A VPN, or a Virtual Private Network, is ideal for fostering security and encrypting your data, but it is also useful to hide your IP address. If you have ever visited YouTube and seen “Sorry, this video is not available in your state” or attempted to sign up for a new service just to find out your state is not supported, your IP address is how they understand.

A lot of folks use VPNs especially to get around those place constraints. When you sign in to a VPN, normally you can select an “exit server” or a place your VPN will “fake” you are really found. Normally, that is sufficient to convince a service you are in a state that is supported.

As far as we know, websites are not taking advantage of the defect yet, but contemplating services like Hulu, Netflix Spotify and others are taking steps to identify and lock VPN users out, it is not a stretch to suppose they’ll begin.

While the susceptibility is mainly browser-established right now, any program that may render web pages (and uses WebRTC) is changed, meaning anyone who would like to can see past your VPN to where you truly are and who you truly are. Advertisers, information authorities and agents can use it to glance through your VPN to discover where your link is actually coming from. Should you use services like BitTorrent, have a set-top box, or simply pictures or stream music in your personal computer by means of a website that is unavailable in your state, services and the programs you use could unexpectedly quit functioning.