What Is a VPN and How Does it Work? Definition

When talking about online security, the word VPN always comes to mind. Many know that a Virtual Private Network protects online privacy and establishes a secure connection.

However, this tool is helpful for many other purposes, so much so that it’s hard to give you a VPN definition in one or two sentences. We will thoroughly explain a VPN, talk about its meaning, and help you understand what a VPN does. Scroll down and learn more about it.

What Is a VPN: Definition

Let’s start with the basics. To define a VPN, we must first explain what it is and how it works. A VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, a tool that allows you to change your IP address and encrypt your connection.

By its definition, a VPN lets you establish a connection to a remote virtual network or server. You route your traffic through that VPN server, which encrypts your connection and hides it from the prying eyes of your ISP.

The VPN establishes a virtual tunnel between you and the internet. To better explain the definition of a VPN, you can check the image below:

Once you establish a connection to a server, every bit of internet traffic goes through that virtual tunnel and is fully protected thanks to encryption.

Unlike other users online, your internet traffic cannot be seen by your ISP, hackers, or the authorities, which lets you browse the web anonymously.

What Does a VPN Do – Explanations

Now that you know what a VPN is and its complete definition, we need to see what this service can do for you. The definition we gave you is pretty straightforward and that’s pretty much everything to know about how a VPN works.

However, once you connect to a Virtual Private Network, you can enjoy countless benefits, which is why this service has become so popular in recent years. Are you wondering how a VPN works and what it can do for you?

Well, here are the benefits you can gain from it:

Online Security & Privacy

A VPN will provide you with the rock-solid security you need for navigating the corners of the internet effortlessly. If you’re still wondering what a VPN is, know that this is its main benefit—or should be.

As said in the VPN definition, this service establishes a virtual tunnel that protects your connection thanks to encryption and changes your IP address. Speaking of which, a VPN gives you military-grade encryption, which is the highest level, protecting your traffic without compromise.

Therefore, you can make your traffic invisible to your ISP, hackers, or the authorities that would otherwise easily be able to intercept it. VPNs also offer advanced security features, which further bolster your online privacy.

The most important one is a kill switch. This feature prevents your IP address from leaking into the public by shutting down your internet connection in case your VPN connection is lost.

What does a VPN do when it comes to your traffic? Well, some of the best providers that we’re going to talk about offer so-called no-logs policies. This means they store no logs of your browsing history, IP address, and other information, so they don’t even know what you’re doing online.

This makes a Virtual Private Network the best solution for safely and completely anonymously browsing the web.

Safe & Secure Torrenting

Torrenting is frowned upon in many countries around the world. Without a VPN, your browsing activities are exposed to your ISP, which can easily pick up when you’re downloading torrents.

Once that happens, it will note your IP address, which file you downloaded, and the download time. If we’re talking about a copyrighted file, your ISP will most likely contact the copyright holder, give them this information, and you’ll be in big trouble.

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Not only will you be sued, but you can also be forced to pay a considerable fine or spend some time in jail. What is a VPN going to do in this scenario? Well, encrypting your connection, as we explained, will hide the fact that you’re downloading torrents from your ISP.

Hence, you can enjoy anonymous torrenting and download any files without repercussions. You will appear as someone else in another country, which makes it impossible for anyone to trace any activity back to you.

Find out more about torrenting safely and anonymously in our separate article.

Unblocking Geo-Restricted (Streaming) Sites

Those wondering what a VPN does besides what we mentioned will be happy to hear about geo-restrictions and how this tool can shatter them. A Virtual Private Network will let you hide your original IP and replace it with an IP from a VPN server in another country.

As a result, it will make you look like you’re located in that particular country rather than your original location. This is crucial for unblocking geo-restricted websites available only in certain regions.

You will most likely be interested in watching Netflix US, Japan, Canada, UK, or any other interesting catalogue. Logically, to access Netflix US, you must be in the United States, etc.

