Private browsing modes like Chrome's Incognito do not hide your online activity from your internet service provider, your employer, or the websites you visit. They only prevent your local device from saving your browsing history. If you want genuine internet privacy—where your identity and activity are concealed from outside observers—you need a VPN.
VPN stands for virtual private network. It encrypts your internet connection and routes it through a private server, hiding your IP address and making your online activity unreadable to anyone monitoring the network. Here is how VPNs work, what they protect, and how to choose the right one.
How does a VPN work?
When you browse the internet without a VPN, your device sends requests directly through your internet service provider (ISP). Your ISP can see every website you visit, and each website can see your IP address—a unique identifier that reveals your approximate location and links your activity across sessions.
A VPN changes this process by inserting an encrypted tunnel between your device and the internet.
When you type a website into your browser, your VPN software encrypts the request before it leaves your device. The encrypted data travels through your ISP—but because it is encrypted, your ISP cannot read the content or see which website you are visiting. The encrypted data reaches your VPN provider's server, which decrypts it and sends your request to the website on your behalf. The website sees the VPN server's IP address, not yours. When the website responds, the data travels back through the same encrypted tunnel to your device.
The result: your ISP sees encrypted traffic going to a VPN server but cannot see what you are doing. The website sees a request from the VPN server but does not know who you are. Your real IP address and browsing activity are hidden from both.
What does a VPN protect you from?
ISP tracking. Your internet service provider can see every website you visit and can sell anonymized browsing data to advertisers or produce it for legal proceedings. A VPN prevents your ISP from seeing anything except encrypted traffic to the VPN server.
Public Wi-Fi risks. Coffee shops, airports, hotels, and other public Wi-Fi networks are prime targets for attackers who intercept unencrypted data. A VPN encrypts all traffic before it leaves your device, making public networks significantly safer.
IP-based tracking. Without a VPN, websites, advertisers, and data brokers can use your IP address to track your activity across the internet and build a profile of your browsing habits. A VPN masks your IP address behind the VPN server's address.
Geographic content restrictions. Some content is restricted by region. A VPN lets you connect through a server in a different country, accessing content as if you were located there.
Network-level surveillance. On company or school networks, administrators can monitor browsing activity. While a VPN encrypts your traffic, it is worth noting that some organizations block VPN connections on their networks, and company device policies may restrict VPN use.
What a VPN does not protect you from
A VPN is not a complete security solution. It does not protect against malware, phishing attacks, or malicious downloads. If you click a malicious link or download an infected file, your device is vulnerable regardless of whether a VPN is active. A VPN also does not prevent websites from tracking you through browser fingerprinting, logged-in account activity, or cookies (unless you combine it with private browsing mode and tracking protection).
For comprehensive protection, a VPN should be one layer in a broader security strategy that includes antivirus protection, secure browsing habits, and hardware-level endpoint security.
How to choose a VPN
Not all VPN providers are equal. Here is what to evaluate.
Protocol. The VPN protocol determines how your data is encrypted and transmitted. In 2026, WireGuard has become the de facto standard for consumer VPNs. Its codebase is only about 4,000 lines (compared to over 100,000 for OpenVPN), which makes it faster, easier to audit, and more stable. WireGuard offers the fastest handshake times, highest throughput, and lowest latency in independent benchmarks. OpenVPN remains a solid fallback when maximum compatibility or TCP tunneling is needed. IKEv2/IPsec is strong for mobile devices that frequently switch networks. PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, and SSTP are considered obsolete and should be avoided.
No-logs policy. Some VPN providers keep records of your activity. Choose a provider with an independently audited no-logs policy—meaning they do not store records of which websites you visit, when you connect, or what data you transmit. If a provider has no logs, there is nothing to hand over if compelled by legal proceedings.
Kill switch. If your VPN connection drops unexpectedly, a kill switch immediately cuts your internet connection to prevent any unencrypted data from leaking. This is an essential feature for anyone serious about privacy.
Paid vs. free. Free VPNs typically monetize through advertising or data collection—which defeats the purpose of using a VPN for privacy. Paid VPNs typically cost $3 to $8 per month and invest that revenue in maintaining secure, high-performance server infrastructure. The privacy you gain is worth the cost.
Server locations. More server locations mean more options for bypassing geographic restrictions and finding a fast, nearby connection. Major providers operate thousands of servers across dozens of countries.
VPN vs. Tor vs. Incognito mode
These three tools are often confused, but they serve different purposes.
VPN encrypts all traffic from your device and routes it through a single private server. It is fast, easy to use, and suitable for everyday browsing, streaming, and work. Your VPN provider can technically see your activity (which is why a no-logs policy matters), but no one else on the network can.
Tor (The Onion Router) encrypts your data in multiple layers and routes it through a series of volunteer servers, with each server removing one layer of encryption. Tor is slower than a VPN but more resistant to surveillance because no single server sees both your identity and your destination. It is primarily used by journalists, activists, and privacy researchers.
Incognito mode prevents your browser from saving local history, cookies, and form data. It does not encrypt your traffic, hide your IP address, or prevent your ISP from seeing your activity. It is useful for shared devices but provides no network-level privacy.
For most users, a VPN provides the best balance of privacy, speed, and usability.
Is using a VPN legal?
VPNs are legal in most countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. They are used by journalists, businesses, government agencies, remote workers, and millions of private citizens who simply value their privacy. A small number of countries restrict or ban VPN use—check local regulations if you are traveling internationally.
How HP helps protect your online privacy
McAfee+, which comes preinstalled on HP PCs, includes a secure VPN with all plans. McAfee's VPN activates automatically on unsecured Wi-Fi networks, encrypting your connection without requiring any manual configuration. Combined with McAfee's identity monitoring and scam protection, it provides a comprehensive privacy layer for everyday browsing.
For deeper protection, HP Wolf Security operates below the operating system to defend against threats that no VPN or browser setting can stop. HP Sure Click isolates malicious websites and downloads in hardware-enforced micro-virtual machines. HP Sure Start protects the BIOS from firmware-level attacks. And HP Protect and Trace with Wolf Connect can locate, lock, and erase a lost or stolen HP PC even when it is powered off—ensuring that your data stays private even if your device does not stay in your hands.
A VPN protects your data in transit. HP protects the device it lives on.
About the Author
Zach Cabading is a contributing writer for HP® Tech Takes. Zach is a content creation specialist based in Southern California, and creates a variety of content for the tech industry.
