Is your VPN leaking ? This guide will guide you about various types of VPN leaks and ways to prevent them.

Forming a connection with public Wi-fi network without taking necessary precautionary measures is really dangerous for your privacy. There is a greater risk involved that hackers and snoopers will make use of your personal information and web traffic may be vulnerable to manipulation. The prevalence of HTTP has originated various risks so people opt for Virtual Private Network (VPN) to disguise their IP address. In this way, you can stay extremely safe and secure on free and public Wi-Fi networks.

So, if you are one seeking for reliable VPN services then you should dig deeper and know the truth of VPN services. As per the report of “ Analysis of the Privacy and Security Risks for Android VPN -permission-enabled app” 80%  of the VPN providers promise to provide a fully secured and protected network to their customers but failed to do so .  Therefore, it’s not a wise man’s decision to believe in the promises blindly.  If you don’t know about VPN leaks and how to test and fix it, here’s a detailed guide on this. ‘

What are VPN Leaks?

One of the primary purposes of the VPN is to completely mask and protect your information from ISP.  VPNs encrypt all web traffic making it extremely difficult for cybercriminals to make use of your information. VPN leak is a  condition when a VPN provider fails to provide a secure VPN tunnel  and also unable to protect information on a public Wifi network.

This problem roots from a variety of reasons that include configuration errors, bugs in VPN software, inadequate security measures or the VPN provider will leak this information due to profitability.

Types of VPN leaks

There are various types of VPN leaks that include the following:

IP Leaks

The Internet Protocol is the address of the router which is used to make a stable Internet connection. Under normal circumstances, the site you visit or your Internet Provider will be able to see your IP address.  When using VPN, your IP address will be masked and your ISP wouldn’t be able to see your IP address.

 But if users’ IP address is seen by websites and ISP, this condition is known as IP leaks.  This can happen if the VPN connection is not properly established and the devices are infected with malware.  Moreover, there are two different IP protocols IPV4 and IPV6 and among them, IPV4 is the most secure one.

DNS leaks

When the user’s Domain NAME System is sent to the regular internet connection instead of routing the traffic through VPN tunnel, this condition is referred to as DNS leaks.  Therefore your ISP will be able to track all the internet activities of users.  In normal circumstances, when you visit a website, the computer sends the DNS query to DNS server which turns the URL into the site’s IP address.  Whereas with the use of a VPN, DNS requests straightly go to the VPN provider which efficiently masks your IP address.  You can check if DNS is leaking through DNS leak test.  If it’s leaking, you can fix the problem by configuring your network.

WebRTC Leak

WebRTC Leaks is basically the issue with the browser that can potentially reveal the IP address of the websites.   If your VPN does not offer the “Disable WebRTC” feature, make sure you disable it at the start. All the best-in-class VPNs offer WebRTC blocking features on browser extensions rather than desktop applications.  Moreover, if you are detecting WebRTC leaks and VPN does not provide an option to block it, then you can disable WebRTC in the browser setting.  For every browser and device, there ‘s a different method to disable WebRTC in the settings section.

How to fix IP address leaks?

Generally fixing the IP leak depends upon the type of IP address you have been assigned.  But using the top-rated VPNs can also help you avoid VPN leaks.

 How to fix IPV4 leaks?

The process to fix IPV4 leaks is simple.  Follow these steps:

•  Disconnect and reconnect to your VPN provider.
• Make sure that your web browser isn’t  being split-tunneled by VPN
•  Then open a new browser and check your IP address
•  If still, your real IPv4 address is showing, then your VPN does not work. Opt for a better VPN provider to spoof your location.

 How to fix IPv6 Leaks?

  If you have IPv6 address that is leaked by your VPN, follow these simple steps:

•  Switch on your VPN
•  Also, it is important to  take into consideration that  web browser  is not split-tunneled by VPN
•  Check the VPN  setting menu and enable the setting “ IPv6 Leak Protection”
• Open a  new browser and check your IP address
•  If your real IPV6 address is showing , you can either disable  IPv6 on your computer or choose another VPN provider.

Best VPN protocols

One of the biggest reason for VPN leaks is the usage of free VPNs . Free VPN services generally don’t care about the security of users and often sell user data to make money. Using the robust and powerful protocols will overcome the flaw that allows your IP address nd DNS request to leak. The premium VPN options like ExpressVPN , NordVPN uses the next generation IKEv2/IPsec , OpenVPN and WireGuard protocol to protect the privacy of users. In brief , they are known to prevent several types of VPN leaks.

 Frequently Asked Questions