According to our VPN definition and meaning, you can easily get a US IP address, visit Netflix, and legally unblock the show or movie you want, no matter where you are located. Netflix isn’t the only geo-blocked website, so what will a VPN do for other sites?

Fortunately, you can use this tool to unblock ANY restricted website online.

Some include BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, ABC, Hotstar, and foreign TV channels unavailable in your country. Furthermore, a VPN lets you unblock online bookies and casinos as well.

If you’re not from the UK, you can use a VPN to get an IP address from this country and still enjoy Betfair or any other betting website.

Saving Money on Online Purchases

Now, we need to discuss what a VPN does to save money on purchases through different websites. If you often shop online, you may know that prices depend on several factors, the most important being your location.

We’ll give you a few examples.

Let’s say you want to purchase a flight ticket. Flight ticket prices depend not only on the flight time but also on your country! If you live in a highly developed European country like Norway, flight ticket prices will be much higher than in Eastern Europe.

This means that you can use a VPN to get an IP address from Croatia, let’s say, and purchase a flight ticket at a significantly lower price. You’ll be surprised how much you can save on flights this way. Yearly, we’re talking about $100 to even above $1,000 easily!

The same applies to purchasing digital goods. Games tend to cost much more in different countries. In the UK, a new AAA game costs £60; in the US, the same game will cost you $60. In Russia and Argentina, the prices are way cheaper, and the same game can cost twice as less! So, what does a VPN do in this case?

Well, as said, it will allow you to get an IP address from the country where the game you want is cheaper so that you can purchase it at a lower price. Our guide about altering your Steam region went into more detail on this subject matter; make sure you check it out.

As you can see, the VPN meaning now has much more sense, given this tool’s vast possibilities.

Avoiding ISP Throttling

What does a VPN mean for ISP throttling? ISP throttling is when your internet provider intentionally slows down your connection when you’re performing bandwidth-hungry activities to reduce the network infrastructure load.

This way, you pay the same monthly price, yet you get slower speeds and unstable connections when you attempt to stream or download torrents. With a Virtual Private Network, you can conceal your IP address and hide your connection, rendering it untraceable by your ISP.

It can’t impose limits if it cannot see your IP or what you’re doing online. As a result, you can perform your favourite activities without the fear of throttling.

How Does a VPN Work & How to Use It?

With the use cases we discussed, we do not doubt that you now know what a VPN is. However, there’s one more question—how does a VPN work?

A Virtual Private Network service works on a subscription basis. This means you first must choose the VPN provider you want, pay for a subscription, and enjoy all the benefits we discussed.

When purchasing a subscription, one important thing to mention is that VPNs will cost more if you choose a monthly plan, but prices will drastically decrease as you increase the subscription plan length.

Getting a Subscription Plan

To explain how a VPN works, we will use NordVPN, the best service available. As said, the first step is to pay for a subscription, allowing you to use NordVPN’s Virtual Private Network.

NordVPN’s monthly plans aren’t that cheap, so the choice is to go for one of its biennial plans. The Basic plan at just over $3 monthly will do the trick. It’s a 2-year plan with a 70% discount and, depending on the promotion, a few free months.

All plans also come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which lets you test NordVPN risk-free without losing money. Moreover, a subscription can be bought using several payment methods, including crypto, PayPal, and a VISA card.

After entering your email address, choose the payment method you want, pay, and the payment will be authorized pretty much immediately.

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Downloading and Using a VPN Application

By purchasing a subscription, you’ve gained the right to use a VPN application from NordVPN or any other provider you’ve chosen. Since NordVPN offers apps for all platforms, which you can see in the image below, click on your device and download the app for it.

Once the application is downloaded and installed, you’ll need to sign in to the app by using the credentials that NordVPN provided after payment. And once that is done, you’ll get access to the application that looks like this (Windows):

According to our VPN definition, you should know precisely what NordVPN can do for you. Therefore, all you need to do is connect to the server of your choice by opening the server list, choosing the server location, and clicking on it; it should connect in a few seconds.

