession in your configuration can blow up your blanket. A common way for this to happen is a “DNS leak”. The domain name system (DNS) is essentially like the Internet telephone directory (do you remember these?).
When you enter a web address, your browser will ask a DNS server which IP address this website address. The DNS server returns the IP address and your browser can connect to the server in question. The fact is that if your browser requests your local DNS (like the one provided by the ISP), the website in question may see that you have just asked an IP to a DNS server which is not in the same region as the VPN!
There is also the webbrtc (real -time web communication) which can completely bypass a VPN to allow a direct connection between your browser and a web service. This is a popular method for everything that is real -time like video cats, but can also be used for file transfers, online games, etc. Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Microsoft Edge tend to be lacking in WebBRTC when available, so they can be vulnerable to this type of leak.
Some VPN suppliers such as ExpressVPN allow you to detect and block webbrtc leaks using your webrtc leakage test, but you can always deactivate it in your browser. Remember that this is a browser feature, so you can simply have a specific browser with deactivated webrtc that you use alongside your VPN.
The latest configuration problem is in fact the responsibility of the VPN. Most of the good VPNs offer a “killswitch” that automatically blocks your connection if it detects that the VPN server has abandoned the connection. It is a life buoy when it works, but if there is something that does not go with this feature, the VPN itself can expose you if the connection falls for any reason.
Your behavior does not correspond to your location
I refer to this above, but even if you use a VPN, the real things you do on the web can give you:
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Quick IP cycling or physically impossible location changes.
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Language and research models, such as using English when it is supposed to travel to Japan or Europe.
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Have a payment method from another region. In fact, some services simply do not allow payment from the outside of the authorized location.
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The same device seems to jump from one place to another.
The use of a VPN can certainly help you hide your location and your identity, but it is only part of the puzzle, and a fairly weak thing. At the very least, any really serious person to detect the use of VPN can probably do it, so will not be in place on VPN technology taking you obstacles where the VPNs themselves are prohibited.
In the end, there is no infallible way to hide your identity or your location on the web. Just different levels of probability that you will be exposed.
