Posted by Wayne on December 21, 2025, 8:55 am, in reply to "HOW A VPN WORKS ... (LINK)"
One of the most important functions of VPNs is their ability to encrypt personal data and web traffic. Using encryption technologies, VPNs ensure that credit card numbers, passwords, messages, transaction history, browsing data, and other sensitive information travels through an encrypted tunnel in undecipherable code.
How does this work in practical terms? Well, if you log into your email account, the request will be communicated to the VPN service. After establishing a connection between your device and the VPN server, the VPN then sends your login request to the VPN server through an encrypted tunnel.
Once your request lands on the VPN server, it sends the data to your email provider's server, still encrypted. The email grants the request and returns the data back to the VPN server. At this point, the VPN server also re-encrypts the data and sends it to the VPN service, where the data is deciphered and passed on, finally, to your device. It's sort of like a digital relay race – and your data is the baton.
This might seem like a long and complicated ordeal, especially as your data is encrypted and decrypted at every step of the process, but Surfshark points out that every step "happens in a second" – and sometimes "in a fraction of a second" if you have a fast internet connection.
Plus, the majority of VPNs, including the most secure VPNs, use AES-256 encryption, one of the most robust encryption methods available.
Message Thread
« Back to index