Checks When Using a VPN

A VPN is not a tool you can install and then simply feel safe about.

Is it connected? Is DNS going through the intended path? When the VPN disconnects, does traffic avoid returning to the ordinary connection? Do Cookies and login state from the same browser remain?

Only after checking these points does it become easier to judge whether you are using the VPN as intended.

This article organizes the flow of checks before and after using a VPN.

First Decide the Purpose

Before checking a VPN, decide your purpose.

Do you want to protect communication on public Wi-Fi? Do you want to avoid showing your home IP to the destination? Do you want to avoid showing destinations directly to your ISP? Do you want to use a server in a particular country or region?

If the purpose is vague, the points to check also become vague.

The places to look at with a VPN change depending on the purpose.

A VPN becomes easier to check when the purpose is clear. The places to check change depending on whether you do not want to show your home IP to the destination, want to reduce snooping on the same network on public Wi-Fi, or want to make the destination harder for the ISP to see directly.

"I want to increase anonymity" is too broad by itself. A VPN mainly changes the communication path and the visibility of the source IP. Cookies, login state, writing style, post content, files, and time are checked separately.

Check Before Connecting

Before connecting to the VPN, check the environment.

• Are you not using a browser logged in to a real-name account?
• Are you using a browser for anonymous activity?
• Did you install the VPN app from the official site or an authorized store?
• Did you check auto-connect and kill switch settings?
• Did you check whether DNS settings will go to the VPN side?

VPN checks do not end with the VPN app. Look at the browser and account state together.

If you skip pre-connection checks, you may use the real-name environment as-is after connecting to the VPN. When a browser logged in to a real-name social media account, ordinary email, browser sync, or cloud sync is active, the link to the person remains even if the IP changes.

Before using a VPN, prepare the work environment as well as the communication path. Fix the order: open the browser for anonymous activity, close real-name accounts, stop sync, and check the kill switch.

Check the IP After Connecting

After connecting to the VPN, check the IP address visible to the destination.

What you check here is whether "it appears as the VPN server's IP, not the home or workplace IP."

However, accessing an IP check site is itself access history. In high-risk situations, also think about which site you use for checking and when you access it.

Even if the IP has changed, that alone is not enough for anonymity. Next, check DNS and browser state.

WhatIsMyIP is a verification site that can check the current public IP address visible from the website side. By comparing the IP address shown before and after VPN connection, it becomes easier to check whether the IP visible to the destination has changed to the intended VPN server.

URL : https://www.whatismyip.com/

When checking IP, you do not look only at whether it is the expected country or region. Check whether the IP from a home connection, workplace connection, school connection, or mobile connection is showing. If it has changed to the VPN server's IP, the IP visible to the destination has changed.

However, the history of accessing the IP check site also remains. In high-risk situations, do not perform the check access from a real-name environment.

Check for DNS Leaks

A DNS leak means that, even though you are using a VPN, DNS queries go out through an unintended path.

If DNS queries go to the ordinary ISP side, which domains you tried to view becomes visible through a separate path.

When using a VPN, check whether DNS goes through the VPN side by using a DNS leak test or the VPN app settings.

The detailed mechanism of DNS leaks is covered in another article.

If there is a DNS leak, the page body may go through the VPN while the domain you tried to view is visible on the ordinary connection side. This is a major problem when the VPN's purpose is "to make destinations harder for the ISP to see directly."

In DNS leak checking, look at whether the VPN provider's DNS is being used and whether the OS or browser is using a different DNS setting. Some browsers have their own DNS settings, so check not only the VPN app but also browser settings.

DNSLeakTest is a verification site that can check which DNS server receives DNS queries. It is an entry point for seeing whether the ordinary ISP-side DNS appears while connected to a VPN.

URL : https://www.dnsleaktest.com/

Check the Kill Switch

A kill switch is a feature that prevents communication over the ordinary connection when the VPN connection disconnects.

Even if the VPN drops for a moment, browsers and apps will try to continue communicating. If traffic returns to the ordinary connection at that time, the original IP address may appear.

If the VPN app has a kill switch, enable it. However, feature names and behavior differ by service. You need to check how it actually behaves.

A kill switch is a feature for reducing leaks at the moment the VPN disconnects. Browsers, chat apps, cloud sync, and OS communication will try to continue communicating even when the VPN disconnects. If they return to the ordinary connection at that time, the original IP address may become visible to the destination.

Do more than enable it in the settings screen. Check what scope it stops. Look at whether it applies per app or to the whole device, whether it remains enabled after restart, and whether it prevents communication before the VPN starts.

Check the Browser and Login State

The browser is easy to overlook in VPN checks.

Even if the IP has changed with a VPN, if the same Cookies are sent, the service can treat it as the same browser. If you are logged in to a real-name account, the behavior is linked to the account.

Things to check:

• Are you using a browser for anonymous activity?
• Are you not logged in to real-name accounts?
• Are Cookies or LocalStorage not left behind?
• Is browser sync not enabled?
• Are extensions not the same as in the real-name environment?

A VPN is a network check. For anonymity, browser checks are also necessary.

Even if the IP has changed with a VPN, using the same browser sends the same Cookies. If you are logged in to a real-name account, the service side records the behavior as the person's activity. If browser sync is enabled, history and bookmarks may mix with the real-name environment.

In VPN checks, separate network checks and browser checks. An IP change does not mean safety.

Check After Use

Check after using the VPN too.

• After turning off the VPN, have you not opened sites for anonymous activity?
• Do downloaded files have no metadata?
• Have you not brought anonymous activity history into the real-name browser?
• Have files for anonymous activity not entered cloud sync?

Anonymity is not only a problem while connected. Think about it as a flow before use, during use, and after use.

In after-use checks, look at whether history for anonymous activity has been brought into the real-name side. Downloaded files, screenshots, browser history, cloud sync, and copied URLs can remain in the real-name environment. If you open a site for anonymous activity after turning off the VPN, you may access it from the ordinary connection.

Limits of VPN Checks

Even if you perform VPN checks, anonymity is not guaranteed. Information gathers at the VPN provider as the relay point for communication. The destination service receives Cookies, login state, browser information, and post content. Posting time, writing style, and file metadata also remain.

VPN checks are necessary. However, they are one part of overall anonymous practice.

Summary

A VPN does not end once you connect it.

You need to decide the purpose, check the environment before connection, and after connection check IP, DNS, kill switch, and browser state.

Even if the IP changes with a VPN, Cookies, login state, browser sync, file metadata, and post content remain as separate issues.

VPN checks include not only the network, but also the browser, accounts, files, and behavior after use.

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