After connecting to the VPN server, the app should look like this, indicating that the connection was successful. Now that you know what VPN means and does, you can proceed and enjoy this service’s great benefits.

By the way, the installation process is pretty much the same for all providers, so if you know how to install NordVPN, you’ll know how to install every other VPN. You don’t need to be tech-savvy to use a VPN and that’s the beauty of it!

Which VPN to Choose for the Best Experience

Beware that the VPN definition we discussed applies to the best-case scenario, or simply put, the best providers on the market. The benefits we discussed can be achieved with paid (premium) providers, and you won’t find them in any free VPN.

With that in mind, we wanted to give you the top five choices to consider when getting a VPN. These are the absolute best providers you can get, so you won’t make a mistake by choosing one of them.

1. NordVPN

To learn more about the VPN definition, you might want to check out NordVPN and see what a VPN like this can do. NordVPN is a middle ground between ExpressVPN and CyberGhost price-wise, but it’s better than both, giving you access to more than 7,900 servers in 125 countries globally.

However, NordVPN does some things differently. It offers a vast array of dedicated servers, ranging from obfuscated and P2P to onion over VPN and Double VPN servers for doubling your encryption. This all ties into security, where NordVPN excels.

Like the other four providers, it offers 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, split tunnelling, NordLynx, and NordWhisper, its proprietary protocols. Needless to say, NordLynx offers fantastic performance and connection stability, making it perfect for P2P activities and streaming.

You’ll also like its ability to unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer. It works with several Netflix catalogues, but you can use it to watch US TV abroad or enjoy intriguing shows and movies on Disney+ and Hotstar.

Being based in Panama, NordVPN’s backdrop is surprisingly privacy-friendly. NordVPN isn’t obligated to store any logs, and its no-logging policy gives us a broader picture that confirms this. Plus, it has security audits from PwC and Deloitte, strengthening its no-logs claims further.

A premium VPN definition is all about being the best in all departments. As such, NordVPN offers applications for all platforms, even the least popular ones, with ten simultaneous connections on a single subscription.

Its 24/7 live chat support is among the best in the business and is offered in multiple languages. Finally, NordVPN works in China and offers reasonably priced long-term plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What are you waiting for? You know what a VPN is now, so smash the button below and get the cheapest deal on NordVPN for the most significant savings! To learn more about the provider, you can also read our full test and review of NordVPN here.

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2. ExpressVPN

In our experience, the true VPN definition can easily be applied to ExpressVPN. It offers all the aforementioned benefits, starting with 3,000 servers in 105 countries around the globe. This large server fleet guarantees many possibilities, including getting breakneck speeds.

Indeed, ExpressVPN is among the fastest VPNs, making it great for bandwidth-hungry activities and avoiding ISP throttling. Moreover, ExpressVPN is the most secure choice on the market.

With 256-bit encryption, a reliable kill switch, and Lightway Turbo, a proprietary protocol, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more impressive provider unless you choose NordVPN, which beats it regularly.

Security is a top priority here, thus, ExpressVPN is focused on storing pretty much no logs about its users. With no IP addresses or browsing history stored on its servers, this provider managed to get an external security audit from PwC several times.

Now, ExpressVPN is also capable of streaming and torrenting. Every server is P2P-friendly, and many of them work with Netflix in the US, Japan, and Canada. Thanks to its amazing performance, you can use it to unblock BBC iPlayer or Disney+ and stream in HD without buffering.

ExpressVPN works in China, unlike many other providers, which is a huge plus. It offers applications for Windows, iOS, macOS (we compared all the best VPNs for Mac here), Linux, Android, and devices like routers, Smart TVs, and Fire TV Stick.

One subscription gives you eight simultaneous connections backed up by 24/7 live chat support. This makes ExpressVPN one of the best VPNs on the market, with no particular downsides except pricing.

However, using the button below, you can get a 61% discount, four months free for the 2-year plan, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. This is the cheapest possible deal for this VPN, drastically reducing its price and making it much more affordable.

