One of the main purposes of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is to provide protection to one’s online traffic/connection. It secures and ensures that its users’ sensitive information is kept private and protected from the prying eyes of governments and third parties. With that said, the question now is that, do VPNs could really block advertisements?
VPN Services that have Adblock:
- NordVPN – comes with CyberSec feature which has the ability to block advertisements and malicious websites.
- CyberGhost – comes with ad-blocking, malware, NoSpy servers.
- Surfshark – comes with CleanWeb ad-blocking technology
- Private Internet Aceess – comes with alternative ad-blocker option
- Perfect Privacy – comes with TrackStop that blocks ads and trackers.
A normal, basic VPN offers secured encrypted tunnel for your device that goes to a VPN server and from a VPN server, your online traffic will reach its destination website. In other words, a VPN server connects your traffic to a website on your behalf. This action hides your identity and makes the website blind of who you really are. Though this is the case, take note that your identity could be masked only to a certain extent. With that said, moreover, a stand-alone VPN will not be able to block ads and could not really protect you from those frustrating and annoying advertisements.
Third parties such as marketing and advertisers usually finds many different ways to identify and spy on your browsing activities aside from using your IP address.
How do advertisers follow you online?
At one point, you would notice that online advertisers trace everything you do and everywhere you go. This is done through data hoarding and selling of your data to advertisers which is usually done in real-time. Here are some ways/methods on how advertisers track you:
- Tracking pixels
- Tracking cookies
- Browser and device fingerprinting
Tracking pixels
A pixel is one of the ways on how one could track internet users online. It works by being inserted into a website or HTML code. The mentioned pixel comes with a code which could be triggered once a person visits a site. This determines a user’s action and behavior. It could also track conversations as well.
Tracking cookies
What are cookies? A cookie is a file that remains on your web browser. This usually comes and contains a user ID and session ID. Through cookies, a website would be able to function properly. They are domain bound which means they could only be read by a website that they are in. Once cookie policies are accepted, multiple cookies will now be downloaded to your browser. Unfortunately, they do not inform the visitor of the website. Hence, there are advertisers that are being downloaded as well. Once that happens, the cookies now could be read by any website including advertisers.
In short and as a summary, it works like:
- An advertiser’s cookie will be stored on your browser.
- Another website with the advertiser’s ad is visited
- It now sends a query to a tracking server
- The cookie is read which allows advertisers to tell where have you previously been and what you did online.
Browser fingerprinting
This method could be used to identify partially the user’s device and browser. Hence, once you visit a site, your browser would send the following information:
- Screen resolution
- Type of browser- Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.
- Preferred language
- Plugins
- Operating systems- iOS, Mac, Android, Linux, Windows, etc.
Though the mentioned information above could be very generic, but with all of it combined, third parties could identify you easily.
Do VPNs block advertisements?
As mentioned earlier, one of the main purposes of a VPN is to secure its users’ online traffic and activities from those who would like to snoop on your personal, sensitive online data. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, browsers usually store cookies from websites which they send information about itself. With this, a normal, basic VPN itself could be said is not an ad blocker. It could only protect you in a limited sense from malware and ad tracking.
The question now is, how about those VPNs that claim that they could protect you from being tracked online? One possible answer to this is that those VPNs that claim that they could protect you are those who must have extra features and ad-blocking functions. These VPNs exist. However, only a few have them.
How do VPNs block ads?
VPNs could block ads by redirecting/blocking DNS requests to the servers of advertisers. They usually come with their own DNS which makes it easier to control online traffic. In other words, once these queries are blocked, so would be advertisements.
Aside from that, VPNs could also use third party lists wherein these lists would contain domains and IP addresses. These lists now would be blocked or redirected by the VPN service provider.
5 Best VPN Providers with Adblock
1. NordVPN
NordVPN comes with 5200 plus servers in about 59 countries worldwide. It comes with CyberSec malware and ad-blocking protection which means you will not have to worry about those pestering advertisements while you browse and surf the net. Furthermore, if you love to stream movies and shows, this VPN service provider is a perfect choice as it has the ability to bypass geo-restriction imposed on streaming platforms like Netflix. Also, you will not have any problems with lags and buffering as they offer lightning, fast connection speed. As for protection, security and privacy, NordVPN offers obfuscation technology and double VPN servers.
NordVPN implements and maintains a strict no logs policy and they offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
2. CyberGhost
CyberGhost is another amazing option. It has the ability to block malicious websites, advertisements and one of the most important things, it could block online tracking. It has access to NoSpy servers as well.
CyberGhost comes with 5000 plus servers located in about 90 plus countries. They also implement and maintain a strict no logs policy and supports multiple mobile and desktop devices. This VPN service provider also offers a 45-day money back guarantee.
3. Surfshark
Surfshark is one of the most reputable VPN service providers. They have about 1700 plus servers in about 61 plus countries worldwide. They have high quality security features such as CleanWeb
which works as their ad-blocking feature, strong encryption function with OpenVPN, kill switch that ensures their users that in case their VPN connection drops, their online traffic would still be protected, Multi-hop VPN, Whitelister and a strict no logs policy.
Through Surfshark, you will not have to worry about watching your favorite streaming sites such as Netflix as this VPN service provider has the ability to unblock geo-restrictions which are usually imposed on streaming platforms. Moreover, you will not have to also worry about lags and buffering as this VPN service provider offers fast connection speeds.
Surfshark offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
4. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access or more commonly known as PIA has the ability to block advertisements, malware and trackers. They come with about 3200 plus servers in about 29 countries worldwide.
This VPN service provider offers unlimited bandwidth and ensures their subscribers that they do not store any traffic data or request log information.
Private Internet Access offers a 7-day money back guarantee and they allow their subscribers to connect up to 10 devices simultaneously with one account.
5. Perfect Privacy
Perfect Privacy is another perfect VPN option that has the ability to block advertisements and media tracking through its TrackStop feature and Stealth VPN technology. This VPN service provider also implements a no logs policy and is available in about 26 countries worldwide.
Perfect Privacy offers a 7-day money back guarantee to its new subscribers.
Conclusion
There are numerous ways on how advertisers track and get information about internet users. Some of them are through the methods of pixels, cookies and browsing fingerprinting. For a quality VPN service provider to have the ability to block advertisements, it has to have extra features and one of the most reliable example is NordVPN’s CyberSec feature which we highly recommend. We hope that through this article, we were able to provide you useful information which could and will help you protect your online data and activities.
