Test Your VPN Service’s Security (2020)

This article has been created to teach you how you can successfully test the security of your current VPN service and to see if you are as private as promised.

Since most VPNs promise compete privacy protection, some may also be susceptible to flaws and attacks. Below, we have added some tools that can help you test your VPN service In order to understand if you are really protected or no. Below, we have prepared several tests and by doing them, you can try and see if your data is safe from leaking and if your VPN is actually protecting you.

Method 1: Test If Your IP Address Is Protected

Most of the VPNs claim that they fully protect IP addresses, but In reality, studies have shown that only a big portion of the VPN software hides IP addresses. It is necessary to test a VPN service first and most important against IP leakage during an active VPN connection, since some VPNs leak data when they are changing your IP from one server to another. If this VPN connection drops, it is strongly that you install a VPN app that has a kill switch which will ensure that your internet traffic is blocked out fully if the IP becomes compromised.

Below you can see how to test your VPN for IP leakage:

1.Stop your connection with the internet while you have already turned on your VPN and are in connected state.
2.As soon as you connect back to the web, run an IP leak test procedure by opening multiple tabs on the website https://ipleak.org/ and refreshing them quickly.
3.When your VPN program connects to the net which should happen in few seconds, stop the refreshing and then check what is happening.
4.In the event that you can see the ipleak.org web page has showed your IP address in several tabs opened, you most likely have a re-connection type of IP leak.

In order to prevent IP leaks, we advise you to check for VPN services that can disallow your computer to connect in the event of a reconnect IP leak being possible.

Method 2: DNS Leak Test

DNS stands for Domain Name System and it acts as a gateway to websites. With VPN, your DNS address may also change. But until you connect to a VPN service, this DNS remains exposed, just like your IP address and this makes it open to being compromised by hackers.

Another leak that is DNS related can happen with the VPN tunnel leaking. Since the IP address and your Internet Provider’s location is open to public, you should run a DNS leak test to see if your location is safe with VPN on.

Below you can see how to run a DNS leaking test:

1.Connect to a VPN location outside of your country.
2.Open https://dnsleaktest.com/ and see if your IP address, location plus other data are the same as your own location or if they are from the VPN server you connected’s location.

Method 3: WebRTC Leak Test

WebRTC is the type of API(application programming interface) that is seen in web browsers that are used very often. It allows peer to peer (P2P) sharing of files and data, like voice and video media when you are within your browser and not using any other browser extensions or programs. It can be susceptible to leak, just like any other aspect that is a risk area.

Below you can see how you can effectively test your Web RTC APIs for leakage:

1.Connect to your VPN and choose a server.
2.Open the WebRTC Leak Test of BrowserLeaks.
3. See what information of your device is exposed to public.

VPN Speed Test

Besides being safe, another test that you can also do is perform a speed test in order to evaluate the connection of your VPN service. The speed of your VPN can depend on a lot external factors from the VPN provider, like:

What encryption does the VPN service offer

The encryption is very important for security of a VPN. But it is important to know which protocol is fast and which is slower and make your decision based on that. If you want more security at the expense of slower internet speed, the L2PT protocol is for your. However, if you want more speed and use your PC for different connection-intensive online games and multimedia, then the more suitable protocol is the PPTP, bit it is less secure one.

Where the VPN server you are connected to is

The location is also a very important part of the speed. If you are in europe and connect to a VPN server in Australia, the speed will be much slower, compared to you connecting to a nearby country to your own.

The users currenty using the VPN server

Sometimes, some VPN servers can become very slow and hence slowdown your connection due to being overcrowded by users. Make sure to choose a VPN service that provides active VPN server status so you can connect to a server that has low number of actively connected users.

Settings on your firewall
Your firewall settings also turn out to matter a lot, since they may have an impact hugely on the VPN speed or the CPU performance as it may significantly decrease speed.

How to Choose a Secure and Good VPN

We always recommend to our users to compare different services or software before making the final decision. Below you can see our Top 10 review for the best VPN services at the moment along with what are their benefits and what is not so good about them: