How to Check VPN Connectivity for Any IP Leaks

January 13, 2020 By Nick Anderson No Comments 6 minutes

A VPN masks your IP address and enables you to access geo-blocked content. It also encrypts your data and protects your IP and online activities from third-parties. But, there may be some technical flaws, and a VPN might leak your IP address or location. In case, if a VPN is not protecting your security then there is no use of it.

How to Check VPN Connectivity

IP or DNS leaks are hard to detect, but you can follow our instructions to make sure that a VPN is working properly.

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The Most Common VPN Errors

A VPN might not be performing well because of many reasons. But, most of the VPNs compromise users’ security because of the IP or DNS leaks. The most common VPN leaks are:

DNS Leak

Always try to avail a VPN service that guarantees protection against IP/DNS leaks. A DNS leak is a VPN security flaw. A VPN fails to hide DNS requests and reveals them to the ISP. It means that your ISP servers know what websites you are visiting and who you are. If anyone is prying your traffic, then he can easily access your information and it might lead to the DNS control attack.

IP Leak

Your security is at high risk if your VPN is not concealing your IP address. A VPN masks your original IP with its own IP, so no one can see your real IP address, and fails to know what you are visiting on the internet. However, if a VPN fails momentarily to protect your IP then it causes an IP leak. In the case of the IP leak, any hacker can easily trace your location and websites that you are visiting. The IP leak may occur because of the incompatibility of IPv4 and IPv6 protocols.

Web Real-Time Communication Leak

WebRTC is designed for the top-performing browsers e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Opera and etc. It supports voice and video chat, but some websites misuse it and add extra lines of code to detect a user’s real IP address. These websites identify user location and provide geo-restricted content only.

All of the mentioned leaks are a VPN’s technical flaw that you can resolve, once you detect them. Follow these instructions below to detect each error.

How to Detect a DNS Leak?

Follow these quick steps to check if your DNS is leaking:

Go to any DNS leak test online
Check the location, and IP displaying on your screen. If it is the same as your original IP then your VPN is not working.
To test a DNS leak, choose a Standard test or extended test. If the standard or extended test is not showing your original IP’s DNS servers, it means that your traffic is protected.

In case, if you are connected to FastestVPN, and find a DNS leak, then you can contact the 24/7 chat support for immediate assistance.

How to Test an IP Leak?

Test an IP leak with the easy steps below:

Disconnect your VPN to search for your original IP address. Open the google search bar and type “what is my IP address”. Note down the number that is mentioning at the top of your screen.
Open your VPN account, log in and select any server.
Repeat the first step again to match your new IP address with the old IP address.
If your new address is same to your original (previous) address then it means that your IP is leaking.

How to test WebRTC Leak?

Get connected with your VPN, and choose any server
Search “My IP address” into Google search bar and your VPN assigned IP address will be on the top result
Now copy/paste the same IP address into the Google search bar and write “IP” before those digits. If your ISP is popping up, it means that you have a webRTC leak.

Ways to Fix Different VPN Leaks

If you are experiencing a VPN leak then don’t stress yourself. You can fix your VPN leaks by following some simple steps. In case, if you are getting frequent VPN leaks, then it’s better to switch your VPN provider and rely on a trusted VPN service like FastestVPN.

How to Resolve DNS Leak

In case of a DNS leak, turn off your Wi-Fi and disconnect your VPN connection. Now, just after a minute, turn on the Wi-Fi router and connect to the VPN. If your DNS leak is still not fixed, then open your VPN and get connected to another server. Now, conduct another DNS test to make sure that your connection is safe.

How to Resolve IP Leak

In order to fix your IP leak, try connecting to another server or try using IPv4 instead of IPv6. There is another temporary fix, add IPv6 restrictions to your firewall.

How to Resolve the WebRTC Leak?

You can disable WebRTC in your browser to prevent WebRTC leak. If you are using a browser that doesn’t allow you to disable WebRTC, then you may use FastestVPN’s browser extensions for such browsers. It will ensure maximum privacy for you.

How to Protect your VPN from Leaks

If you are experiencing frequent VPN leaks then it’s better to get yourself a reliable VPN service like FastestVPN.

Actively, check your VPN with all the tests mentioned in our blog
Verify that your VPN service is DNS leak-free
Turn off WebRTC in your browser. You may add FastestVPN’s extension to avoid webRTC leak.

Other Reasons Why Your VPN Might Not be Working

Besides DNS and IP address leaks, there are many different reasons why your VPN might not be working at its full capacity. Here are some of the most common reasons why your VPN might isn’t working.

Your browsing speed has dropped by a substantial margin. If you have noticed that your browsing speed is slow after connecting to a VPN then it may mean that the server is overloaded
If you are currently using a free VPN then you are inherently vulnerable to VPN malware which is embedded in open networks. Those pesky advertisements are actually embedded with malicious content which may be compromising your network.
Your VPN connection continues to drop and your service does not include an internet kill switch. If your network suddenly drops only an internet kill switch can secure your data. If your current VPN does not have a kill switch and continuously drops, please find another service.
Another reason why your VPN might not be working is the fact that many countries have banned VPN services and only Government approved VPN’s are legal. In some cases, your VPN provider might not be able to cover you due to geo-restrictions imposed by the law.

Conclusion

A VPN is imperative for guaranteed online security, and if it’s not working the way it is supposed to be then you have to make sure that your security shouldn’t be at risk. Always actively test your IP and DNS leaks, and rely on a reputable VPN provider to keep your online activities safe from hackers.