With the recent rollback of net neutrality, many folks are wondering if there will be ways to get around the perceived negative effects of the new internet landscape. A virtual private network may provide relief.
Detractors of the new environment claim that internet service providers will be able to hinder or even block access to disfavored websites. Such websites might end up on the blacklist if they do not pay the internet service provider a premium, or, if they have an affiliation with a competing ISP. Backers of the repeal claim that the free market will dictate who has fast access and who does not.
A virtual private network, or VPN, service theoretically bypasses any priority an ISP might put on internet traffic. How? First, let’s define how a VPN service works.
You load a client on your computer (most VPN vendors support a multitude of devices, including Windows PCs, Macs, Android and iPhone) and then connect to a VPN server. The VPN server then connects to whatever website you want to access.
A VPN typically uses advanced encryption to prevent everyone along the way from seeing your data. This includes your ISP, who sees only the connection to your VPN server, but can’t read any of it. The websites you visit see traffic only from the VPN server and not your PC.
VPN servers typically have multiple connections to the internet provided by disparate ISPs. Traffic to and from the VPN server is “load balanced” so that you get the fastest possible connection from the VPN server to the rest of the internet.
Your ISP might be able to tell that you are streaming video, but won’t be able to tell the difference between Netflix, HBO, TNT, or even a torrent site providing pirated content.
Can your ISP hinder connections to your VPN service? Theoretically, yes, but it would require a tremendous amount of effort to do so. The Chinese government in Beijing has ordered that VPNs be banned in China, but even that seems problematic. It would be a strange twist for a free-market policy to end up depending on a practice advocated by China, but that’s a topic for another column.
VPNs have been around for years now, and of course weren’t invented to get around net neutrality. As mentioned above, the main purpose of a VPN is to provide a secure connection to the internet. If you are using a public hot spot, for example, you can keep your traffic hidden from bad guys. Or, if you don’t want your ISP, the government or anyone else to see your browsing habits, for whatever reason, a VPN is handy.
VPN providers claim that they don’t keep any logs, which prevents anyone, including law enforcement, from seeing what you have been doing. There has been no official word, from either side, as to whether the National Security Agency has cracked VPN providers, either forcibly or surreptitiously. Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that this has not yet been the case.
The downside to Hawaii folks is that most commercial VPN providers do not have servers in Hawaii. This means that the nearest server is typically located in California, which may add delay to your connection. Popular options include Private Internet Access, SlickVPN and PrivateVPN. All have monthly plans, typically less than $10 per month, and annual plans, which can be as cheap as $50.
John Agsalud is an IT expert with more than 25 years of information technology experience in Hawaii and around the world. He can be reached at jagsalud@live.com.
