What Is a VPN and What Can It Do?
VPN (or virtual private network) services create a secure, encrypted connection between your computer and a VPN server at another location. That type of secure connection is a worthwhile investment for anyone who wants to wrap their data in an extra layer of privacy and security, especially when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. But a VPN is not a magic bullet for Internet security and won’t make you anonymous online.
VPNs are good for securing public Wi-Fi
The best use of a VPN is to add security to your connection when you’re on public Wi-Fi from someone you don’t know—at cafés, hotels, airports and airlines, and even car dealerships while you’re waiting for your vehicle’s fuel-line recombobulator to be replaced. A bad actor or mischievous network owner can intercept and steal your personal data on these types of networks. (If you need anecdotes to be properly worried, this article follows as a hacker collects private information on dozens of people connecting to an Amsterdam café’s Wi-Fi.) Though network security has changed since 2014, a more recent vulnerability shows that so too have the exploits and methods miscreants use to break it. A properly secured VPN can help deter this type of attack because it encrypts your connection starting with your computer, through the network, and out to the far-off VPN server.
VPNs reduce some types of online tracking
You can use free browser extensions to prevent the most common ways that websites and ad networks track your browsing activity and gather information for marketing profiles. But if you’re trying to leave as few tracks as possible online, a VPN can add an extra layer of privacy by preventing tracking based on your IP address (the unique identifier for your computer or home network that makes it possible for websites and services to send information back to you).

Large sites and platforms that trade in personal information, such as Google, track clicks, search terms, and other behavior associated with each particular IP address, even if you aren’t logged in to an account on those sites. Facebook collects, sells, and shares information, too, and that info can be used for purposes beyond marketing. By changing your IP address with a VPN, and mingling your activity with that of potentially dozens or hundreds of other people using the same VPN server, you make it harder for those sites to build a marketing profile based on your personal online behavior. Of course, if you’re signed in to your assorted online services, you’re out of luck regardless of VPNs or browser extensions. If you’re curious about how well major companies protect your data privacy from broad government data requests, check out the EFF’s annual "Who Has Your Back?” report.

If you’re signed in to your assorted online services, you’re out of luck regardless of VPNs or browser extensions.

Even with extra protection, unique features about your browser may be enough for other parties to collate data about you. For example, browser fingerprints—based on screen size, browser plugins, fonts, time zones, and more—can identify a single user even without cookies or IP addresses. VPN download

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