What Is VPN Encryption?

ByAdrian

When you use a virtual private network (VPN) service, you’re creating an encrypted tunnel that allows you to securely connect to a remote network or server, while also keeping your personal information secure. VPNs are usually used when you’re traveling or living abroad, as a way to unblock restricted content or services in other countries. While there are several different types of VPNs and encryptions to choose from, understanding the differences can be tricky. Here’s a quick overview of what you should know about VPN encryption before you make a purchase decision.

Overview

VPNs were first introduced in the early 2000s, when people were traveling to far-flung destinations and needed a way to stay connected while traveling. In those days, it wasn’t uncommon to connect to a VPN when you went abroad, so that your traffic was encrypted and secured. Since then, VPNs have become a popular choice for consumers and businesses, particularly those who need to remain anonymous or secure when using public Wi-Fi or networks. VPNs work by creating a secure connection in between your device and a server (i.e., the website you’re visiting), which scrambles your outgoing traffic before it reaches its intended destination.

There are three general categories of VPNs:

  • OpenVPN – OpenVPN is one of the most popular and trusted VPNs in the world, developed and supported by Open Source Matters, a non-profit devoted to advocating for free and open-source software.
  • PPTP – Phase one of the IPsec protocol was developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to allow public-private partnerships for more secure communications.
  • L2TP – Launched in 2002, L2TP is Layer Two Tunneling Protocol, which allows two peer devices to exchange data without having to go through a router. The security of L2TP is built on top of IPsec (previously mentioned).

Each one of these VPNs handles your traffic a bit differently, so you’ll need to learn a bit about them before you use them. Let’s take a quick look at each type of VPN and how they work.

OpenVPN

OpenVPN is probably the most popular of the VPNs we’ll discuss here because it’s available for every major platform (i.e., Windows, macOS, and Linux). When you use OpenVPN, your device automatically connects to a server whenever you try to connect to a website that’s encrypted with a VPN.

This is a huge advantage for OpenVPN, because it means you don’t have to worry about configuration, which in turn makes it much easier to use. Simply connect to a VPN, and you’re ready to go. You can use OpenVPN with various platforms (e.g., Windows, macOS, and Linux) to create multi-device or multi-platform capable organizations.

PPTP

Phase one of the IPsec protocol was developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to allow public-private partnerships for more secure communications. When you use Phase one of the IPsec protocol, your device automatically connects to a VPN, and the process is identical to OpenVPN: You’ll need to enter your credentials only once, and then you’ll be able to use the VPN server as often as you like.

Unlike OpenVPN, Phase one of the IPsec protocol cannot be used to create multi-device or multi-platform capable organizations. The major VPN providers all offer this feature as an extra, which is why you’ll see this option only when you connect to their servers.

L2TP

L2TP is Layer Two Tunneling Protocol, which allows two peer devices to exchange data without having to go through a router. The security of L2TP is built on top of IPsec (previously mentioned). When you use L2TP, your device will automatically connect to a VPN server, and you’ll need to configure your router to forward all your TCP traffic to the VPN. As a result, all your network traffic is encrypted, which improves your privacy and security when using public Wi-Fi or networks.

While L2TP can be used to create multi-device or multi-platform capable organizations, it’s not quite as convenient as the other two protocols we’ve discussed so far. This is because you’ll need to manually configure your router to send all your network traffic to the VPN server. Simply put, L2TP isn’t quite as automatic as the other two protocols we’ve discussed so far. But if you’re looking for the best of both worlds—the convenience of OpenVPN and the security of IPsec—L2TP is the VPN protocol for you.

Choosing The Right VPN Provider

Before you make a purchase decision, you should be aware of a few things, such as the location of the server (i.e., is it in the United States, or another country?), the cost of the service, and what type of encryption they use (e.g., OpenVPN vs. PPTP vs. L2TP).

Depending on your needs, you may find that one of the above-mentioned protocols is the best fit. For example, if you live in the United States and need to remain anonymous, OpenVPN is your best bet. But if you need to securely access a website or service that’s only available in another country, then PPTP or L2TP are your options. Keep in mind that if you choose the wrong location for your VPN server, you may end up with serious legal issues, because the content you’re trying to access may be illegal in the country you’re in.

Key Differences Between The Three Types Of VPNs

As we’ve established above, OpenVPN is probably the most popular of the VPNs we’ve discussed so far because it’s available for every major platform (i.e., Windows, macOS, and Linux). Let’s take a quick look at the differences between OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP, so you can have a better idea of what to expect when using one of these protocols.

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