Can You Be Tracked With a VPN? – What You Need to Know
In today’s era of the intrusive online world, a VPN can be a convenient and useful tool for enhancing your privacy and protecting your valuable information from falling into the wrong hands. That said, does a VPN guarantee complete anonymity, or can you be tracked with a VPN? Moreover, how can anyone track you if you’re using a VPN? In this Zlog post, we’ll answer all of these and many more questions. Read on to learn all there is to know about this burning issue.
How Can You Be Tracked with a VPN?
As you can see from above, using a VPN isn’t a full-proof way to stop anyone from tracking you down online. There are several ways how hackers, third-parties, and even your government can track you when you have a VPN. Here are the most common ways of how VPN users can be tracked:
- Malware – Unknowingly installing malware on your device can result in severe consequences a VPN can’t protect you against. When you, as your device’s admin, give access to malicious content, there’s not much a VPN can do to protect your data from leaking out or getting blocked.
- DNS Leaks – DNS leaks can often happen for unreliable VPN services when they aren’t set up correctly. That said, a DNS leak can also come as a result of user error. Whatever the case may be, these leaks can compromise your valuable data and endanger your online security.
- Intrusive Cookies – Some cookies can stick to you across the internet, regardless if you use a VPN or not. They give out a digital portrait of you and provide third-parties with quite a bit of private information you wouldn’t want to share with anyone.
Additionally, even if you don’t experience any of these three problems, there are still ways of how someone can tell if you’re using a VPN. The three most common telltale signs include:
- VPN’s IP address
- Port Number
- DPI (Deep Packet Inspection)
Who Can See That You’re Using a VPN?
Now that we understand the most common ways of how you can be tracked even when using a VPN let’s move on to the next crucial question of this topic – who can track you when you’re using a VPN? Let’s take a close look:
- Your ISP – Your Internet Service Provider can see whether or not you’ve connected to a VPN server, mainly by observing the noticeable differences based on IP addresses and encrypted traffic during specific sessions when you’re connected to a VPN server.
- The Government – The short answer is, the government could see if you’re using a VPN. While they might not be able to break into your network, they could still block your traffic. A prime example is the Great Firewall of China which does precisely this.
- Websites you Visit – The websites you visit and the apps you use could see that you’re using a VPN if they have a sophisticated system in place. For instance, streaming sites like Netflix and the BBC iPlayer are notorious for their VPN detection efficiency.
- Hackers – Finally, the last people you want observing your network activities, hackers can see that you’re using a VPN if they manage to obtain your information through an unsecured connection, such as a public Wi-Fi network.
Steps to Take to Become Untraceable Online
Staying completely private and anonymous online is a tough task, especially when you keep in mind all of the information we’ve discussed above. However, things aren’t so grim, as there are ways of how you can maximize your online privacy and minimize your digital footprint. Here are the most effective steps you can take to inch your way to becoming untraceable in the online world:
- Be Careful Online – Watch what you post online, don’t click on just any link, or open up unfamiliar emails. This will go leaps in protecting you from phishing and malware scams.
- Switch to a More Private Browser – Switch out Google Chrome for a more privacy-oriented browser like Firefox, or even better, Tor. Moreover, consider replacing Google altogether with a more privacy-friendly alternative.
- Use a VPN – Make sure to pick a reliable VPN service with strong security and privacy features. Be sure that the VPN you’re using is safe and strong enough to protect you from all of the dangers on the Internet. Be certain that the VPN you choose has a 100% zero login policy and uses its DNS servers.
ZoogVPN’s robust VPN service guarantees all of these and many more security features on an unlimited number of your devices. Try our limited service for free right away, or unlock the full potential of ZoogVPN apps by choosing one of our premium paid subscription plans. Sign up today and protect your online identity!
Yaroslav S.CEO at ZoogVPN. Yaroslav is a versatile manager with extensive customer support experience. His historical background and a deep passion for philosophy perfectly complete a real desire to create meaningful content and tech products.
