The Advantages Of Double VPN Connections
Most of the benefits you should know about involve getting a higher degree of Internet security and privacy.
Overall, here are the specific advantages of using a double VPN connection:
- The second VPN server you connect to will not know what you real IP address is since it will only see the first VPN servers address.
- Your online traffic and data are encrypted two times .
- The connections between servers can be made to alternate between TCP and UDP, offering you a slightly better level of online security.
- A double VPN connection reduces the risk of you being exposed to a traffic correlation attack . Although, it is important to mention that such an attack is highly unlikely to happen to you as a VPN user. Still, this is a perk of using a double VPN connection.
Also, if you decide to set up a multihop VPN connection, youll be able to hide your digital footprints behind multiple geo-locations .
Network Managers And Users Might Opt To Set Up Two VPN Connections At The Same Time From The Same Remote Device But That Might Not Be Possible
- Lisa Phifer,Core Competence
VPNs are among the most popular ways to gain remote access to IT resources.
Many enterprises now have employees that work both in the office and remotely. Most will likely continue to use remote access for business information systems and services, which means network managers must think about how to balance the optimization of resources available to remote users and in-office employees.
This article examines the pros and cons of setting up two VPN connections at the same time from one remote device. It explores scenarios where multiple VPN sessions provide value to individual users, as well as the risks associated with expanded remote access. Finally, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using multiple VPNs.
How To Use A VPN With Multiple Devices
If this is your first time setting up a VPN youll be happy to know its a very simple process. Just follow our steps below and youll have all your devices connected through a VPN in no time.
Heres how to set-up a VPN on multiple devices:
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How To Use Two VPNs At The Same Time On Windows
Fergus is a freelance writer for How-To Geek. He has seven years of tech reporting and reviewing under his belt for a number of publications, including GameCrate and Cloudwards. He’s written more articles and reviews about cybersecurity and cloud-based software than he can keep track of—and knows his way around Linux and hardware, too. Read more…
If you have two VPNs installed on your computer, chances are youll have some trouble getting them to work at the same time. We dont recommend using two VPNs, but there are situations where you may need two simultaneouslylike if you want to connect to a corporate VPN over a personal VPN.
Thankfully, setting up a double connection like this isnt too bad on Windows as long as youre willing to set up a virtual machine to do the heavy lifting. The same trick will work on macOS and Linux. However, it isnt easily possible on mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Difference Between Double VPN And VPN Over VPN
Generally speaking, Double VPN and VPN over VPN is very similar. In both cases, you connect to two VPN servers instead of one. The only difference is that Double VPN uses two servers of the same provider, and VPN over VPN, as the name implies, uses one server from each provider.
However, there are some instances when this small difference can prove to be vital. Imagine a VPN service that logs data is raided by law enforcement, demanding user data. So when you connect to two servers, all of your data, including the IP address, is up for grabs.
Enter VPN over VPN. In this scenario, the compromised provider has only a piece of your data. It can be either your real IP or your destination. Separately, they cannot hold anything incriminating against you because, as an old proverb says, IP and traffic go together like love and marriage.
Running two VPNs at the same time is not a bad idea. While it will cost you more, this gives you the power to keep your eggs in really separate baskets. That’s unless both VPNs are in the same country, which makes it easier for the government or another third-party to snoop on your traffic.
There are some problems with using two services for multi-hop, though. The providers aren’t building their software to work this way, so you might be unable to launch different VPN clients simultaneously. I explain this in more detail in the following chapter.
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Second Video: What Is A VPN
Theres a good reason hackers love free public Wi-Fi. Its because they can easily access information on unsecured Wi-Fi networks. VPNs, or virtual private networks, like Norton Secure VPN can turn those public Wi-Fi hotspots into secured private connections.
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Close Unnecessary Background Apps
At any given time, theres probably a bunch of apps and programs running quietly in the background on your device. While these apps arent shown in the user interface, they still consume processing power and bandwidth.
If you have several such apps running in the background, your connection speed will be quite slow. This is why its important to occasionally check your background apps and close the ones that arent required. Doing this on a regular basis should help increase VPN speed.
