A VPN or virtual private network is a tool that can tunnel all of your network traffic through a secure server. The traffic is encrypted so nobody can snoop on it, and the VPN also ensures that your IP address is masked. In this way, VPNs make your online activity private and secure. Aside from that, you can also access geo-blocked content by using a VPN server in a different country.
However, all of these benefits are lost when the VPN is disconnected. Unfortunately for us, many things outside our control can disconnect your VPN.
In the case of a disconnection, your security can be compromised. So, there is a need for emergency measures that prevent problems. One of them is the VPN kill switch. Let us learn what it is, how it works, and what problems it solves.
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What is a VPN Kill Switch?
A VPN kill switch is a feature in most VPN software that kills your device’s internet connection if it detects that the VPN has been disconnected.
As a result, your device will be unable to connect to the internet. But why is that a good thing?
What Happens if There is No Kill Switch?
Here’s what you need to understand. Without a kill switch, your internet traffic will continue without being tunnelled. Your IP masking and the extra encryption on your traffic will be lost.
As a result, anyone can find your real location through an IP lookup. By the way, this is how geo-restrictions work. Websites check your IP location, and if it is from a region where they don’t have permission to show content, they will block your IP address.
That is not the real threat that a VPN kill switch deals with. As we mentioned, your traffic is not securely encrypted when disconnected from the VPN. This means your ISP can snoop on your traffic and invade your privacy.
This is particularly dangerous if you are someone like a journalist operating in a region with strict information control measures. Using a VPN can protect them, but a disconnection could result in arrests or fines.
A VPN kill switch automatically solves these problems by shutting down your device’s network connection instantly. So, when there is no traffic, there is no snooping either.
How Does a VPN Kill Switch Work?
There are different types of kill switches, and they work differently. Given below are the common types and their working.
Application Level Kill Switch
These work on the application level, i.e., they don’t have advanced access to your computer. They can only work with and control certain applications.
Good VPNs can tunnel different parts of your traffic. For example, you can make it so that your browser's traffic is encrypted and tunnelled while all other apps are running independently.
So, an application-level kill switch will also only kill the connection of the app whose traffic it was tunnelling and ignore the rest.
If you are tunnelling all of your traffic, you can select which apps the kill switch will prevent from connecting if the VPN disconnects. This is quite convenient and less disruptive.
System Level Kill Switch
A system-level kill switch will simply kill your device’s internet connection. These are safer but also more inconvenient and disruptive.
Most VPNs, like Proton and Nord, provide application and system-level kill switches. So you can choose which one to use.
What Are Some Reasons for VPN Disconnections
VPNS can disconnect for the following reasons.
- Your VPN server is overcrowded, so some users are disconnected to make space.
- Your network changed for some reason. For example, your Wi-Fi died, and you automatically switched to mobile data.
- Your firewall/antivirus was updated, and it blocked your VPN, causing it to disconnect.
- You switched the VPN server. During the switch, your VPN is disconnected. So, the kill switch automatically stops internet traffic until the new VPN connection is established.
- You are using the UDP protocol instead of TCP. UDP is unstable compared to TCP, so it is not uncommon for VPNs to disconnect occasionally when using it.
These are just some of the reasons why VPN disconnections occur.
Conclusion
A VPN protects your privacy, but a VPN disconnection can result in your network traffic becoming unprotected and open for interception. With a VPN kill switch, all the unprotected traffic can be stopped before it leaves your device by shutting down the internet connection. The process is instantaneous, so you are completely safe. This is particularly useful for professionals such as journalists and reporters who have to bypass information censorship measures.
