How can I disable my VPN?
/
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a great and relatively easy way to hide your online activity from third parties and secure your communications streams. This is especially useful if you’re running a remote team and need an effective way to prevent attackers from snooping on your business.
However, there may be times when you need to disable your VPN either due to a slow connection or times when you want to access different types of blocked content. Scenarios in which disabling your VPN might be a good idea may include:
- Set up a new Wi-Fi connection on your device
- Use a SaaS, TV broadcast or website only available in your country
- Travel to countries where VPNs are illegal, such as Belarus, China, Iraq, North Korea, Oman, and Russia, to name a few.
Before we get into the technical aspects of how to actually disable your VPN on each type of operating system, let’s go back to the basics: How do you even know if you’re using a VPN in the first place, and how can you make sure your device remains secure when the VPN is turned off?
How to check if you are using a VPN
This may seem like a trivial question, but if you’re just doing your first steps with a VPN, you may not know if the VPN is actually activated.
We once heard about a user who bought a VPN license from one of the leading VPN providers and didn’t use it even once for an entire year because they didn’t know they had to turn it on. Apparently, just downloading the VPN software to your computer or phone is simply not enough.
So, to make sure that your internet connection is working on a VPN, take a look at your Wi-Fi networks. Besides the list of connections you have available, you should also be able to see one or more VPN options.
The VPN name is usually the name of your VPN provider. Open that and click on “cin touchTo run the VPN using the last location you used previously, or open the VPN software to locate a new server and connect directly through the VPN app.
Once connected to the VPN, all your activity, including all your communications, must be routed through an encrypted channel that hides your real IP address and gives you a fake one instead. This is how a VPN works.
If you are still not sure if you are browsing the web through an encrypted channel, try running a test on one of the recommended test sites. This will show you the IP address assigned to your device. If this IP address is different from your normal address, it means that you are working on a VPN.
Is it safe to disable your VPN?
The short answer is that disabling your VPN to quickly perform specific tasks may be harmless, since you turn it back on when you’re done. The problem is that all too often, people tend to forget to restart the VPN again, and this is where the problems begin.
Some VPN providers, such as NordVPN, have built a way around this by allowing their users to pause the VPN, and restart it automatically after a preset amount of time has passed, usually within one hour.
If your VPN doesn’t offer this feature, we recommend setting a reminder on your phone or leaving a note to make sure you don’t forget to perform this quick and crucial task.
How to disable VPN
Disabling your VPN is a straightforward procedure that can be performed either through your device settings or directly into the VPN software you are using. However, you may find that turning off the VPN leads to loss of internet access. This may mean that the killswitch option is enabled.
VPN providers add this feature to prevent situations where the VPN connection is suddenly disconnected, for any reason, without the user’s knowledge. If so, go back to the VPN software and make sure the kill switch is turned off. You can now disable your VPN and still be able to access the internet.
While each VPN provider presents these options a little differently, they are usually very intuitive and don’t require any special instructions, just make sure you don’t confuse kill switch with the Disconnect button, which is a common mistake.
Finding your device’s VPN kill switch can be a bit tricky because each device displays it in a different place. So, we’ll show you exactly how to do it in each category of device: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, or router.
Disable VPN on Windows
Disabling your VPN on Windows is a simple three-step process. Different versions of Windows may display these options a little differently, but in essence, they all work roughly the same way:
- visit Settings > Network and the Internet
- In the menu on the left side, select VPN
- Select the VPN connection you wish to disable
- click Disconnect
Disable VPN on macOS
- Select the Apple icon from the upper left corner of your Mac’s home screen.
- Choose System & Network Preferences>VPN
- click Disconnect
Disable VPN on iOS (iPhone or iPad)
- Visit your device Settings > general>VPN
- Change the VPN status to not connected
Disable VPN on Android
- Go to device Settings > Network and the Internet > VPN
- Change the VPN status to turning off
Disable VPN on your router
If you’re using a VPN router that protects all devices on your Wi-Fi at once, as with ExpressVPN, disabling it on all devices at once becomes easier, although not necessary in most cases.
Again, different router manufacturers and their dedicated apps have different ways of displaying these options, but in the end they all work the same way.
Simply go to your router’s app settings and turn off the VPN from there, or reset your router completely. Just remember that this will disable the VPN on all devices within range of your network, so be sure to turn it back on when done.
Disabling your VPN connection is not a complicated task and may be harmless when done temporarily. Just make sure you do it for the right reasons and only when absolutely necessary. Most importantly, if you don’t want to end up exposing your IP address to third parties, always remember to turn it back on when you’re done.
Related software and services
[ad_1]
Don’t forget to share this post with friends !
