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VPN (Virtual Private Network) — Is a technology that changes and hides your IP address and encrypts all the incoming and outgoing data while you use Internet. This way you gain anonymity and are safe as no one can see what are you doing while surfing the internet.

From your perspective, being one of numerous CactusVPN clients, VPN is the technolgy that allows you to connect to our servers in Europe or America, and get the possibility to use remote network resources as though you are there. In other words CactusVPN invites you to nestle in European or American networks, obtaining European or American IP address on your computer. Simply install our VPN software, enter your username and password and click the connect button!

As soon as you connect to our VPN server your computer is assigned with a new IP address and new DNS resolvers. Then all of your Internet traffic is encrypted and is tunneled to our VPN server. Once there, it is decrypted and allowed to travel to its intended destination. Your local ISP will only see a single encrypted data stream between you and our VPN server. Your ISP can no longer monitor, log or control your Internet usage and you can bypass your ISP restrictions.

When you connect to CactusVPN we create a ‘Tunnel’. This describes the best connection between us and you. All data in this ‘Tunnel’ is encrypted so that only you and CactusVPN know the contents of what is being sent. The data is encrypted to 128 Bits. This is an excellent level of security wich also maintains good levels of performance, even on older computers or lower powered devices such as Phones and Netbooks.

If you want to use streaming audio or video sites you better use proxy as it is faster and you don’t need encryption. Proxies are also better for quick checks such as localization tests or checking to see if something is showing up in local search results in another city.

If you want your data to be encrypted and need a more secured connection then you need a VPN. Also use VPN when connecting to a public WiFi.

For general purpose you should use PPTP or L2TP/IPSec. These are the fastest protocols and fits the needs for most users. It’s recommended to use them when browsing, streaming video/audio content, downloading torrents.
SSTP and OpenVPN are more secured protocols, but this makes them slower. You should use them if your data transfer needs a higher level of confidentiality/encryption. SSTP is more stable than OpenVPN but, unfortunately, it is only available for Windows Vista and higher.