VPN
Virtual Private Network — tunnels traffic to a provider who sees your connection and often destinations. Trust shifts from ISP to VPN operator.
A VPN encrypts traffic between the device and one provider’s server; beyond that server, traffic travels as if the provider were the user. The ISP sees a connection to the VPN, and the destination sees the VPN’s address — privacy improves in exactly one hop, and all of it rests on a single company.
The trust is moved, not removed
The provider can see who connects and where the traffic goes. “No logs” policies are claims that only get tested when a server is seized or a court orders disclosure — and some have failed that test. Payment records and account logins identify the user regardless of the tunnel. Against a curious ISP this trade can be reasonable; against a determined adversary, one subpoena covers the whole history.
VPN and Tor solve different problems
Tor distributes the same trust across three independent relays, so no single party sees both ends — the principle behind Onion Routing. The cost is speed; the gain is that there is no one operator to compel. The full trade-off is mapped in Tor vs. VPN; the behavioral side belongs to OPSEC.
Category: Network