Is Your VPN Really Protecting You? Here’s How to Check

Are you concerned about your digital privacy? Do you use a VPN software to conceal your online activities? If so, it’s crucial to ensure that your VPN is working at par.

Your Internet traffic is forwarded through a remote server that is secured using a virtual private network (VPN). This way no one will be able to see the websites you browse or the files you download, not even your Internet service provider. These features make VPN programs popular among  those who are concerned about protecting their anonymity while surfing the Internet. However, how can you know if your VPN is functioning properly, and what should you do if it isn’t?

Also Read: How Can Systweak VPN Protect You Against Any Public Wi-Fi Risks?

How To Check If Your VPN Working?

To ensure if your VPN service is working correctly, try the following:

Method 1: Compare Your IP Address

By turning on your VPN, you get a new IP address. So, check to see if the IP address changes when you turn on the VPN or not. For this, visit a website like What Is My IP Address to get started.

First, browse the website without a VPN and note the information about your original IP address. Then, activate your VPN and refresh the IP-checker website to see if the data has changed. If it does, your VPN is performing well.

When using this method to test your VPN, think about selecting a server located somewhere very different from where you are right now. This simplifies the process of verifying the results.

Also Read: How to Hide Browsing History from Your ISP – Systweak VPN

Method 2: Verify Your VPN Encryption

To verify whether your VPN is encrypting your data or not, start by downloading a free  network protocol analyzer Wireshark. Using the tool, you can analyze the captured data and determine whether your VPN is encrypting your data or not. Here, I’ll walk you through the fundamentals of using one tool, and utilizing another tool  should involve a similar procedure.

Step 1: Install Wireshark after downloading it, then connect to your VPN.

Step 2: Choose an active Internet connection, such as Wi-Fi, when you are on the “Capture” screen.

Step 3: The process of data collecting begins when you click on an active internet connection. Step 4: Press the stop button, which resembles a red square in the upper left corner, after allowing it to run for a few seconds.

Step 5: Press the green shark fin button to the left of the stop button to resume data collection.

Step 6: Select with the right click in the Wireshark window a data packet.

Step 7: Press Follow > TCP Stream after that. By doing that, a window displaying the packet’s data is opened. You should be able to read the text, indicating that there is no encryption. That is typical when your VPN is disabled.

Step 8: Rerun this test when your VPN is active. This time you will not be able to read any text because it will be encrypted.

Also Read: Why Is There No Internet When My VPN Is On?

What Steps To Take If Your VPN Is Not Working?

If you find that your VPN is not working then here are a few steps you can take. Just remember to check your VPN status after each step so that you can know what was the reason behind this issue.

• Update your Windows.
• Update your VPN to the latest version.
• Disable your Antivirus because some antivirus interferes with your VPN functionality.
• Try using a different VPN server because there might be a possibility that your favorite server has developed some issues.
• Reboot your router every day to clear the temp cache and generate a new IP address.
• Contact your VPN provider if you are still facing issues.

The final option to follow if your VPN is not working is to use a different VPN app (trial version) and check if it is working properly and passes the above two tests. If so, then you may have to change your VPN for good.

Bonus Tip: Systweak VPN

Systweak VPN is a fantastic virtual private network service provider with 4500 servers spread over 53 different nations. It makes use of the IKEv2 protocol and the OpenVPN protocol to create a secure tunnel. The data is transmitted encrypted using AES 256-bit encryption, which is considered military-grade.  It even offers a protective feature,  designed to act as a failsafe mechanism. In the event of a sudden disruption or instability in your VPN connection the Internet connection gets terminated automatically, thanks to the Kill switch feature.

Also Read: Systweak VPN – Best Way To Secure Your Browsing

Don’t Get Hacked: How to Verify Your VPN is Working

If properly configured and purchased from a reputable company rather than a fraudulent source, a VPN is often an easy-to-use tool. Nevertheless, issues can arise from time to time. You can get through them and resume flawless connectivity using the aforementioned advice.

Please let us know in the comments below if you have any questions or recommendations. We would be delighted to provide you with a resolution. We frequently publish advice, tricks, and solutions to common tech-related problems. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flipboard, and Pinterest.