Learn about how your VPN may be able to protect you, and how it is not always true.
Episode #11-28 released on March 9, 2021
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A recent question asked if clicking the malicious link while using a VPN still meant they were safe. I am going to answer the question by explain what a VPN is supposed to do, and why that may not help in the future either.
A VPN, virtual private network, at the core, is nothing more than the regional displacement of your end point Internet connection. Instead of exiting at your ISP, your exit from their ISP instead. Traditionally speaking, this means your location is hidden by the mere fact that your IP address is not the one shown, this does not negate any extra GPS information a device may give websites and applications.
For a VPN to work properly, it, also, has to be an encrypted tunnel, meaning all the content within is invisible to all networks and servers until it hits the VPN exit node.
A VPN does not have access to any of the data that is already encrypted before entering the VPN tunnel and because of this cannot inspect the data contents every packet coming in and out meaning that many security measures that are VPN may have may not be able to protect you from every website, because only websites that are unencrypted would transmit plaintext packets and only those packets can have their data inspected for viruses and malware. This is entirely true, unless the name of the file the malware comes in is known to the VPN itself, and that is easily changed for a multitude of logical reasons, this including the possibility that the offending website can randomize the name of the file sent to each visitor on the fly meaning that any and all attempts to remember a filename may be easily circumvented. It may, also, be important to note, that it is possible for a VPN to block access to malicious websites which may help protect you from malware, without the need for deep packet inspection of the file contents which would not be possible if the website used an encrypted SSL tunnel itself, which all SSL enabled websites do.
Basically, in response to the question of the user who was asking if his VPN would keep him safe, the answer is, it depends, but in all likelihood, it does not protect you. Ultimately, a person's behavior online and the security software on the device is what can mitigate the risks of accidental infection of a device. Maintain a data backup, just in case the worse happens, and do not click on any links in emails or websites you do not trust.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net