Connecting to a VPN masks your IP address and obscures your activity online, but there are misconceptions about what a VPN can and can’t do. So, which myths are grounded in truth, and which are totally bunk?
1 VPNs Make You Completely Anonymous
If you’re looking to stay anonymous online, you’ll probably want a VPN service with zero-log policies. If all of your online activity passes through VPN servers, and they don’t keep logs, then there’s no way to ID you, right?
Not necessarily. For one, zero-log policies might not be 100% anonymous. It’s important to read your provider’s policy to get the whole picture and decide whether you trust a VPN’s no-log claims. Hopefully, the email address and payment method you provided don’t lead back to you.
Even if your VPN is trustworthy, if you give your personal data to websites while using a VPN, you can still be tracked using cookies or browser fingerprinting. Lastly, even if they don’t log your data, VPN services can be compelled by authorities to set up filters for illegal activity and hand over any data they hold. So, no, a VPN won’t give you a free pass to sell bootleg copies of the unique Wu-Tang Clan album.
Although a VPN doesn’t guarantee you’ll be 100% anonymous, it’s still better at hiding your internet activity from prying eyes versus no protection.
2 VPNs Stop You Downloading Malware
The myth that a VPN makes you bulletproof may persist because it actually does protect you from a few types of cyberattacks. Unlike a standard internet connection which sends a lot of data in easy-to-read plaintext, connecting through a VPN will encrypt your traffic. This encryption prevents interception techniques such as man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks.
However, VPNs aren’t an impenetrable shield: phishing attempts, malware, and viruses can all get through. A VPN won’t protect you from things you willingly choose to run on your computer. To defend against these, you’ll need to turn to the best antivirus programs instead.
A VPN also isn’t a substitute for internet street smarts: that means no clicking links from an email promising you a free iPad and no agreeing to move your romantic conversation with a stranger onto Telegram for some reason.
3 VPNs Boost Your Internet Speeds
The notion that a VPN will give you faster internet speeds sounds ridiculous, but there‘s actually some truth to this claim. To deal with traffic congestion during peak usage, ISPs have begun to engage in the totally fair-and-not-borderline-illegal practice of limiting the internet speeds you’ve paid for. Your ISP calls this practice something innocuous, like “traffic shaping,” but you might know it as ISP throttling.
Users have noticed throttling occurring more commonly when streaming from services like Netflix or using other high-bandwidth applications an ISP is monitoring. So, can a VPN override throttling to give users faster speeds?
Yes, it can. By encrypting your data stream, a VPN helps you avoid being targeted by traffic-shaping algorithms.
Except for the special situation above, however, using a VPN will usually reduce your internet speeds. There’s added overhead from encryption and extra latency from connecting through a middleman. The slowdown can be significant, but if you’re paying for one of the fastest VPN services, you might barely notice a difference.
4 VPNs Let You Ignore Data Caps
Some home internet plans—especially mobile service plans—come with data caps limiting your internet usage. Can a VPN help you bypass these limits?
Unfortunately not. Although connecting through a VPN obscures your internet traffic from your ISP, it can’t hide how much data you’ve used. In other words, even if ISPs can’t see where you’ve driven your car, they can still measure how much gas you’ve used getting there. So, no, a VPN doesn’t give you a license to exceed data caps.
To deal with data caps, you‘ll have to use techniques that limit bandwidth and data usage.
5 VPNs Will Defeat All Block Filters
A common use for VPNs is circumventing blocks, whether that’s reading a region-locked news article or overcoming censorship. By connecting to a VPN server in a different country, your IP address appears to be from that region, circumventing the filter.
Is it a fool-proof plan? Unfortunately, it’s not. Some streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix can detect if you’re using a VPN and block access anyway. Your government and ISP are tech-savvy, too: if they’re determined to snoop on you, they can deploy deep-packet inspection, a hidden network practice that can compromise your privacy.
That being said, a VPN is still decently effective for these purposes—just don’t expect it to be invincible.
There are many benefits to using a VPN, from disguising your location to safeguarding your online privacy. However, all forms of security have weaknesses, so it’s better to think of a VPN as just one more layer of an onion in the strategies you use to protect yourself online.
