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So I'm looking at how VPN's work and I want to understand one thing.

So this is what I do understand: My computer has a public IP address given by a modem/router. (I'm using a hotspot). And so when using a VPN it doesn't change the IP address, but rather encrypts the data and sends it to the VPN Server which then re-transmits the information using it's own IP address, thereby "hiding" my computer's public IP.

Now, what I find confusing is, does my VPN client hide my public IP (computer's) on the way to the VPN server? I ask because I understand that this traffic would still be going out jumping through different servers until it reaches the VPN server.

If anybody were sniffing on these in-between server(s) before it hits the VPN server, they could pick up my computer's public IP address and then ping/log or attempt to use my public IP in nefarious ways. Or in my case, constantly hit my modem/hotspot with a bunch of UDP traffic and cause my computer/modem to respond back with more UDP and cause my data usage to go up tremendously (even while the computer sits idle with nothing going on than contacting a server every 3 mins).

I think a VPN might help, but perhaps not.

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  • Your public address as the source address will be on the VPN packets until the VPN packets reach the VPN server. These packets do not typically pass through other servers, but they will pass through network devices, e.g. routers and switches, of probably several ISPs.
    – Ron Maupin
    Commented Jul 17, 2017 at 22:58
  • By the way, as soon as you are connected to the public Internet, you will be hit by all kinds of traffic from people trying to break in. This traffic is generated by automated systems that try to break into every IP address. There is no real way around this.
    – Ron Maupin
    Commented Jul 17, 2017 at 23:00
  • Could I create a whitelist on my modem to only allow packets from our required addresses and block these automated systems? This traffic is my main concern, as I'm aware the content is generally safe. We have quite a few modems and we are getting hit from a lot of ISPs and it's creating 10x traffic on our modems, which then we get billed for. It's only become a problem in the last 6 months.
    – Tyger
    Commented Jul 18, 2017 at 23:53
  • You should have a firewall that will block such inbound traffic. You cannot stop the traffic from coming to you, but your firewall should block it. You would need your ISP to block any traffic that you do not want to reach your edge network device, and that is unlikely to happen, so you must take measures to protect your network.
    – Ron Maupin
    Commented Jul 19, 2017 at 0:01

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To add to what's said, there's no way a VPN client could hide your public IP enroute to the VPN server, as that would literally break the Internet. One assumption made is that a device will be able to talk to another device using its IP address.

What the VPN does is make it so the public IP the rest of the world sees is the one the VPN server assigns you. It also generally (virtually all VPNs are encrypted) protects anyone between you and the VPN server from seeing WHAT your traffic is as the tunnel is, typically, encrypted.

If your concerns extend beyond that, unless you have a specific named threat in mind, I'd say they're likely to be in the wrong place. Yes, someone can see that you're talking to a VPN server. But they'd have to then break into the VPN provider to identify what traffic is yours. Focus on finding a VPN provider you trust.

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Public IP address is never hidden, only private IP address is hidden.

Your computer will connect to the router and from the router it will create a encrypted tunnel to your destination network.

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