VPN Test (Leak): Security and Functionality Checks 2021

Have you ever checked if your VPN working fine without any DNS or IP leaks? But, do you know how to do that? Don’t know? Then this guide is for you to guide through all the leak and security tests. Let’s hop in…

Not 😐all VPNs keep your information safe. There might be several reasons behinds why it’s not working. So, you need to test for personal data leaks. Here are the most common tests to do that.

Major VPN Test include

• DNS Leak test
• IP Address leak test
• WebRTC leak test
• VPN Speed Test
• Streaming Test
• Malware Test

DNS Leak Test

• DNS stands for Domain Name System and it translates domain names into IP addresses which are used by browsers to load websites.
• Without having a VPN connection on, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can see your browsing data (in the form of translation requests), which can be then sold or handed over to various 3rd parties, such as marketing agencies, advertisers, government, etc.
• A VPN helps prevent user’s browsing data from being collected, by encrypting it routing it through a secure tunnel.
• A DNS leak occurs when these translation requests leak out of the secure VPN tunnel and once again become visible to your ISP.
• There are several tools to check if your VPN is leaking, for example, dnsleaktest.com
• It is important to know that a DNS leak test will not show that your IP is leaking, but rather the IP and location of your ISP, which can then be used to identify you
• Suggest testing your VPN often — if leaks occur on multiple occasions, it’s time to find a new VPN provider. (This could be an opportunity for you to link to your best VPN for privacy or similar “best VPN” content).

IP Address Leak Test

• Similarly to a DNS leak, an IP leak can expose users real identity.
• A VPN is supposed to mask the real identity of the user, however, sometimes it fails to do so (especially common with free VPNs);
• This can occur in both IPv4 and IPv6, as both versions can be prone to this.
• Most frequently IP leaks occur when you are reconnecting after a lost connection. To prevent this, premium VPN providers have a built-in kill switch, which automatically kills your internet connection if it is not protected.
• To check for IP leaks, visit IPv6-test.com.
• Similarly, if you frequently get leaks or your VPN provider does not have a kill switch, suggest choosing a different VPN service. (This could be an opportunity for you to link to your best VPN for privacy or a similar “best VPN” (content).

WebRTC leak Testing

WebRTC functionality allows users to have real-time communication capabilities with other people online. This includes voice and video calls, P2P file-sharing. This mostly concerns the most popular browsers out there: Firefox, Opera, and Chrome, which allow the before mentioned ways of communication in their browsers.

Similar to an IP leak, during a webRTC leak, the user’s real IP is shown. It occurs when the IP address is leaked through the WebRTC API. To prevent WebRTC leaks, you can either disable the functionality in your browser’s settings or use a VPN that can protect your IP. Note: not all VPNs protect you from WebRTC leaks, so it’s better to check beforehand.

To check for WebRTC leaks, you can follow these steps:

1. Disconnect and exit your VPN.
2. Find out and note down your IP address by Googling “What’s my IP”;
3. Close the browser;
4. Turn your VPN back on and refresh the page, check your IP address again;
5. If you get a different IP address, then your WebRTC is not leaking. If it stays the same, your IP is likely being exposed via a WebRTC leak.

VPN Speed Testing

There are several factors that include how fast your VPN connection is:

• VPN Protocol: Some VPN protocols are built to be more secure or stable, while others excel at speeds. Currently, it’s believed that WireGuard is one of or the fastest out there. However, with increased speeds there’s a tradeoff of privacy risks: with WireGuard, the user’s identity must be stored on the server and linked to an internal IP address assigned by the VPN. It’s important to choose a VPN provider that either solves this WireGuard issue or offers different protocols if the maximum level of privacy is a must.
• Physical distance: Data you upload or download has to go through the server you’re connected to. This means that the greater the distance, the slower your connection becomes. Because of this, it’s always best to connect to a neighboring country or state, if you’re looking for the best speeds.
• Server load: The more people are connected to the same server, the more workload it gets and at some point starts slowing down. However, the wide selection of servers that premium providers offer as well as their auto-selection of servers in a geography that is optimized to select the one with the lowest load at the time of connection usually solves this problem.

The most widely known speed testing tool is speedtest.net. suggest testing servers/countries that you most frequently use.

VPN Malware Testing

When it comes to malware in VPN services it is most likely to be found in free VPN apps, however, it is wise to test for malware regardless of whether your provider is paid or free to give you peace of mind.

• It’s a good idea to scan free VPN apps you download from any of the app stores or online.
• Besides having an anti-virus up and running to protect you, the best tool to scan apps for malware is to upload it virustotal.com.
• Keep in mind that a free VPN can not only contain malware but will likely have other issues, such as leaks or slow speeds.

Streaming Test

Most users take VPN Subscription for streaming purposes so it’s better to check whether you can able to unblock all other country libraries or not. If you take a VPN subscription to stream Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, and other platforms. Test once to make sure that VPN Server IP didn’t block by streaming services.

If you get a message “Whoops Something went wrong (Streaming Error)”. Then try to change your IP once or know the best VPNs for Netflix or change your Netflix region. The same goes for all streaming services as well.

VPN Still not Working?

VPNs do their job without troubling anyone but no one can actually predict the issue with your VPN. Here are the potential reasons behind it.

1. Check Internet Connection: Try reconnecting to your internect once because it might be due to reconnecting issue from your ISP side. Check your ethernet cable connection if you are using it.
2. Server Issues: The server you are connecting to might be down due to heavy load or unavailable due to several reasons. So make sure that you are connecting to working server.
3. Port or Protocol Issue: Similar to VPN Servers, this might be due to VPN port or the protocols you are using. Change them once & try again.
4. Firewall or Antivirus issue: Sometimes your firewall or antivirus might block VPN. Disable antivirus or firewall once and try again connecting to a VPN, if that works then the issue is with your firwall or antivirus.
5. Software Bugs: It is quite common that software bugs can cause you trouble, please update your VPN to the latest version ASAP.
6. Other Issues: If none of the above works, then the issue reside in the operation system or the browser (compatibility issues). Contact VPN service provider in that case.

VPNs Tested Against Leaks & Security Protections

1.NordVPN: Best in Class VPN

NordVPN ranks top VPNs in the VPN market offering all VPN protocols readily available to get configured within a quick setting button. “Quick Connect” simple button interface makes it’s more user-friendly and connects to the fastest servers only.

You can choose from 5500+ servers widely spread on earth across different locations. Military-grade encryption with no DNS/IPv6 leaks protecting you from your ISP or any government surveillance. NordVPN is compatible with all platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS so you will get complete support.

Use Onion over VPN feature for complete anonymity. NordLynx will double your streaming speeds. You can simultaneously use NordVPN on 6 devices connections per subscription.

Even a beginner can use this VPN service effectively. This VPN is available at a competitive price. NordVPN is also a good choice for unblocking the geo-blocked content in different platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and other streaming Apps.

Also, they are offering 30 days of the money-back guarantee program. So you can try this without any risk. So, if you don’t like the app, you can get your full refund within 5 days. And if you need a VPN for 1-2 weeks, you can try NordVPN for free using its money-back program.

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