Once you download a VPN app and hit Connect, this is what a secure VPN does:
- Your device connects to the VPN provider’s server with specified credentials.
- The credentials are authenticated by the server.
- Your VPN app sets up a tunneled connection to the server and manages the encryption.
- Your device establishes and maintains a secure VPN connection.
Two main things happen after you turn on the VPN: your IP address changes to the server’s IP you’re connected to, and all your online traffic is encrypted.
Let’s say you start browsing after turning on the VPN.
Now that the app and the VPN server have an “agreed upon cipher,” every bit of data is encrypted before it reaches your ISP (Internet Service Provider). When the data reaches the VPN server, it gets decrypted.
That’s how your internet connection becomes more secure and private.