Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs for short, are all the rage among online Internet users. This is mainly because of their ability to hide a person’s real IP address. This gives you better protection from data theft and it hides your location and identity when browsing the web.
A VPN like IPVanish can be a great way to ensure privacy while browsing the net. This way your information won’t get snatched by unscrupulous advertisers. It can also help you access data that may have been blocked from your region through geo-blocking.
However, your VPN won’t be able to help you do any of this if it has a leak. This has become a real concern lately.
What is This Security Flaw?
A majority of Internet browsers like Chrome and Firefox have a special interface program known as Web Real Time Communication, and according to experts, it’s the reason behind VPN leaking. The truth is that this isn’t actually the case, because WebRTC is a special aspect of your web browser.
It enables your computer device to perform certain browser-to-browser applications across various networks, from file sharing, video chatting, voice calling etc.
WebRTC can be harnessed by malicious hackers to access your IP address and a VPN leaking will make it easier for them to do this.
What Happens When the IP Address is Revealed?
The good news is that websites are taking measures to fight this issue and here’s how they’re doing it. They’ll get an IT specialist to write a code that mimics a WebRTC connection using your browser. The program uses this code to trick the VPN into showing your IP address and the website can leverage this data to block the active connection.
It’s like placing a fake driver’s license over a real one. WebRTC is able to see through any phony IP address that you give it and penetrate to the real one so it can block it.
What You Should Do?
There’s reason to believe that network administrators at content providers like Netflix and Hulu will start rolling out programs that identify and block users that are accessing their platforms through VPNs.
Once this happens, you won’t be able to stream or download movies and other content from online sources. That’s why it’s important now more than ever to check for VPN leaking and if you notice that it’s no longer protecting your IP address, it’s time to take some action!
Checking for Leaks
Follow these steps to check for VPN leaking through your existing account:
- Start by opening your browser, navigate to the WhatIsMyIPAddress.com and input your IP address.
- Sign into the VPN you use and select a remote server of your choice as per usual. Confirm your connection and wait for a couple of minutes.
- Go back to WhatIsMyIPAddress.com and write down your IP address once. You’ll notice that it’s different from the first one.
- Now, go to the WebRTC test page and write down the IP address you see.
- If you see your actual IP address on the WebRTC test, you’ve got VPN leaking my friend.
The good news is that WhatIsMyIPAddress.com is constantly working to authenticate your Internet connection and make sure that you’re not experiencing VPN leaking.
Fixing the Leak
You can fix the problem by installing a browser plug-in which comes with a blocking mechanism, or simply go to your browser and disable WebRTC.
Browsers like Opera, Firefox and Chrome automatically activate WebRTC while Internet Explorer and Safari don’t. You’ll know if it works if WedbRTC shows your actual IP address.
Follow these steps to disable WebRTC:
- If you’re using Opera or Chrome: Go to the Chrome Web Store and install the ScriptSafe extension. This will automatically disable WebRTC.
- If you’re using Firefox: You can either (1) Go to the address bar and navigate to “about:config”, look for “media.peerconnection.enabled” and change it to “false.” Or (2) Go to Mozilla Add-ons in order to install “Disable WebRTC.”
Keep in mind that disabling WebRTC comes with its own disadvantages such as interrupting some of your web services and apps. This includes stuff like your computer’s connection to the camera or a chat window. But, you can easily fix that by temporarily enabling WebRTC.
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