All articles, by topic

What a VPN changes about who can see your traffic, and what it leaves exactly as it was.

1. 01

   Step 1 of 8. Privacy basics · Explainer · 4 min read

   What a VPN does, and what it does not

   A VPN moves where your traffic appears to come from and who can see it in transit. It does not make you anonymous, and it does not make anything legal that was not.

2. 02

   Step 2 of 8. Privacy basics · Checklist · 3 min read

   Decide what you need before you choose anything

   A short threat model: what you want to protect, from whom, and whether a VPN is the right tool or only part of the answer.

How to judge a service on evidence rather than marketing, and the questions to ask before you pay.

1. 03

   Step 3 of 8. Choosing a provider · Checklist · 3 min read

   How to evaluate a VPN provider without taking claims on trust

   Vendor-neutral criteria for judging a service: what to look for, what evidence counts, and the marketing claims that should make you more careful, not less.

The concepts behind installing and configuring a VPN on your own devices, and how to confirm it works.

1. 04

   Step 4 of 8. Setting up · Reference · 2 min read

   Protocols and settings in plain language

   What the common open VPN protocols are, and what the settings you will meet in most apps actually do.

2. 05

   Step 5 of 8. Setting up · Concepts · 3 min read

   Setting up a VPN on your own devices: the concepts

   The ways a VPN can be set up, what each one covers, and a safe order of steps. Exact menus differ by device, so this explains the ideas rather than the buttons.

3. 06

   Step 6 of 8. Setting up · Checklist · 2 min read

   Check that your VPN is working

   Simple checks for your own connection: that your visible address changed, that DNS and IPv6 do not leak, and that the kill switch really blocks traffic.

Common problems, their usual causes and the lawful fixes.

1. 07

   Step 7 of 8. Troubleshooting · Reference · 3 min read

   Troubleshooting common VPN problems

   The problems people meet most often, their usual causes, and what to try. When a network or service does not allow VPNs, the answer is to follow its rules.

Law, workplace and school rules, service terms, and the limits of what a VPN can promise.

1. 08

   Step 8 of 8. Responsible use · Explainer · 3 min read

   Using a VPN lawfully and responsibly

   What changes with where you are, whose network you use and what you agreed to, and the limits of what any VPN can promise. Read this before relying on one.