VPN is a common tool many internet users use these days. There are so many VPN services out there and millions of users use these VPN services every day. While VPN has many advantages like increased security and privacy, there are some disadvantages too. Today we hope to talk about one of the major drawbacks of VPN, speed. We will describe how to have faster internet speed while connected to a VPN.
What is a VPN?
First, take a look at what is a VPN and how it works. A virtual private network is a network that is created within the internet, with additional security. when you connect to the internet from a public network, your connection and device are vulnerable to various types of security threats. VPN ensures that your connection is secure and the data passed through the network is being secured.
Another important thing provided by a VPN service is anonymity. When you are connected to the internet, some organizations and people can trace your connection back to you. This is a major issue in terms of privacy. But when you connect through a VPN your connection is untraceable. So it protects your privacy.
Now, this is how VPN work, when you are connected to the internet and visit a website, you directly connect to that web server through your isp servers. What VPN does is connect to the web servers on behalf of you. This means you do not connect to a certain website directly, what you do is connect to the VPN server first and then ask the VPN server to connect to the website you need. So now, if the connection is traced back. They will trace back to the VPN server, not to you. So this protects your privacy and increases your security.
Why VPNs are useful?
VPNs are useful for many reasons. Below listed are some of them.
Protection of privacy and data
When you use a VPN even your Internet service provider cannot see which type of website you are visiting and which type of data you are sending or receiving through the network. So this protects you from a lot of trouble.
Avoid internet throttling
Some ISPs slow down your connection when it detects certain activities in your network. This includes downloading large files, online gaming, and some other things. When you are using a VPN the ISP cannot monitor your exact activity so they cannot slow down your speed.
Get through Geo-blocks
Some stream services, download services, and even websites may be not available for some regions. By using a VPN you can get around this. If some streaming service is not available to your country, you can use a VPN to access that service from another country.
How can I use VPN without losing speed?
Since your VPN adds a couple more extra steps to your connection, VPN does reduce the connection a little slower. But this should be unnoticeable if you follow some of the steps given here.
1. Server location
This is a major fact that affects your internet speed when you are using a VPN. VPN services offer you several servers to connect from. Always choose a server that is geographically close to you. If the VPN service you use does not provide any servers close to your location, you may consider changing your VPN service which has servers near you.
2. Changing the VPN port and Protocol
When you connect to a network, you connect to that network through a port, using a protocol. You need to find which port/protocol combination gives you the fastest network speed. You can access these settings from the Control panel-> network and sharing center in windows.
There are two protocols TCP and UDP. The faster one is the UDP you can change this setting from your VPN client too. Test speed after switching to each protocol individually.
3. Using a wired connection rather than wifi
Wired connections are usually faster than wifi. Try using wired connections always possible when you are using your laptop. If you are using a mobile device make sure that your mobile device has full signal strength.
4. Disable security software
Your virus guard may block some of the traffic incoming to your device or outgoing from your device. This makes your internet connection to become slow. So try disabling your security software like firewall or virus guard. But do not visit untrusted websites which may contain harmful scripts and avoid downloading things as much as possible.
5. Using a paid/ premium VPN service
There are many free VPN services out there, and millions of users who use these services. When the number of users in a VPN server increases, it causes to drop in the speed for everyone in the network. When you use paid VPN, the VPN service provider keeps track of this traffic and manages it efficiently so everyone gets the maximum speed.
6. Encryption of Data
Some VPN services use high encryption of data with different levels. This causes increase security but a decrease in speed. So when you use a VPN service check for which type of encryption they offer. If you do not need very high-security encryption you can look for the encryption level and lower it in your VPN service.
7. Restart your router
This may sound a little stupid but there are memory leaks and other things that will slow down your connection which is caused by the router. Before you connect to the VPN it’s always better to restart your router.
8. Restart your device
This could also make your connection much faster, especially on mobile devices. There may be many apps that use background data without your knowledge. When you restart your device some of these services might stop. So before you connect to the VPN restart your device.
9. Do not set up VPN in the router
You can set up a VPN in both your router or your device. When you set up a VPN to router all the devices connected to that router will go through the VPN network. While this might sound good this is a bad option that leads your network to slow down. Always set up a VPN on your device.
These are the basic things you can do to make your VPN connection faster. There are some other advanced things like individual tunnelling which we do not hope to discuss here. Always try to use a paid VPN service that will give you a good experience in internet browsing. Free VPNs are not much suitable and could even be dangerous.