You open the VPN client on your desktop or web browser .
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:24 am
True to its name, a virtual private network reroutes your traffic through its own set of secure servers, effectively extending your home, school, or work private network onto a virtual public network. In other words, where your traffic would normally be sent directly to a website, a VPN steps in as a “middleman” that takes your data and forwards it on.
Unlike a proxy, a VPN also encrypts your outgoing traffic. As a result, both your traffic and your identity remain private and secure. As we’ll see later, this is part of the key to accessing blocked websites.
A diagram of how a VPN works
How a VPN Works ( Source: Yellowstone Computing )
The process may seem a little complicated, but it's actually quite simple:
The VPN client encrypts your outgoing traffic. Depending on the iran whatsapp number data provider, you can also specify which applications will use the VPN (this option is known as “split tunneling”).
Your encrypted traffic is sent to the VPN’s secure server network. As with any connection, your traffic is split into “packets,” each of which includes source and destination IP addresses. Here, the source IP address is your private network at home, work, or school.
The VPN server strips your source IP address from each packet and replaces it with its own. By doing this, the receiving end will think that your traffic is coming from the VPN server, not your computer.
Your traffic is decrypted and received by the recipient, who will not know its true origin.
Okay, maybe not entirely straightforward. However, you probably don't need to worry about the details of the process. Once it's up and running, you'll be able to browse as normal while the VPN encrypts and reroutes your traffic behind the scenes.
That's all well and good, but how do you unblock websites in the process?
The answer lies in your IP. Since many blocks and bans are IP-based (websites use it to deduce your location), replacing your IP address during redirection is often enough to bypass restrictions. However, since most major websites constantly try to block access from known VPN servers, providers need to maintain large networks of distributed servers to secure access.
However, server counts and capabilities vary greatly between VPN providers. Even a quick search for a VPN will yield hundreds of different options, and each provider will have a different number and variety of servers.
Unlike a proxy, a VPN also encrypts your outgoing traffic. As a result, both your traffic and your identity remain private and secure. As we’ll see later, this is part of the key to accessing blocked websites.
A diagram of how a VPN works
How a VPN Works ( Source: Yellowstone Computing )
The process may seem a little complicated, but it's actually quite simple:
The VPN client encrypts your outgoing traffic. Depending on the iran whatsapp number data provider, you can also specify which applications will use the VPN (this option is known as “split tunneling”).
Your encrypted traffic is sent to the VPN’s secure server network. As with any connection, your traffic is split into “packets,” each of which includes source and destination IP addresses. Here, the source IP address is your private network at home, work, or school.
The VPN server strips your source IP address from each packet and replaces it with its own. By doing this, the receiving end will think that your traffic is coming from the VPN server, not your computer.
Your traffic is decrypted and received by the recipient, who will not know its true origin.
Okay, maybe not entirely straightforward. However, you probably don't need to worry about the details of the process. Once it's up and running, you'll be able to browse as normal while the VPN encrypts and reroutes your traffic behind the scenes.
That's all well and good, but how do you unblock websites in the process?
The answer lies in your IP. Since many blocks and bans are IP-based (websites use it to deduce your location), replacing your IP address during redirection is often enough to bypass restrictions. However, since most major websites constantly try to block access from known VPN servers, providers need to maintain large networks of distributed servers to secure access.
However, server counts and capabilities vary greatly between VPN providers. Even a quick search for a VPN will yield hundreds of different options, and each provider will have a different number and variety of servers.