You can usually close background apps and processes using the Task Manager on Windows and Activity Monitor on a Mac. But be careful when doing this, as some processes are essential to keep your system running. Weve provided detailed steps for closing background apps on Windows below:
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When Do You Need Double VPN
When old people look back at their lives, rarely do they regret not using Double VPN. And that’s perfectly fine. However, there are a few scenarios when this feature comes handy:
- Securing public wifi. While a regular VPN connection is good for that, Double VPN is even better. A public wifi hotspot has weak protection and many users. That’s why hackers love them. Therefore, encrypting your traffic not once but twice is a good idea.
- Avoiding surveillance. Some governments spy on their citizens. You don’t want your traffic available to any third-party, and Double VPN helps prevent that. After all, getting caught visiting blocked sites or downloading illegal content is not at the top of anyone’s priority list.
- Journalism and activism. If you write about sensitive topics or take political action to change the status quo, chances are some people or organizations would like to see you fail. To shatter their dreams, you should protect yourself, your colleagues, and your sources online. Using Double VPN, you get extra security and privacy plus access to blocked web resources.
What Is Double VPN And Should I Use It
Today, more people and devices than ever before are connected to the internet. But as this global connection grows, so too do the constantly evolving cybersecurity threats that are out there.
Much security software and infrastructure has been developed to combat the ever-increasing threats to your online privacy and security, including VPNs and double VPNs.
If all the different VPNs options have you confused, dont worry. Were about to break down all there is to know about VPNs and double VPNs.
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Benefits Of Double VPN
The primary benefit of a double VPN is the added anonymity protection it provides. Anyone monitoring the traffic on your home network will only see the first connection to the VPN server, but will not know the IP address of your destination.
Additionally, the second VPN server will not know your real IP address since it will be hidden by the first VPN server. Even if this second VPN server is compromised, there is virtually no way for your traffic to be traced back to you.
The ability to bounce your traffic between servers in different geographical locations is a huge benefit to anyone wishing to avoid severe government censorship.
Perhaps youre in China and want to access YouTube. If you connect to a server in Israel and then through a second server in the US, anyone watching your traffic in China will think youre accessing Israeli sites, and anyone doing similarly in the US will think you are in Israel.
A double VPN is also useful if you are in a country that only allows connections to a domestic IP address and you need to circumvent censorship. First, connect to a server in that country and then select another server outside the country through which your traffic will exit.
A double VPN also protects you against more sophisticated attacks, like traffic correlation attacks . The multiple hops from server to server provide layers of anonymity that help protect your online identity.
Why You Need A VPN
If youve ever wondered if its safe to use public Wi-Fi, you are not alone. In fact, according to the Norton Cyber Security Insights Report, 6 in 10 consumers believe using public Wi-Fi is riskier than using a public restroom. And it is. Surfing the Web or transacting on an unsecured Wi-Fi network means youre placing your private information and anonymity at risk. Thats why a virtual private network, better known as a VPN, is a must for anyone worried about online security and privacy.
Think about all the times youve been on the go, reading emails while in line at the coffee shop, or checking your bank account while waiting at the doctors office. Unless you were logged into a private Wi-Fi network that required a password, any data transmitted during your online session was likely vulnerable to eavesdropping by strangers using the same network.
The encryption and anonymity that a VPN provides protects all of your online activities: sending emails, shopping online, or paying bills. VPNs also help keep your Web browsing anonymous.
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Disadvantage Of Multiple VPNs
Though there arent many cons, the major problem is that you need to be technically stuffed to handle the errors. They will hugely impact your speeds .
Though you can prevent some speed loss by connecting to nearby servers and some tips to boost your VPN speeds. But our main intention is you shouldnt get buffered for security. For instance, if your internet connection is 100 Mbps a double VPN connection will make it around 50 Mbps.
Besides that, even a double VPN cost more than a single. Better to go with a VPN service provider offering double VPN or VPN chain connection support to save your money.
Can I Use Multiple VPN Connections To Increase Bandwidth
There is wifi network in our college and it only connected to local server so if we want to use internet we have to connect to a vpn server using our specific user/pass the problem is bandwidth is limited. Is there any way so I can use 3-4 connections work together to increase bandwidth?
