There is a lot of confusion lately about what a "VPN" is, what it does, and the benefits you get by using one.
A VPN itself (which stands for "Virtual Private Network") is simply an encrypted network connection between two points.
Originally, VPNs were used to make a secure connection between your home or portable computer and your company network.
You installed a special piece of software on your computer and, when you fired it up, it provided you with a link to the company network.
As the name implied, that link was encrypted, so it basically acted as if you had a wire going directly from your computer to the company's network.
More importantly, that "wire" was secure, which means that nobody could see what you sent through it, or hack into it from outside.
(Which means that nobody, be it the government, your kids, or your favorite hacker, could see what you were doing through that wire.)
It acted JUST as if your computer was at the company's office, connected by a wire, right to the network.
The IMPORTANT thing to remember here is that, like the wormhole on your favorite Sci-Fi movie, the VPN provides a secure link between two points.
It does NOT make either of the points themselves any more secure.
It will NOT prevent you from getting a virus on your computer.
Likewise, it is quite possible to connect to an evil site using a VPN, in which case it will NOT protect you from stuff at the other end.
It STRICTLY protects you from having people outside, like at your ISP, see what you're doing inside, or from intercepting the traffic you send through it.
What most modern companies like NordVPN are selling is a VPN SERVICE. (There are quite a few VPN companies these days; I use one called VyprVPN.)
They are allowing you to use a VPN to access one of their servers.
You connect to their server (most let you choose between several servers).
From then on, your connection to the Internet is THROUGH the VPN and their server.
From the point of view of the web sites you connect you, your computer is hidden, and your connection APPEARS to be coming from the VPN server.
So, if I connect to a website using my VyprVPN service, they can't "see" my computer.... what they see is "an incoming connection coming from the VyprVPN address".
This does several things which I might want....
For example, let's say that some local news station in Chicago is running a show on their website, and they're set things up so ONLY people in Chicago can watch it.
I can fire up my VPN, connect to the VyprVPN server in Chicago (if they have one), and connect to that website from it.
As far as they can tell, I'm connecting to them from the VyprVPN address in Chicago, so I get to watch the show.
Now, let's say I want to download some very illegal content from a website in Argentina.
I can fire up my VPN, pick any VyprVPN server I like, and connect from there.
And, if the government, or the thought police, are watching the wires in Argentina, all they'll see is "some guy downloaded this through the VyprVPN server in Chicago".
And, if they're watching MY Internet connection, they won't be able to see what I'm sending through the VPN - because it's all encrypted.
(This would be handy if I was downloading illegal bootleg South American porn; or if I was staging a revolution in Argentine, where revolutions are illegal.)
NOTE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO I BUY MY VPN SERVICE KNOW WHO I AM.
So, in the example I gave above, if the thought police were monitoring that website in Argentina, and saw my illegal download, they might send a complaint to my VPN company that "one of their customers did something illegal".
They, in turn, can look up who I am, and could forward that complaint to me.
We can ASSUME that they will NOT disclose my identity to the guys who file the complaint... however, depending on the details, and where the VPN company is located, they may do so if the police ask them to.
Note that there is a two-way trust issue here.......
If my VPN company is located in the USA, we can assume they would disclose my identity if the US government were to ask - like with a warrant.
However, if I were to use a VPN company somewhere out-of-country, they might refuse to do so in order to protect my privacy.
Of course, if my VPN company isn't trustworthy, THEY might hack my account and monitor what I'm doing, or decide to steal my credit card numbers and sell them.
They will tell you that "they don't have access to your information because they don't have access to the keys" - but, since they wrote the program, you're really taking their word for that, now aren't you?
Using a VPN does make it just that much harder for someone to figure out who you are.
Now, let's assume that I subscribe to a VPN service and use it to access my bank account.
I will establish a secure and more-or-less "hack proof" connection to the VPN server.
The VPN server will then establish a totally normal connection to my bank.
- My bank will see the address of the VPN company's server instead of my address. (Do I care if my bank knows where I am?)
- My ISP, or someone with access to their network, will NOT be able to see what I'm doing. (OK; I guess someone there might try to hack my account, so this makes me more secure.)
HOWEVER.....
- The VPN will NOT prevent my computer from becoming infected by a virus when I'm not using the VPN.
- The VPN will NOT prevent my computer from becoming infected by a virus from a website I connect to through the VPN when I AM using it.
- The VPN will NOT protect me if I do something stupid, like connect to a phishing website, or open an infected e-mail message
- The VPN will NOT prevent my bank from being hacked, or my credit card number from being stolen when I use it.
The bottom line is that, while VPN services do provide certain benefits, I believe they are being widely oversold using exaggerated and somewhat unrealistic claims.
I should also note that, when you connect to your bank, you are almost certainly ALREADY doing so through a secure connection - very similar to a VPN.
(It's called SSL... the "S" in "HTTPS://" stands for "secure HTTP connection", and the little padlock icon on your browser tells you you're using one..)
A VPN is really just a different variation on this same technology....
And, to answer your questions.....
1)
MOST VPN services slow down your Internet traffic to some degree.
How much they slow it down will depend on where you are, what service you have, and even things like the time of day.
The bottom line is that your packets are taking a more circuitous route than normal, going through more network connections, and experiencing more handling, so there are more opportunities for things to slow down.
(In general, it won't be especially noticeable for web access, but will usually slow down large downloads, and there may be streaming issues.)
2)
SOME of your Internet-of-Things things won't work right through a VPN.
For one thing, the VPN hides your location, and some things use or need that information to do what they do.
(For example, your Weather Bug will be giving you forecasts from the city where the VPN server is located, because that's where it thinks you are, and ordering groceries from "your nearest store" may be tricky.)
For another thing, the encryption protocols used by VPNs may disagree with certain devices and programs.
(VyprVPN, the one I use, offers several different options; each works for many things; and each DOESN'T work for a few things.)
Will a VPN mess up your internet of things communications? The only time I ever used a VPN was when I was working from home for my company. Will it slow down things?
