Does VPN affect your router?

Almost everyone uses VPN now on a daily basis. Some people want to remove restrictions from the content, while some of them want to ensure security. However, one of the main questions that may come to your mind is whether a virtual private network affects your router or not. 

VPN technology is improving day by day, and we see many new features. Though we are not going to discuss all these features here, you can read it all here if you want. Anyway, coming back to the topic, in this article, we will see if a VPN can affect Wi-Fi routers. 

So, without further ado, let’s get started. 

Source 

Effect of VPN on Routers 

We know that a virtual private network encrypts your traffic. Therefore, there must be a connection between this software and routers. We are about to explore what is the actual effect of a virtual private network on internet routers. 

But before that, you need to understand how a virtual private network works. Don’t worry. We will quickly take you through this knowledge and will try more than our best to make the info as simple as possible. This way, you will be able to digest all the info without getting bored. 

Working Principle of a VPN 

Whenever you connect to a virtual private network, it creates a virtual tunnel. All your traffic is directed through that virtual tunnel which makes it encrypted. This process also helps to mask your IP address. 

Therefore, whenever your VPN is active, you will notice your IP address changes from your own to the one provided by the VPN server. Under such conditions, you remain safe from hackers, trackers, and prying eyes while browsing online. 

This was a short explanation of the working principle of a virtual private network. Let’s see how it affects the Wi-Fi routers and access points. 

Wrong VPN Can Slow Down Your Speed 

The first thing that you should be worried about is internet speed. However, there is no doubt that the speed of the internet is mainly linked with your ISP. In most cases, however, a poor-quality VPN is usually to blame. 

VPNs with fewer servers tend to be the slowest among all, and this is due to a specific reason. The reason is simple: you will be very far away from their server whenever you are connected to such kinds of VPNs. Due to this, the network latency increases, which results in poor internet speed. 

This will be a nightmare for online gamers and those who love watching their favorite content online. 

VPNs Can Get You Hacked

One of the primary reasons for using a virtual private network is to prevent hackers from attacking your device. These networks mask your IP address, and thus, no one will be able to know your location and target your device. 

However, in some cases, poor-quality VPN servers are usually vulnerable to cyber threats. For example, one of the most dangerous types of attack is the man-in-the-middle attack. During such types of attacks, the perpetrator positions himself between the client and the server covertly. 

This way, the attacker can easily know about the communication between the server and the client. This gives him the advantage to eavesdrop or impersonate one of the parties. 

As a result, the attacker can steal personal information such as login details, credit card information, or even take over a complete SaaS business. 

However, these types of attacks rarely occur on secured VPN servers that use highly advanced VPN protocols such as OpenVPN.

Final Words

A virtual private network connection may not be able to affect your internet router physically, but it can still have an impact. For example, a router connected to a network with fewer servers will usually suffer low-speed internet. 

In addition to this, routers connected to VPNs with poorly secured servers are usually prone to hacking and cybercriminal activities. It can risk a user’s confidential information such as login credentials, bank details, credit card info, and much more. 

So, whenever you are going to purchase a virtual private network, always make sure that it is trusted, safe, and secure. Also, it must have a lot of cloud servers so that you may not face any issue with internet speed.