Browsing the web with an exposed IP address is a risk. You may end up giving access to WiFi hackers snooping on laptops and mobiles while connected to an unsecured public network or get targetted by loads of ads and pop-ups every time you surf the internet.
VPN or Virtual Private Network is an important tool to hide your online identity on the internet. It can make you go camouflage and you can perform all your internet activities while being under the radar.
Gaining global popularity day by day, VPNs have become an important tool for corporations to run their businesses smoothly. A necessary apparatus to perform all your online activities with anonymity, eliminating all security risks.
Nonetheless, your online identity may be still unprotected, even with a VPN turned on. And that’s because of VPN leaks.
Although its rarely possible that you encounter a situation like this if you are using the best VPN services of the industry, but you can easily check if your VPN is working or not.
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What Is A VPN & How Does It Work?
Surfing the internet with your original IP address puts you at risk to hackers and third parties looking to exploit your personal information on the web.
When you connect to a VPN, it hides your original IP address by assigning you a different one. You perform all your internet operations with that bogus IP address that guards you against exploiters and you surf the internet anonymously.
Creating a secure pathway between the user and the VPN source is how a VPN works. All the traffic is carried out and encrypted through that tunnel till it reaches its destination. No one, not even your ISP can see your internet activities when you are on the web with your VPN turned on.
How Can You Test If Your VPN Is Working?
Firstly, there are minimum chances of VPN leaks if you are subscribed to a reliable VPN service of the industry like ExpressVPN or Surfshark.
Other than that, you can easily test any VPN tool in three ways. The first one is IP Address Leak Test which you can perform easily on your web browser. Then you can also test for VPN leaks by DNS Leak Test and WebRTC Leak Test.
Check out the step-by-step guidelines on how you can perform these tests easily.
IP Address Leak Test
A VPN changes your original IP address to a VPN-assigned IP address. You have to check if your original IP address is still being exposed on the web even when you’re connected to a VPN. Here’s how you can do it.
- Disconnect your VPN if you are connected to one.
- Open your web browser and go to whatismyipaddress and note down your original IP address.
- Now connect to a VPN and check your IP address again.
If the IP address showing is the VPN server’s IP, then it’s working perfectly fine. But if the IP is still the same as your original IP address, then there is an IP leak.
DNS Leak Test
DNS (Domain Name System) is a naming system for computers. It is the assigning of some name to an IP address which would look like (howdoesavpnwork.com) from (192.52.13.5). It’s easier to remember this way right?
In an event of a DNS leak, someone trying to monitor your online activities will easily know which websites you are accessing while surfing the internet.
Here’s how you can check for DNS leaks on your VPN.
- Launch your VPN and set the location to the US.
- Open your web browser and go to DNSLeakTest.com.
- It will detect your IP address and show it to you on your screen with two tests – Standard Test and Extended Test.
- Click on Standard Test.
If the results shown are of your original ISP, then there is a DNS leak. But if they are of the VPN server to which you’re connected, then your VPN is working fine.
WebRTC Leak Test
WebRTC or Web Real-Time Communication is a browser-to-browser used tool for high performance of video streaming or transferring of files. And you don’t need any plugins for them.
A WebRTC leak can expose your original IP address on a website that uses WebRTC technology for audio and video communications.
Here’s how you can check for WebRTC leaks.
- If you’re already connected to a VPN, disconnect it.
- Go to ExpressVPN’s WebRTC leak checker or any of your preferred tools.
- Note down any public IP address visible to you.
- Now close the page and connect to your VPN.
- Check again by opening the WebRTC leak checker page.
- If you still see the public IP address you noted before, then there is a leak.
Wrapping it up!
Low-rated VPN services can often encounter problems with VPN leaks, it is advised to go for a top-rated VPN service like ExpressVPN or NordVPN to make sure your online identity is safe and you don’t end up exposing your real IP address on the web.
