MakeUseOf: “Most people assume that turning on their VPN makes them invisible online. That’s one of the biggest misconceptions there is around virtual private networks and what they can do. Most people assume that turning on their VPN makes them invisible online. That’s one of the biggest misconceptions there is around virtual private networks and what they can do. After all, it encrypts your traffic and hides your IP address, right? But even the best VPNs can quietly leak data that reveals who you are — unless you enable these two simple settings that close the gap. Although VPNs do encrypt your web traffic, it’s not foolproof. There are still gaps where information can slip through, especially depending on your VPN settings. At a basic level, a VPN hides your traffic from your internet provider and masks your location from websites, but it doesn’t stop every type of leak by default.

• DNS leaks: Your device might still ask your internet provider to look up websites, even while the rest of your data travels through the VPN tunnel.
• IPv6 leaks: Some VPNs only route IPv4 traffic (the older internet addressing system), leaving IPv6 data exposed.
• WebRTC leaks: Browser-based technologies can reveal your real IP address when connecting to voice or video services.

However, the big problem with these leaks is that unless you know what to check for, you may never realize that your VPN is dripping fragments of your private data for others to find. Now, choosing a VPN server and protocol is important. It greatly impacts your speed and privacy. But there is another setting you should really toggle on your VPN to actually protect yourself and your privacy…”