Double VPN: what it is and how it works

Privacy on the web is a very important factor for users and there are more and more tools to help us maintain it. Without a doubt VPN services have had a very important increase in recent times and represent an option to preserve our data when we browse. However, in this article we are going to talk about what double VPN means and how it works.

What does double VPN mean?

There is a concept that is becoming more and more present and that is called double VPN. What does this mean? We can say in a nutshell that it is when a second layer of privacy is added to a traditional VPN service.

This is something that is not present in all the options that exist. However, more and more providers are offering the possibility of adding this second layer and having what is called a dual-layer VPN. The objective, of course, is to offer greater privacy to users. To provide greater guarantees when using the service.

As we know, a normal VPN encrypts the connection and makes it go through a tunnel. In this way our data is safe from possible intruders. Something very useful if, for example, we are going to connect to a public Wi-Fi network. When we mention what a double VPN is, we can say that it is a duplicate of that tunnel.

These two tunnels between the device and the destination server are what give rise to a dual VPN. This can be for different reasons. We might be looking at a VPN provider that offers two or more servers, a regular VPN server next to a proxy or extension, a server next to a VPN installed in a virtual machine, or a server next to the Tor network.

Each of these ways is different, as we see. However, the ultimate goal is the same. We'll have a double VPN with which to encrypt our connection and thus avoid possible problems that could jeopardize privacy and security.

As we have indicated, not all providers will offer this solution. It is therefore essential to look for information when installing a tool of this type in case we are interested in having a double VPN.

The advantages and disadvantages of a double VPN

Logically, as is often the case with this type of tool, we can encounter different advantages and also disadvantages. Let's show the main ones.

Among the advantages, the most important is privacy. We are talking about encrypting the connection twice. Therefore the level of privacy and anonymity will increase considerably. The second VPN server will never know our real IP address. This keeps us away from possible crawlers.

Basically we can say that this second VPN protects us from the first one. We increase the confidentiality of our data regardless of whether that main VPN we use is logged or not.

The main disadvantage is that we will need to have a second service. Sometimes it can be a higher economic cost, as well as needing to install additional software on the computers.

We must also take into account that the Internet speed can be reduced. This will mainly depend on the type of service we use and the features it offers.

In short, a double VPN can be an interesting solution if we want to improve privacy on the network. The objective is to protect our data at all times and not expose information beyond what is necessary.

Protecting our data should be paramount when we browse the web. It is essential not to make mistakes that could damage our security and affect the proper functioning of our computers. It is when we connect to public wireless networks, for example, when we can have more problems in this sense. That is why we recommend using VPN services in this type of situation.