With the shocking revelations by Edward Snowden of NSA’s frantic efforts over the years to crack into and to subvert the VPN encryption technologies, and with the latest news from China of complete interference with VPN, it is important to revisit the VPN discussion in the hope that you will interrogate just how well you are placed with securing your networks and your pertinent information. Another point to consider is the fact that most VPN technologies are certified and developed by the by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Let us now take a look at the available protocols and what they offer

PPTP

PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) has been for a long time the standard protocol used for internal businesses as VPN. This is because it was created for functioning as VPN over dialups by a consortium that was founded by Microsoft. It is easy to set-up as it is compatible with almost every platform and device capable of VPN, and it does not need any additional software for one to install.

VPN over PPTP is popular with businesses, people as well as VPN providers because of ease of use and the fact that it is quick as it needs low computational power. Although it is currently found only through 128-bit encryption, there are a number of vulnerabilities that have been found with it to the extent that Microsoft have recommended those using VPN should consider using L2TP/IP sec.
The knowledge that PPTP was not secure only serves to confirm the fears that NSA would almost certainly decrypt current and even historical information encrypted under this protocol.

This can still protect your identity online and change your IP especially if the proper security measures are set and active on the VPN server.

L2TP

Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol offers the highest level of encryption. It also checks the integrity of data before it encapsulates the data twice.

When properly implemented with the complementary use of IP Sec or the use of port forwarding as in the case of use behind a firewall, this protocol has the potential of being on the best protocol. It is however slightly slower than PPTP and it is available on almost all modern platforms. The speed is affected by the server and personal computers power, but the difference is not even noticeable by the eye making L2TP a great option to consider.

There are still concerns that this protocol would likely be compromised or weakened by NSA, but with proper and what we consider standard safety practices, as other protocols, this becomes a great protocol to use and be certain that your information is safe.

OpenVPN

Open VPN also has one of the highest encryption algorithms as it authenticates the data by way of digital certificates. This protocol is the most reliable, most compatible and most stable for all manner of environments. It is also fast, recording the highest performance levels of the three protocols.

All 3 are great for their own reasons and now you have more details about which one might be better for you depending what you use your RapidVPN account for.

Which one do you use?

Privacy transformation

Can you imagine that there were days when ‘privacy’ for the internet meant being in a room with no one else looking at what you are doing! This has totally been swallowed up into oblivion. In the current days, even your browser keeps track of what you do on the internet: the sites you visit, and the queries you key in. Setting your browser option to private does not even seem to work, certain sites will still be able to tell your IP address and even your zip code, city, ISP and so much more! Facebook and its ‘likes’ would often store up data on your online operations even before you click on the ‘like’. All this only points to one fact-it may not be private after all!

You need some privacy

The Snowden revelations have come in to open a new discussion on the safety of your information in the hands of such sites. For sure, your information in the hands of these sites/entities may not be safe-when opportunity presents itself since such information could easily be used for or against you.

In addition to sites which store your data, there are ‘eavesdroppers’ online who would hack into your accounts and get your information and use it to their advantage. You want to have some bit of privacy online? VPN is the way to go. In the wake of customer data theft as well as Snowden’s NSA revelations, you are better off guarding yourself with VPN.

How VPN can help you get privacy

Normally when you key in a query or visit a site, you communicate directly from your computer to the internet. This transmission of your data is in plain text so that anyone can read it in the normal way and if they have access to your network, they can easily intercept your communication or even take it over. They can easily see the sites you visited, what you keyed in the search boxes and even payment fields. Such information can then easily be traced back to your computer’s IP address.

When you use VPN, it works like a middle man in between your computer and the internet. The VPN controls this communication via servers so that in case of tracing any content back to your computer, the person will trace it to the VPN server. Further still, all such information is heavily encrypted and therefore illegible.

There are also many other companies which make use of the VPN servers and therefore so many of such communications would be traced to the same VPN server this also serves to diminish any possibility of tracing the contents back to you.. simply put – you are better off with a VPN.

VPN is a network security bridge between individuals and what they access on the internet. With VPN, an individual’s data on the internet is encrypted so that no one is able to read it, no one can control/influence it or even try to change it for their own good. There are so many advantages and benefits that come with using VPN. We however choose to focus on the fundamental advantages and benefits. We hope that you are able to see just how much VPN could be of help to your internet experience.

1. Change and hide your IP

An IP address is a critical component when it comes to internet operations. It is the address of each computer that is used to access the web. This means that content can be traced back to a certain IP and also content from a given IP can be intercepted and used to the disadvantage of the owner. VPN hides your identity so that it becomes hard for anyone to steal your identity, or to manipulate your online data. The other side of the coin is that with a hidden identity, one can access information from blocked sites. People engaging in sensitive practices like detective work could use VPN to block any threat of trace-back.

2. Privacy

There is so much that people do online. Privacy is almost a critical factor for anyone going online. With the prevailing circumstances, your ISP, the network administrator or even a hacker can be able to see what you did on the internet. With VPN, your online activity is encrypted so that no one can tell what you were doing online.

3. Security

Protection on the internet is just as important as the protection people need in the conventional world outside of the internet. There are many hackers as well as government agencies looking to use your non secure data for their gain. Such details as passwords for online accounts as well as financial accounts need to be thoroughly protected through the use of VPN.

4. Torrent downloads

Those who are fun downloading torrents may want to check out VPN. If your ISP is not allowing the required ports to be opened having your torrent speeds either very slow or completely closed off, VPN can help go around it.
This way you can download the torrent files with ease and great speeds.

5. Unblock geo-restricted sites

Those who travel frequently outside their countries could consider the use of VPN. Take for instance if you are traveling outside of the US. You may not be able to access some media sites to follow some of your favorite TV shows/series, music channels or movies. One can however use VPN to change their IP address so that they access such sites and feel as if they are home – when they need to be.