How Online Services Detect VPN Connections
Many online services and organizations block VPN connections for various reasons. They use several techniques to identify and block VPN traffic.
1. Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) is a sophisticated VPN detection and blocking technique often employed in countries with strict censorship and VPN restrictions.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in these regions use DPI to scrutinize the data packets’ metadata, looking for signs that indicate VPN usage.
By examining ports and protocols, DPI can block connections if they match the criteria set for VPN traffic. A notable example of DPI in action is The Great Firewall of China, which makes bypassing its restrictions with ordinary VPNs particularly challenging.
2. VPN IP Address Blacklists
Streaming platforms and other online services frequently use VPN IP address blacklists to detect and block VPN connections. These services maintain a list of known VPN IP addresses and deny access to users attempting to connect from them.
For example, Netflix can detect a VPN by monitoring the high volume of users accessing its service from the same IP address, a common characteristic of VPN usage due to shared IP addresses.
Consequently, Netflix blocks the entire range of IP addresses associated with the VPN server. This practice is why free VPNs and those with smaller networks struggle to unblock Netflix.
To effectively bypass these restrictions, it is essential to use a reliable and trusted Netflix VPN from our recommended list.
3. Location-based Services
Location-based services, such as the GPS on your devices, can reveal your actual location to online services, overriding any geo-location provided by your IP address.
For instance, if your GPS indicates you are in the UK but you are connected to a VPN server in the US, the online service may detect the discrepancy and suspect VPN usage, thereby denying access to content.
This discrepancy is one reason it is easier to bypass geo-restrictions on desktop computers than on smartphones, where GPS data is more frequently utilized.
In conclusion, while VPNs are valuable tools for privacy and bypassing geo-restrictions, online services and organizations employ sophisticated methods to detect and block VPN traffic.
To successfully navigate these challenges, it is important to stay informed about the techniques used and choose reliable VPN services. For more information, check out our articles on how to unblock Netflix with a VPN and other related topics.
How to Make a VPN Undetectable
You can use various methods and VPN aspects to make your VPN connections undetectable to online services and organizations.
Before you can use the following methods to make your VPN connection undetectable, you must first have a premium and reliable VPN.
A premium VPN provides features that allow you to make its connection undetectable. Usually, a premium VPN has an extensive server network and updates its IP addresses regularly.
This ensures it beats low-level detection and blocking techniques like IP address blacklisting.
Additionally, a premium VPN offers a money-back guarantee. This guarantee allows you to test the VPN without incurring any cost.
Therefore, you can test if the VPN can bypass online restrictions without committing to a subscription.
If you have a premium VPN, let’s proceed with making it undetectable.
1. Use Obfuscation Features
VPN connections entail heavy encryption, and that’s how some systems and services detect them.
Obfuscation encapsulates VPN packets with SSL/SSH encryption. This additional encryption makes the VPN traffic look like regular internet traffic.
Other obfuscation techniques scramble the VPN encryption metadata; thus, the VPN packets will look like regular secure internet traffic (HTTPS) packets.
Concisely, obfuscation hides VPN encryption metadata from the VPN packets. To use the obfuscation feature, you need to enable it in your VPN settings.
Some premium VPNs won’t have the obfuscation feature on the settings. They might instead offer obfuscation-specialized servers such as NordVPN.
Other VPNs, such as Surfshark and ExpressVPN, offer obfuscation on their servers by default. For obfuscation to work effectively, you must use the OpenVPN TCP protocol.
2. Change the VPN Protocol
Protocols define how VPN connections are made. Protocols determine which port will be used and how encryption will be done.
Therefore, some protocols can be easily detected, while others bypass blocking mechanisms.
Commonly used protocols to bypass VPN detections on premium VPNs include OpenVPN, WireGuard, and other proprietary protocols.
OpenVPN TCP works effectively, but you need to use it with obfuscation or pair it with port 443 to bypass DPI.
WireGuard runs connections over UDP, which is easily blocked. However, VPNs can implement WireGuard to use UDP ports that are not blocked by firewalls.
Other configurations can tunnel WireGuard using TCP. In most cases, WireGuard can bypass VPN detection and blocks.
3. Use Unblocked Ports
There are universal ports that, if blocked, will cause detrimental effects on networks, including the internet. One of the ports that are rarely blocked is port 443.
This port is used to make secure internet connections (HTTPS); thus, blocking it might break internet access on various services and organizations.
Therefore, it is imperative to use this port to make your VPN undetectable. Usually, this port works with OpenVPN TCP and SSTP.
Some premium VPNs, such as Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN, allow you to change the default OpenVPN TCP port, and port 443 is among the options.
4. Use SSH Tunnel
This tech-savvy technique allows you to route your VPN traffic through another device. For instance, you can forward your VPN traffic from your work computer to your home computer.
Thus, the SSH tunnel bypasses blocks and will seem like regular internet traffic. However, SSH tunneling impacts your internet speeds.
It is recommended to use it with high-speed networks or for go online activities that require fast speeds, such as gaming, streaming, or VoIP.
5. Use a Dedicated VPN IP Address
VPN-shared IP addresses are a double-edged sword. They help boost VPN privacy but are also easy to detect and blacklist.
Most services that have blacklist IP checklists won’t allow VPN connections. This is why you can’t access most streaming services and sensitive online details, and you will even run into captchas every time you do a google search.
To make your VPN undetectable, you will have to sacrifice privacy and use a dedicated IP address. To ensure your privacy is still protected, use a premium VPN.
Dedicated IP addresses are rarely blocked because they are not shared among users; hence online services rarely associate them with VPNs.
Other than making your VPN connection undetectable, a dedicated IP address can also be used for remote access, accessing bank services, and other services that restrict shared IP addresses.
Premium VPNs may offer a free dedicated IP address for a single account. Other premium VPNs provide dedicated IP addresses for an additional subscription cost.
You can get a static or dynamic dedicated IP address depending on the VPN provider.
6. Turn Off Location Services
Location services such as GPS will give away your actual geo-location even when you are using a VPN.
Location services make it easier for online platforms to know that you are using a VPN. Always turn off your GPS when using a VPN to access geo-restricted content.
You can also disable location permissions on various platforms that you need to unblock. For best results, use a desktop browser to unblock geo-restricted content when using a VPN. Remember to clear the browser cache.
