Is your VPN service slowing you down?
A VPN allows you to access sites that are blocked in certain countries and also secures your connection through encryption keeping you safe from fraudsters and phishing scammers who may want to steal your private information. Despite these benefits, some VPN users are concerned with how the service affects internet speeds.
Why does using VPN sometimes slow down internet speed?
Well, it depends on some factors. Here are the four most important ones you need to be aware of.
The location of the server
The distance separating your location and the VPN server influences your connection speeds. The far you are from the physical location of your server the higher will be the latency. Ensure that your VPN provider has a server location near you. You can utilize a server that is in a country near you as the distance between your country and the server does affect internet speed flows through the VPN. The slowness is caused by the time data packets travel back and forth over the VPN.
VPN server load also affects connection speeds mostly with free VPN service providers. It occurs when there are many users connected to a specific server at a particular time. It is advisable then to connect to a different server.
VPN protocols and the quality of encryption
Basic VPN protocols include L2TP/IPSec, OpenVPN, PPTP, and SSTP or SoftEther. Every protocol is used in different cases and has its encryption level. The better/higher the encryption, the bigger the hit the internet speed will take. L2TP/IPSec and PPTP frequently offer better connection speeds as they use an encryption of 128 bits. Although SSTP is only available on Windows, it has the best speed and encryption level.
ISP speed
According to how to geek, your ISP speed will affect the speed of VPN connection. The faster your ISP speed is, the faster your connection and vice versa. Using a VPN when you have slow ISP speed will not help. Also, the interconnection level between your ISP and VPN provider will affect your internet speeds.
Processor speed
Remember to use your VPN on a PC that is equipped with a faster CPU or processor as this will facilitate faster connection speeds.
So does VPN affect internet speed? Remember to check all of these details when selecting your VPN provider. An article posted on SearchEnterpriseWAN stated that a good service provider will have VPN servers in several different countries and this will allow you to choose one that is near your country. You will not get a fast VPN service if you do not have a fast ISP and the right equipment.