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3. CyberGhost

What a VPN is can be explained easily by opting for CyberGhost. CyberGhost VPN is all about affordability and great features for the money. This provider offers a humongous server fleet of 12,000+ servers in 100 countries, which will not leave you indifferent.

While not faster than NordVPN, CyberGhost offers dedicated P2P, streaming, and gaming servers. We like P2P servers a lot for torrenting, but streaming servers work like a charm. You can unblock a few Netflix catalogues, enjoy foreign TV channels, and watch BBC iPlayer, Hulu, or Hotstar with them.

CyberGhost packs all-important security features in an easy-to-use app. Thus, you get bank-grade encryption, IP/DNS leak protection, WireGuard support, and a great ad blocker. We also like its Romanian jurisdiction, which is perfect for non-invasive logging practices.

This means that CyberGhost doesn’t store any compromising logs of its users. We should add transparency reports published every three months, where CyberGhost outlines every bit of information it refused or didn’t have to give to the authorities.

Despite being so affordable, CyberGhost’s integrity was never put to the test. It’s a safe VPN that offers easy-to-install apps for all significant and less popular platforms. Although it doesn’t work in China, it offers seven simultaneous connections, which is ‘okay’ but not better than NordVPN.

Perhaps the best thing about CyberGhost is its pricing. It’s the best affordable Virtual Private Network, especially if you go for its long-term plans. In this case, it’ll also give you an unconditional 45-day money-back guarantee, so you can test it out for more than a month.

If you’re looking for a cheap VPN that won’t suck a lot of money out of your account, CyberGhost is surely an amazing choice. Just be sure to use the button below to check its latest prices and claim the cheapest possible deal on this VPN.

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4. Surfshark

Surfshark is a formidable choice for this list. We love this VPN because of its simplicity and customizable apps that can change from dark to light and vice versa in a few seconds. Furthermore, this VPN does almost everything right, yet it doesn’t charge a fortune.

Its 2-year plan comes under $2.5 a month, and you get a 30-day refund policy for all plans. Yet, the provider packs 3,200 fast-speed servers in 100 countries, along with excellent streaming and torrenting capabilities that its users value incredibly.

We should also point out that Surfshark is decent for gaming, as it supports gaming consoles like PlayStation and Xbox. Surfshark comes with MultiHop servers for added encryption, and you can personalise the experience by utilising its kill switch and split tunnelling.

We like its NoBorders mode, which allows Surfshark to work in China. If you want shorter connection times along with 10 Gbps speeds, you can use WireGuard as your main protocol and enjoy 4K streaming, fast torrenting, and low-ping gaming.

Surfshark’s kill switch has occasional issues, and the VPN isn’t the fastest. However, that’s not a problem if you consider its overall security. It offers a no-logging policy audited by Cure53 and Deloitte in 2025; thus, you can expect it to store no personally identifiable data.

Another perk of Surfshark is that it offers apps for all platforms and unlimited connections. If you’re unsure what a VPN is and how it works, the provider also supports tremendous customer support via live chat. It’s available 24/7, and there’s a Blog section where you can find helpful articles and reports.

Overall, this provider surely won’t disappoint you. Our in-depth review of Surfshark is on our site. Make sure you check it out before purchasing it!

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5. Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access, or PIA, as it’s often called, is famous for its privacy and security.

It’s a VPN for safely accessing the dark web or preserving privacy on public WiFi hotspots. PIA operates a massive server fleet with 30,000 servers in 91 countries. Furthermore, it employs bank-grade GCM encryption to keep things secure.

We appreciate its verified no-logging policy, which PIA formidably proved in court after being probed for user-related data. With nothing to hand out, PIA’s reputation skyrocketed in many fans’ eyes. Like NordVPN, PIA uses 10 Gbps servers and implements WireGuard.