- Connecting to multiple VPN connections wouldn’t increase your bandwidth. Because you already need an internet connection to connect to the VPN in the first place, so your limits are the original, internet connection that allows you to connect to the VPN.May 9 ’13 at 19:36
- @Ramhound VPN server is local , I can connect without internet connection at firs place PedramHMay 10 ’13 at 12:43
- My argument still stands. You can only get so many bits per second with your hardware. Being connected multiple times will result in multiple connections and the same bits per second capacity will still exist.
Contrary to Ramhound, if I’m understanding you correctly, there is more bandwidth available, but the VPN caps you to a certain amount, correct?
If so, you might be able to use NIC bonding to do it, or possibly some sort of virtualized guests, each one running a VPN, then bond all of the virtualized adapters on the host. It would be fairly difficult to do. Is there any non-wifi access? Many routers have ways to add more than one WAN interface.
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How To Share Your VPN Connection Via A Router
In case you want to keep all your Web-connected devices secure, the easiest way is to install a VPN on your router. This way, every device you connect to your home router will be covered by your VPN. The most interesting thing about this is that your router counts as one device towards your subscription limit.
So, here are the requirements you need to meet to install a VPN on a router, and then here’s how to share your VPN connection with other devices in your home.
Change Your VPN Protocols
A VPN protocol simply refers to the system which is responsible for encrypting your data before forwarding it to an external server. The protocol youre using impacts the level of security and privacy as well as the VPN speed. Weve compared the different VPN protocols in a previous article. Be sure to check it out before playing around with VPN protocol settings.
The OpenVPN protocol is the most commonly used protocol by VPN providers. It offers high-level encryption to safeguard your online activity. However, such strong encryption usually takes away from your VPN speed.
However, other protocols, like PPTP and WireGuard, prioritize VPN connection speeds, with a lesser focus on security. The WireGuard protocol, which is future-proof, combines security and increased speed, offering the best of both worlds.
So, another way to boost your internet speed when using a VPN is to change your protocol settings. Almost all of the VPN providers that feature on our rankings of the best VPNs for 2021 offer the ability to change between different protocols. If youre looking for a VPN provider that supports the WireGuard protocol, then NordVPN should be your pick.
However, NordVPN also supports multiple protocols, so you need to know how to change it for maximum speeds.
Follow the steps listed below to switch to WireGuard on Nord VPN:
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Which VPNs Offer The Most Simultaneous Connections
If youre looking for a VPN to use on a number of your different devices, then a product that offers lots of simultaneous connections is key.
Surfshark and Windscribe are two of the top VPNs available, and unlike practically any other VPN you can find, they also both offer unlimited simultaneous connections.
While its not quite unlimited, PIA, Hide.me, PureVPN, and Ivacy VPNs all offer 10 simultaneous connections, which should be enough to cover all your devices.
How Does A Double VPN Work
Basically, instead of just having your traffic and online data secured once by one VPN server, it will be secured twice by two VPN servers.
A lot of people seem to think that a double VPN connection means that instead of AES-256 encryption, for example, theyd be protected by AES-512 encryption. While not entirely correct, thats not too far from the truth.
Instead of the same level of encryption being doubled on its own, another level of encryption gets added to it. Normally, your online traffic would reach the web after passing through the VPN server.
With a double VPN connection, your traffic passes through one VPN server, and then gets redirected through another VPN server, and only after that do your connection requests reach the Internet.
To get a better idea of how a double VPN works, heres a simple overview of the connection process:
So, overall, your online traffic is encrypted, decrypted, re-encrypted, and decrypted one more time before it reaches the worldwide web. Then, it goes through the same process before the data you requested reaches your device.
Also, with a double VPN connection, your real IP address gets masked two times instead of just once since it gets hidden behind two server addresses.
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Advantages Of Double VPN
What is double VPN celebrated for?
The main arguments for using multiple VPN connections at the same time are:
Double Encryption
Double VPN wont make the scrambled version of your web traffic harder to decode. But double encryption acts as a safety net. The second layer can prevent leakage of your traffic data in its readable form in case the first layer breaks.
Dual IP Masking
Since there are two geographically separated VPN servers in the mix, your VPN vendor can conceal the first IP address meant to veil your physical location.
Enhanced Security
The OpenVPN tunneling protocol gives you the option to switch back and forth between User Datagram Protocol or Transmission Control Protocol modes. If youre familiar with them, playing with both can help increase your security.