Le VPN

We checked 14 tracking signals. A VPN changes one directly, your IP address, and influences a second, the IP geolocation databases. GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, the browser Geolocation API, account country, cookies and logins are untouched.

A hotspot called Airport_Free_WiFi is not proof the airport runs it. Anyone can name a network that way, and anyone on the same network can read unencrypted traffic with free tools. A VPN encrypts your traffic before it leaves your device, so what they capture is unreadable.

Nothing in Canada's Bill C-22 makes using a VPN an offence. Every duty falls on providers: Part 1 lets police ask a telecom, without a warrant, whether it serves a named person. Part 2 lets the minister order access capabilities built. In Senate committee since October 22.

Hotel and cafe Wi-Fi means sharing a connection with strangers and a router you don't control. Most sites use https, so what's exposed is anything unencrypted plus the network itself. A VPN encrypts traffic from your device to its server. The router sees an unreadable tunnel.

Open any what-is-my-IP page. It shows your IP address, location and provider. Connect a VPN and reload. The IP and location now belong to the VPN server, in the country you connected through. Sites see that address, not yours, and your ISP no longer sees your browsing.

A padlock proves who controlled a domain's DNS when the certificate was issued, not who you are talking to. The .gh, .sl and .as hijackers controlled the registry above that DNS, so the CAs issued valid Google certificates by the rules. Certificate Transparency caught them.

Google can put your name and profile photo in ads next to a review you left. The switch is in your Google Account under People & sharing, then Manage shared endorsements, untick the box. It only governs ads, so your public reviews stay public where you posted them.

Some smart TVs and game consoles cannot run a VPN app. Le VPN's HybridVPN/SmartDNS option handles location-based unblocking at the DNS level instead, and DNS set on the router applies to every device at home. One account covers up to 10 devices connected at the same time.

Turkey's blocks follow a pattern. A platform goes dark during a crisis, VPN demand jumps, then the VPN apps get blocked too. By December 2023 the government had blocked about 30 VPN services, including some of the most popular ones. Our page has the dated record.

Obfuscation and a fresh server address are not interchangeable fixes. A disguise does nothing against an address list, and a new address does nothing against a handshake signature. We sorted 12 documented VPN blocking methods by what each one actually looks at.