This ensures great, albeit not the fastest, speeds. However, PIA works well for streaming on Netflix US, allowing for plenty of entertainment. Users can also enjoy torrenting thanks to fully optimised servers and add-ons like port forwarding and the SOCKS5 proxy.

Private Internet Access encapsulates the VPN definition by providing all the essential VPN benefits. For example, it’s reliable at bypassing censorship and provides MultiHop to double your encryption. You can also enjoy unlimited simultaneous connections.

This starkly contrasts with CyberGhost, which, at a similar price, offers only seven. PIA excludes a native app for the Fire TV Stick, rendering it inferior in comparison. However, it offers cheap dedicated IP addresses and the ability to purchase a cheap antivirus for your Windows PC.

Overall, PIA VPN is among the top budget options. Its price of just about $2 monthly and a 30-day money-back guarantee makes it a dream for many. Get the exclusive discount below and see what a VPN like this can do for you.

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Summary

To summarise everything we said about the VPN meaning and definition, let’s digress. A VPN is probably the most excellent tool for maximising online privacy and security. What does a VPN mean, and what does it do?

Well, the answer to that question is relatively simple now. It’s a Virtual Private Network that encrypts your connection and hides your online activities from the prying eyes of your ISP and hackers. That way, it successfully keeps your privacy intact.

To experience all the most significant benefits of this service, we strongly recommend checking out one of the five providers we presented. And if you don’t want to lose money, you can test them risk-free for 30 or 45 days and get your money back effortlessly. That’s the best way to use top-level VPNs for free.

That way, you’ll learn everything about the VPN meaning and what it is in general.

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FAQ

Despite our best efforts to explain what a VPN is and what a VPN does, we still have some questions left unanswered. Let’s discuss them now:

Should I use a VPN at all?

As a potential user, you should answer the question of whether or not using a VPN is worth it. Using a VPN is mandatory to protect your online activities and privacy from potential snoopers. At merely a few dollars a month, paying for this subscription is worth it.

The benefits of a VPN are everywhere, and with this tool, you’ll be able to enjoy security and access to restricted sites, safe torrenting, and save money on online purchases. However, using a VPN has its cons, but we’re talking about minor ones.

For example, a Virtual Private Network can slightly reduce your internet speed, given the distance between you and the VPN server. Great VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN minimise or eliminate this performance reduction in most cases.

Moreover, some websites, like Netflix and Prime Video, can detect VPN usage and block your access. This is typical for low-quality (free) providers that don’t have enough “firepower” to deal with these platforms’ anti-VPN measures.

As said, you can eliminate these issues by choosing the best possible providers we presented above. Ultimately, you should use a VPN and not worry about its downsides if you choose the right one.

Is using a VPN safe?

Depending on your chosen provider, using a VPN can be safe or extremely unsafe. To ensure you fall into the first category, premium providers like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and PIA should be your first choices.

In that case, you will see what a VPN is capable of and realise it is safe. With rock-solid security and a no-logs policy, any of the five providers we presented will give you the highest level of online privacy.

We suggest avoiding providers like Hola VPN or Betternet, though. Given their intrusive logging practices and lack of security features, they’ll give you a real VPN definition of unsafety.

What is the meaning of VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. The term comes from VPN providers, who let you connect privately to a remote network that establishes a virtual tunnel through which your internet traffic travels and is protected by encryption.

Proxy vs VPN – which one is better?

If you know what a VPN is and what it does, you most likely know the answer to this question. A proxy service doesn’t use any VPN servers and relies on changing your IP address to let you access restricted sites.

This service doesn’t use a virtual tunnel to protect your traffic and doesn’t have bank-grade encryption like a VPN. As such, while using a proxy, your ISP can still see that you’re using it, and due to the lack of security features, your privacy doesn’t improve.

When you compare a proxy to our VPN definition and meaning, you can see why a VPN is a much better choice. Proxies are, in most cases, free, and there’s no such thing as a free lunch. So, the next time you decide on a free VPN or proxy, consider that you will gain nothing in terms of privacy or security.